your $HOME/.dmrc file has incorrect permissions problem

[levi-ubuntu]

When i try the above commands i get as result:

sudo: unable to lookup ubuntu-on-acer via gethostbyname()


what shoudl i do..

[jwh400]

sudo chmod 644 .dmrc

After entering that it sits waiting for another command. I think this is why most people are intimidated by Linux. After someone says enter this command and we do and nothing happens, we don't know what to do next. After several failures at command line computing (especially the folly known as gksudo nautilus), we approach the command line with the same confidence one has when playing the lottery.

sudo chown (your user name) /.dmrc

I tried this with and without the slash and a space between my username and .dmrc. After entering it without the slash it sat waiting for another command. Entering with the slash gave me, "cannot access `/.dmrc': No such file or directory".

My problem isn't identical to Justin's and I don't mean to hijack his thread but I think the solution to his problem would also solve mine and vis-a-vis. I have a lot of files that were transfered from Windows that can't be written to, moved, or copied because "You're not the owner". gksudo nautilus is not the same as root because I'm still not the owner. Running in gksudo nautilus will exchange the locked folder icon for one that isn't locked but the files inside still aren't mine and I can't make them mine. My computers are;

Cyberpower
AMD 64

Toshiba A20 S207
Intel P4

Problem is identical on both.

[Mustard]

When i try the above commands i get as result:

sudo: unable to lookup ubuntu-on-acer via gethostbyname()


what shoudl i do..

It sounds like your /etc/hosts file is misconfigured.

To edit the /etc/hosts file, you would need to get to a root prompt (as your sudo command will not be working with a misconfigured hosts file). The easiest way to do this is to use the recovery mode option from the grub menu at bootup.

When you get to a root prompt, open up the /etc/hosts file with this command.

nano /etc/hosts

The /etc/hosts file normally looks something like this...

127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain   localhost       slave

# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1     ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters
ff02::3 ip6-allhosts

What you need to do is to edit the first line so that it contains a hostname for your computer. Mine is called 'slave' as you can see above. You can choose any name you like. The current hostname can be found by using the 'hostname' command. By default ubuntu uses the hostname 'ubuntu'.

The first line should look something like this if you were using the hostname, 'ubuntu' for example..

127.0.0.1       localhost.localdomain   localhost       ubuntu

An additional command you can look at with regards to hostnames is this command below.

hostname #returns the current hostname
hostname <hostname>  #sets the hostname according to the value entered for <hostname>

[zorkerz]

I tried this with and without the slash and a space between my username and .dmrc. After entering it without the slash it sat waiting for another command. Entering with the slash gave me, "cannot access `/.dmrc': No such file or directory".

it it is waiting for another command chances are you have already changed the owner. Navigate to it in nautilus press Ctrl+H to show hidden files (the . infront of .dmrc means its hidden), then right click and select properties. See if you are now the owner of the file. Another way to enter the same command is like this

sudo chown (your user name) /home/(your username)/.dmrc

however this is just typeing extra unnecissary characters.
It is confuseing when it immediatly waits for another command, but that should mean that the previous command you entered worked without a hitch.
elias

[Peacepunk]

I am assuming people here would finally have set the proper permissions & ownerships.

I am astonished when I read a reply to a newbie that just says "Easy, man, just Chmod it": without exact llines of code, we starters are dead. I pretty much feel close to this Lottery Guy, that's right. Never know what's the output will look like.

So, just in case, And I am Checking this in a terminal @ the same time, to be sure not to give fake info:

Open this F@$@%&*ing terminal. Use a fresh session if you are already playing around for a while. I mean: close the Terminal and open it again.

It should simply show

username@machinename:~$

it means you are into your home folder, it is the default starting location.

Breathe.

sudo chmod 644 .dmrc

then

sudo chown username .dmrc

where username is the name of the folder the .dmrc file is into; typically, it is your login name at startup, unless you are trying to correct the problem for another user on your computer

to check the result using the terminal;

ls .dmrc -l

should return something like

-rw-r--r-- 1 ownername groupownername followed by a timestamp

You can copy & paste all this into the terminal if you like, as long as you replace username by the right name for your system. To paste into the terminal, it's Shift+Ctrl+V

how to check in normal folder view (Nautilus)

open your home folder from the drop-down menu "places"

Hit "Ctrl + H" to reveal hidden files and folders

scroll down until you find the file .dmrc, right click, point to the "permissions" tab:

You should see file Owner, group owner and permissions checkboxes. At the bottom there is the Text view -rw-r--r-- and the number view 644.

You good now.

BUT I AM NOT

Why ? Because I still have this warning each time I boot. With the correct settings...

Have fun with Ubuntu !!

[Marquis_de_Carabas]

After installing a new hard drive and transferring my home directory across I had this same problem (not sure what I did, but I must have messed up the transfer process somehow).

.dmrc was owned by me and its permissions were correct, but I was still having the problem.

Then I tried mysurface's suggestion, and that cleared the problem up.

So if anyone's still stuck on this try:

cd ~
sudo chmod 644 .dmrc
sudo chown username .dmrc
sudo chmod 755 /home/username
sudo chown username /home/username

(Obviously you replace "username" with whatever your username is...)

[Peacepunk]

Nope ladies & gentlemen,

/home/username is set to 775
/home/username/.dmrc is set to 644

And, yet, still this warning.

...On a brand new computer, first installation, right after updating the system...

offtopic: never buy Sony Vaio, they're ****. Life expectancy: 14 months at best.

I am assuming there is a bug in the auto-updates softs that is being downloaded after you first intall 5.10 - I noticed several warnings coming alongside the auto-update tool, and in the list of unsupported softs (most of them, actually) was a "Login" update, among others.

Shall we move this thread on how to progressively reverse recently applied patches? Yes, my "sources.list" is heavily unlocked, Universe/Multiverse: Can the wrong patch come from there ? Do we have in common that we all played around too much with the ressources listed in "sources.list" ?

##EDIT: "Login" software Force-Downgraded to Disk Version, nothing better END OF EDIT##

BTW, I even tried to suppress the .dmrc file. Nothing more happened, only the boot that complains an unexisting file got wrong permissions... A non-existant file... Kinda funny.

[Peacepunk]

Ok folks, some more on .dmrc issues:

We are talking here about a brand new laptop (Remember: Never Buy A Vaio), new fresh install on an unformatted hard disk.

Whole system Ubuntu-dedicated, no other OS'es, 5.10 "breezy"

-At first "boot", and reboot, OK without .dmrc warning, at least.
-I Denied any UpGrade, suspecting one of them may contain a Bug:

This is NOT the issue

-Two only other things I did, in the first 24 hours of use on this empty computer, causing the .dmrc issue to arise again as soon as I rebooted:

1) Installed various MPEG libs, required to play DVD & MP3 files.
2) Networked (using SMB) the /home dir to put my personnal data back on the new computer. It does means I changed permissions, as allowing "Write" in the networking details of SMB is actually not enough for writing files on the Laptop's HDD.

I am talking here about the real /home dir, with support for browsing subfolders, not the /home/USERNAM dir.

Got the .dmrc warning on reboot, then. And then, whatever the values I chmoded it with, the warning would stay.

I then tried to put ALL FILES including /home to 644, it killed Ubuntu who wasn't able to boot my Gnome Desktop anymore.

Until I am fully cooled down, I will, such I did with my main Desktop, drop the ball with Ubuntu & get back to Suse93. Alas.

End of the Story.

(offtopic: I abandonned Ubuntu on my Desktop because of inconsistencies in handling USB devices: Sometimes, they would appear when plugged, and sometimes not. As I WORK for REAL with computers, I had to cut it short & get an OS that works.)

I may give it another try, be it Badger or Dapper, on my spare time.

Cheer lads, keep on exchanging experiences, Ubuntu is a trully great project. For people that likes to potter around computers.

_

[LordMerlin]

Ok folks, some more on .dmrc issues:

We are talking here about a brand new laptop (Remember: Never Buy A Vaio), new fresh install on an unformatted hard disk.

Whole system Ubuntu-dedicated, no other OS'es, 5.10 "breezy"

-At first "boot", and reboot, OK without .dmrc warning, at least.
-I Denied any UpGrade, suspecting one of them may contain a Bug:

This is NOT the issue

-Two only other things I did, in the first 24 hours of use on this empty computer, causing the .dmrc issue to arise again as soon as I rebooted:

1) Installed various MPEG libs, required to play DVD & MP3 files.
2) Networked (using SMB) the /home dir to put my personnal data back on the new computer. It does means I changed permissions, as allowing "Write" in the networking details of SMB is actually not enough for writing files on the Laptop's HDD.

I am talking here about the real /home dir, with support for browsing subfolders, not the /home/USERNAM dir.

Got the .dmrc warning on reboot, then. And then, whatever the values I chmoded it with, the warning would stay.

I then tried to put ALL FILES including /home to 644, it killed Ubuntu who wasn't able to boot my Gnome Desktop anymore.

Until I am fully cooled down, I will, such I did with my main Desktop, drop the ball with Ubuntu & get back to Suse93. Alas.

End of the Story.

(offtopic: I abandonned Ubuntu on my Desktop because of inconsistencies in handling USB devices: Sometimes, they would appear when plugged, and sometimes not. As I WORK for REAL with computers, I had to cut it short & get an OS that works.)

I may give it another try, be it Badger or Dapper, on my spare time.

Cheer lads, keep on exchanging experiences, Ubuntu is a trully great project. For people that likes to potter around computers.

_

Gee. Something like this makes me want to throw my PC(s) out of the window and get typewriter. I can't see why a Vaio would simply only last 14 monts. That's odd, but it's not odd to get a factory defect, since Sony(like most large manufacturers) manufacture these by the thousands a day. Funny how mine has lasted much much longer than 14 months.

Anyway. Something interesting which can be seen in this (like many threads on this forum), if something doesn't work for you, it doesn't. But that doesn't mean it's bad, and it's not working for many other people. This problem seems to be a problem due to many reasons. It's strange though that I have different problems with different Linux's. At this stage I use Suse 9.3, Ubuntu 5.10, Fedora 2, Mandiva 2005, FreeBSD 5.4. They all have their own strenghts (and weaknesses in some people's views). BUT, if they all had to have the same strenghts, then you sit with what MS has accomplished up to now. A LOT of strenghts (some are good, even), which DOES introduce a lot of weaknesses as well.

Heck, I can gaurentee you I'd be able to create problems in Windows (by doing normal day-to-day work), which can't be fixed. Some problems creep up by themselves, even some of those can't be fixed. Think about this before you say Ubuntu is bad, or it's not "Real computer work ready" Running it as a network file & print server / router / firewall with 70+ Windows PC's is real work. Using it for development is real work.

Just my 2c

[Ecthelion]

I know this .dmrc error 'cause I have the same,

I think the only reason why it comes is becuase you copy your old home dir to the new one, and copying along the .dmrc file

I had found the solutions above myself, but it didn't made the error go away. I suspect the error message is wrong and that the error is caused by something else.

Still i think Ubuntu is great, and doesn't make me being afraid of the command line, even if I have already done rather stupid stuff with it.
Just have some research instead of just copying everything someone says...


I also tried something else: making a new user and copying his default files to my home dir, and then change the owner... It didn't worked either, confirming my suspection that it is caused by something else then .dmrc

But don't do dramatic, if u get so angry about that message, just make a new user and don't copy your old home dir to it.
You wont have your problem then