I've broken KDE ..

[stokes]

I removed xinet.d (it seemed like a good idea at the time) not none of my KDE applications are working - I get an error when launching anything from the menu 'cannot find the executable for 'x' application'.

Whoops ..

It's not a complete loss as I can still use webmin and ssh telnet but it's a bit of a pain in the arse having a completely useless KDE ..

Any ideas how to restore my xinet settings or get it all back up and running?

[lynch]

I removed xinet.d (it seemed like a good idea at the time) ...

How was that a good idea?

[krohnjw]

Did you remove xinet.d? That controls your access to services by spawning a process whever one is needed, instead of running a process the entire time. I have to agree with lynch here, I can't see why that would be a good idea.

What distro is this? You might be better off removing the package and just reinstalling it assuming this is a nice and friendly RPM based distro.

I don't see why removing xinet.d (I am assuming you are refering to /etc/xinet.d ) would break KDE...so let's clarify a few things. Can you use any other WM? Are you having problems launching any other applications?

[stokes]

Well, I was installing QMail using this howto.

I couldn't get the courier IMAP service to start as I kept getting an 'unable to bind' message. I went back and read this:

Unless you have other services that absolutely have to run on this machine, I recommend shutting down inetd or xinetd altogether and removing it from your startup scripts. The only thing you'll need (outside of what we're about to isntall) is ssh, which is probably installed already. This will likely shut off any pop3 or imap servers, as well as other unneccessary ports. Otherwise, disable them manually.

I'll admit was a bit drastic doing this without first doing a bit of homework and finding out exactly what xinet.d does. But, QMail & SquirrelMail is working now.

Are you having problems launching any other applications?

I can't launch any applications. Nothing works. At least I can still SSH telnet on to it and luckily I installed Webmin so I can still do pretty much everything, but it's a pain the the arse not having a working KDE.

Oh just remembered, I also removed the cyrus IMAP package at the same time.

My distro is Mandrake 10.1 - is there an urpmi to get xinet.d back?

[CMonster]

boot into init 3, mount the distro cdrom or dvd, reinstall the rpm for xinetd - you may need to edit your startup files to start xinetd - good luck - also I am sure there is some kind of repair mode offered if you boot from the install media

[stokes]

I'm going to attempt to do this when I get home. So you think boot from the Mandrake Disk 1 and see if there is a repair option? I'm a bit worried about overwriting my current config as I've got it running very nicely now!

By booting into init3, is that choosing the failsafe option and logging in as root at the prompt? How would I then go about reinstalling xinetd, is it 'rpm -i' something?

Sorry for all the questions .....

[krohnjw]

Just boot normally and type init 3 in a root console.

Do you have urpmi set up? Just select urpmi xinetd. If it complains it is already installed then you may have to resort to more drastic measures as I am sure removing it will break some dependencies. If all else fails just go use --force and use the RPM off of the CD.

[stokes]

I tried booting using the failsafe option and then 'init 3', logged in as root and trird urpmi xinetd --force. It said 'No package found 'xinetd'. Everything Already Installed'.

I tried booting from disk1, I don't get an option to repair but I can upgrade. I will try that and see what happens. Hopefully it won't screw up the settings I've spent the last few weeks tweaking.

[stokes]

Choosing the upgrade option did nothing ..

One other thing I noticed is I can't launch KDE at all now, when I let it boot normally it goes to a basic login screen - username and password only, and it logs me into Ice.

To be honest the only thing I really miss is Konqueror, everything else I can do remotely.

Is there anything else I can try?

[Epyon9283]

you should be able to run konq as long as X is functional.

[krohnjw]

xinetd is most certainly a package if you have urmpi set up correctly. You can also find the package on your CD's.

[CMonster]

you can do this from IceWM:

log in as root, mount the CD/DVD where the xinetd RPM is located and cd into that directory - and try urpmi --force xinetd* or rpm -i --nodeps --force xinetd*

[stokes]

I will try tonight. I appreciate the replies as normal guys.

[stokes]

you can do this from IceWM:

log in as root, mount the CD/DVD where the xinetd RPM is located and cd into that directory - and try urpmi --force xinetd* or rpm -i --nodeps --force xinetd*

It didn't work - the command seemed to execute ok but I can still only boot into IceWM. I think I also made things worst by trying rpm -i --nodeps --force xinetd* LOL .. now IceWM doesn't load either.

I think I'm gonna quit while I'm behind as I can still do what I originally wanted with this compter - i.e. smtp server with imap and pop support, and webmail. It's also hosting my personal web site which wouldn't be a complete loss if it was lost forever but would be nice to keep.

If nothing else this has taught me quite a lot about how to use the command shell!

[CMonster]

so you backup your data and reinstall

-- not so diligent about backups? -- can't resist experimentation? I have often kept a small separate install of the original OS, keeping it 'mildly' up to date when changes to the main system were successful... and in cases like yours it sure was handy to copy from, especially if the system is borked to the point it will not even boot...

[stokes]

so you backup your data and reinstall ...

Sounds good in theory, but I don't have a clue about how to back up my system, especially given I have no KDE to make my life easier. How do I backup the good bits, and not the bits I've stuffed up? Is it just copying the directories to a safe place and copying them back after reinstalling the OS?

Also what about all the programs I've compiled and installed - will I have to go through that again or can they be backed up and restored from using programs that run in the command shell?

The other thing is my MySQL database that my web site uses .. although I guess there is a command to back that up and I could at least work that bit out.

can't resist experimentation?

That's me .. I really can't resist experimentation, usually in the pursuit of system improvement. Or just trying out new stuff. In Windows at least I know how to reverse the changes. In Linux I'm learning it as I go along!

[CMonster]

it is possible to copy those parts of your system to another drive using cp or tar commands, and copy them back in to the new install - one time something like this happened to me I added a disk, did a fresh install of Linux - booted that and used the friendly GUI there to mount the other disk and copy my stuff from it... there are many ways. BTW with the cp command the "-ax" option is your friend "cp -ax" preserves permissions, copies recursively, and sticks to one file system

if you create seperate partitions for /home, /usr, and /usr/local it becomes even easier to save-restore a system

finally - if the server is mission critical - it's time to get that big'ol backup device going and some type of regular schedual

[netsurf3]

*Idea* what about using knoppix for back-up you will get the kde interface and you could back it up anywhere