Subject: RE: boot problem
To: Robert Manna <robert@mail.alum.rpi.edu>
From: Dave McGuire <mcguire@neurotica.com>
List: port-alpha
Date: 07/27/2002 21:52:09
On July 27, Robert Manna wrote:
> I set the enviroment variable as specified and got the following results:
> 
> "/etc/rc.conf is not configured. Multiuser boot aborted.
> Enter pathname of shell or RETURN for sh:"
> 
> If I hit return I get the same message as before about creating a non-root
> account.  I presume this means I need to edit my rc.conf file.  However none
> of the commands work.  I can't use vi to edit the file, I cannot even access
> the man pages.  It simply returns command not found.

  Ahh, I've been in that spot.  When you get to the single-user mode
shell prompt (by hitting return at the "enter pathname of shell blah
blah" message), mount the filesystems so you can run the editor:

# mount -a

  You may need to set a TERM environment variable depending on what
type of console terminal you're using (keyboard and framebuffer, for
instance).  If you have a VT100-style serial terminal connected to the
machine as your console, you'd do this:

# TERM=vt100;export TERM

  Then you should be able to edit /etc/rc.conf to set up your system's
defaults, or at the very least just set "rc_configured" to "YES" to
get it to boot all the way up.

  This initial stuff can be confusing, and it's definitely a
pain...but this is stuff that you only have to go through once, then
you're home free.

      -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire                  "Needing a calculator indicates that
St. Petersburg, FL              your .emacs file is incomplete." -Joshua Boyd