bdf: unable to lock /etc/mnttab after 100 tries

[Steve Post]

I've never seen this before. I can't find any documentation about it either.
If I am on the box as "root", the bdf command works. But if I am a normal user, I get this....

$ bdf
bdf: unable to lock /etc/mnttab after 100 tries
bdf: /etc/mnttab: Permission denied

I been checking the permissions everywhere and have not found a problem with them yet.

I do not use NFS.

[Patrick Wallek]

What are the permissions on your /etc/mnttab?

Mine, on a system where bdf works as a normal user, are:

$ ll /etc/mnttab
-rw-r--r-- 1 root sys 446 Mar 18 10:47 /etc/mnttab

[Steve Post]

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1027 Apr 13 07:40 /etc/mnttab

[Sundar_7]

Would you like to try this as root ?

# mv /etc/mnttab /etc/mnttab.OLD
# mount

Now login as normal user and try

# bdf

[Sundar_7]

Would you like to try this as root ?

# mv /etc/mnttab /etc/mnttab.OLD
# mount

Now login as normal user and try

$ bdf

[Patrick Wallek · Accepted solution]

Have a look at this thread:
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=932590

Particularly the part about checking / changing permission on the bdf program. bdf on my systems do have 4555 (-r-sr-xr-x) permissions and are owned by root:bin.

[Steve Post]

You guys got it. I KNEW it was a simple problem. (ok. ...I HOPED it was a simple problem).

I sorry I had to open a new forum thread on this. I couldn't find anything about permission errors with the bdf command.

I should have looked for mnttab permission errors.

oh well.

[Patrick Wallek]

Just as an FYI -- very rarely do I use the Forums search. I usually use google. I found the Forums thread I mentioned via Google by searching with "hp-ux bdf lock /etc/mnttab"

[Steve Post]

Yeah, I goggled first.

I was searching for the string "bdf: unable to lock". I thought the error was something to due with a program testing some type of lock.

It's pretty weird that a few words difference can make me think that information doesn't exist.

I just have to remember my thesaurus.

[Dennis Handly]

>I just have to remember my thesaurus.

Shh, don't tell Google :-), but perhaps there should be search that automatically does that.

Patrick: I usually use google.

Do you search with site:hp.com? That cut it from 324 to 160.

[Patrick Wallek]

Dennis,

Sometimes. Sometime site:forums.itrc.hp.com. It just depends on what I'm looking for.