Re: trouble report

[Dan Brosemer <odin@svartalfheim.net>]

On Tue, Jan 29, 2002 at 12:13:27PM -0500, Kathie Brosemer wrote:
> Hi, we've been having some problems with Peter's user account.
> 
> Logging in on Beru and on Owen Tuesday morning, the same 
> problems on both machines.
> 
> Peter can't change his own password.

Remember, the system won't accept a bad password, and offers a very cryptic
error message in response.

You can debug by trying to set to 1zbcxy9m
That's a password  the system will like.  Don't use it, of course, since
it's in the mailing list archives, but try testing with it.

> I changed it as superuser, but then Peter logged in with that 
> changed password and tried to change his pw with the Windows 
> change password function and the system stopped.  It left an 
> hourglass icon which moves around when the mouse is moved, but 
> nothing else happens.  The screen that accepts the passwords is 
> still showing.  

How many times did he try to change his password in the last 5 mins?  5
pwfails == account locked for 1hr.  That sounds like what happened here.
Can he change his password if he waits about 10min beforehand?

> So, we rebooted and logged in again under his same password I 
> assigned, then tried to run Pegasus.  Set up user preferences and 
> there are no folders at all in his account.  No inbox, nothing.  I 
> added an inbox and told pegasus that should be default for new 
> mail, then sent a test message from my pegasus to Peter, but the 
> test message did not appear.

Yep.  UNIX account locked.  Samba doesn't understand that concept, though,
so it let him log on to the machine.  Creating an inbox probably destroyed
any email he might have had, I'll check.  (Thanks for picking Tuesday, I
have backups from last night! :)

> We don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time figuring out 
> the pegasus problem if Mulberry is coming soon (please!).  But I've 
> given it here in case the problems are related.

How about we make mulberry go tomorrow evening.  Can you ask whoever's in
the office to leave the computers on and at a login prompt?

> thanks for whatever you can do about this.

Not a problem.  Hope this helps.

-Dan

-- 
"Burnished gallows set with red
 Caress the fevered, empty mind
 Of man who hangs bloodied and blind
 To reach for wisdom, not for bread."  -- Deoridhe Grimsdaughter

PGP signature