Odd problem with AIX 5.2 and 6H1

[Dan Foster]

I did a complete-and-overwrite installation of AIX 5.2 (not ML1, but
the original 5.2.0.0 CD media) on a 6H1. Zips by at 10 minutes to
do the install (vs 45-60 minutes for a B50).

It then reboots and comes up with a 'Console login:' prompt. I enter
root. It accepts that then kicks me back out to the login prompt in
less than a second.

Doesn't appear to be a console wiring issue because I am using known
good OOB adapter (which works fine with all AIX boxes we have), and I
can type in 'root', after all.

So I booted into maint mode and verified that root has a home dir,
owned by root, that getty is in inittab with respawn, that root has
an entry in /etc/passwd and /etc/security/{user,passwd}, etc. errpt
shows nothing abnormal - no core dumps or anything.

Has anybody seen this problem before, by any chance?

Incidentally, I have the same problem with the original 5.1 CD as well
and then booting off the HD for fresh (complete-and-overwrite) install.

The machine is 2000 miles away and each boot takes 10-15 minutes due
to all the adapters and attached devices probing, and this is just such
so baffling I'm nearly at wits' end.

-Dan

[Iain]

Dan Foster <dsf@globalcrossing.net> wrote in message news:<slrnbnjn0e.cbf.dsf@gaia.roc2.gblx.net>...

> I did a complete-and-overwrite installation of AIX 5.2 (not ML1, but
> the original 5.2.0.0 CD media) on a 6H1. Zips by at 10 minutes to
> do the install (vs 45-60 minutes for a B50).
>
> It then reboots and comes up with a 'Console login:' prompt. I enter
> root. It accepts that then kicks me back out to the login prompt in
> less than a second.
>
> Doesn't appear to be a console wiring issue because I am using known
> good OOB adapter (which works fine with all AIX boxes we have), and I
> can type in 'root', after all.
>
> So I booted into maint mode and verified that root has a home dir,
> owned by root, that getty is in inittab with respawn, that root has
> an entry in /etc/passwd and /etc/security/{user,passwd}, etc. errpt
> shows nothing abnormal - no core dumps or anything.
>
> Has anybody seen this problem before, by any chance?
>
> Incidentally, I have the same problem with the original 5.1 CD as well
> and then booting off the HD for fresh (complete-and-overwrite) install.
>
> The machine is 2000 miles away and each boot takes 10-15 minutes due
> to all the adapters and attached devices probing, and this is just such
> so baffling I'm nearly at wits' end.
>
> -Dan

I have seen a similar problem when logging into a box with a remote
console. I think that upgrading the server firmware might have helped
when I had the problem (there's new 6H1 firmware out in the last day
or two so could be worth a try).

When I was doing it I found that as a non-root user I could log in
fine but not for root. Very odd indeed. Sometimes if I tried to
login as a different user (e.g. non-existent account) and then as
root, it would work; or if I just tried it 10 times it would work on
one of them.

Iain.

[Dan Foster]

In article <a0a1407b.0310020231.bd883c8@posting.google.com> , Iain <iain@leamington-guide.com> wrote:

> Dan Foster <dsf@globalcrossing.net> wrote in message news:<slrnbnjn0e.cbf.dsf@gaia.roc2.gblx.net>...
>
> I have seen a similar problem when logging into a box with a remote
> console. I think that upgrading the server firmware might have helped
> when I had the problem (there's new 6H1 firmware out in the last day
> or two so could be worth a try).

Hmmmmm! Worth a try -- thanks!

> When I was doing it I found that as a non-root user I could log in
> fine but not for root. Very odd indeed. Sometimes if I tried to
> login as a different user (e.g. non-existent account) and then as
> root, it would work; or if I just tried it 10 times it would work on
> one of them.

I'll try that, too. Can't hurt :)

-Dan