[comp.unix.xenix.sco] Using /bin/csh for root login on SCO Unix causes improper boot--why?

bruce@bmhalh.UUCP (Bruce M. Himebaugh) (09/25/90)

At work we have a 386 system (used for accounting) running SCO Unix.  I
changed the shell for root (in the /etc/passwd file), from '/bin/sh' to
'/bin/csh'.  Boy did this cause problems.  Everything works fine, until you
reboot the system.  While the system is coming up (e.g. starting cron, print
services, etc.) is starts display the /etc/motd (i.e. message of the day) file.
After the system finally comes up, if you look at the /etc/systemid file it
contains the contents of the /etc/motd file prepended to what was originally in
the /etc/systemid file, that is the /etc/motd file is in the /etc/systemid file
with the original value of the /etc/systemid file at the bottom.  Also, the
/etc/mnttab table is totally trashed, containing a lot of garbage that commands
like 'df' puke on.

On other Unix systems I have found that a lot of times the scripts in /etc that
are executed upon boot, don't contain the ":" or "!/bin/sh" at the top of them,
which tells them to execute using the Bourne shell; therefore, if they are
executed using the C-shell they crash.  I looked through quite a few of them
on the SCO Unix system, but they appeared to be okay.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or know why it happens?  Is there just
a badly formed script that I overlooked or what?

Your help is appreciated!!!

Bruce
-- 
Bruce M. Himebaugh                                          Voice: 216-484-3528
   PATHS: uunet!{ncoast,aablue}!fmsystm!bmhalh!bruce
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emanuele@overlf.UUCP (Mark A. Emanuele) (10/16/90)

In article <44@bmhalh.UUCP>, bruce@bmhalh.UUCP (Bruce M. Himebaugh) writes:
> Everything works fine, until you
> reboot the system. 
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

take a look at /etc/init.d/* and /etc/rc*

these need the Bourne shell to operate properly. I think the problem is that
SCO in their "WISDOM" looks at /etc/passwd for the root shell and executes
that as the shell for startup. (When I added a "tset -r" in the /etc/profile 
every time I reboot, I get a TERM=(ansi) prompt at the bottom of the screen.)

I would think that *nix would be smart enough to just default to /bin/sh
to execute these scripts.
Leave it up to SCO to screw it all up.

#include std_disclaimer.h

-- 
Mark A. Emanuele
V.P. Engineering  Overleaf, Inc.
500 Route 10 Ledgewood, NJ 07852-9639         attmail!overlf!emanuele
(201) 927-3785 Voice   (201) 927-5781 fax     emanuele@overlf.UUCP