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Topic: I really want to curse! May I ??, Permissions and user/group issues

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dmizzel

Group: Members
Posts: 112
Joined: April 2005

Posted: May 23 2005,08:02

It all started out so innocently...

http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....;t=6063

Here's a quick summary if you don't want to read that link to my frustrations with tweeking and breaking X (after some late night modifications, I couldn't get x to start. Basically my backup.tar.gz had something wrong stored in it that brought me to a command line instead of into my new and improved custom desktop)

I now decide to focus my efforts on a workaround. I have unpacked my backup.tar.gz (the messed up one) and wish to copy certain files out of it and place them into my new backup.tar.gz These include:
sylpheed settings
Mail
firefox settings (bookmarks etc.)

However the permissions and user/group stuff is really f*$%ing with me. (I believe issues with these are also responsible for my X problems in the above linked post).

How does one perserve permissions and user/group settings when copying files from an unpacked tar.gz?

Or more to the point... How do I copy my .sylpheed file from my broken backup.tar.gz into my up & running frugal DSL? I tried to just copy over the file but that doesn't work. (it copies but my account info/setting don't come up).

I'm rambling on... sorry

mikshaw

Group: Members
Posts: 4856
Joined: July 2004

Posted: May 23 2005,13:42

As said in the other thread, copying files from one backup to another may mess up ownerships. If you use your current backup, you won't get into X, but it will still load the system. From that point, fix any ownership problems in /home/dsl and reboot....hopefully a new backup file will be created with the proper file ownerships. If i'm wrong I'm wrong, but it can't hurt to try.

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http://www.tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/index.html

dmizzel

Group: Members
Posts: 112
Joined: April 2005

Posted: May 24 2005,07:55

I think when you're right you're right! It's too late for it to work for me now (see my post link below for further info) HOWEVER I do believe that you are right. That was the way to fix it.

I'm sure this isn't proper for me to keep posting links back and forth (I think it might be helpful in preventing others from repeating my mistakes... I have repeated this mistake 2 or 3 times before I figured it out. With help from these forms of course).

http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin....=10;r=1

Thanx again mikshaw!

Onward:

Can you (or someone) confirm for me? Should user=root and group=root for everything except for:
/home/dsl (which should be user=dsl and group=staff) and
/opt (which should be user=root and group=staff)

Is that correct?

mikshaw

Group: Members
Posts: 4856
Joined: July 2004

Posted: May 24 2005,15:11

pretty much, yes.

The files in /opt are variable. The /opt directory itself needs to remain owned by root.staff, but subdirectories added later don't matter as much. It basically depends on whether anyone other than root has a reason to write to these files.

If you add a new user you'll have a new directory in /home with different ownership.

Any files in /tmp (/var/tmp) should not be changed, unless you know what you're doing. These files are owned by whoever creates them, and may not work properly if ownership is changed. The mydsl* directories are of particular concern.

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http://www.tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/index.html

3 replies since May 23 2005,08:02

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