Another Solaris locked room puzzle.

[reddragdiva]

My task: to recover a box from three DATs created using find [mount point] -mount -print | cpio -ovc -C32768 > /dev/rmt/0 for each of root, /var and /usr. The reverse command is some variation on cpio -ivcdmu -C32768 -I /dev/rmt/0. But which variation?

• Doing a complete install and splattering the tape contents across the file system gives a broken box. (Ever used a Windows install which has had components added or removed using a different version to the original install? Like that only so bad it won't even go into single-user.)

• Booting from CD, I can't work out how to get the files where I need them mounting the relevant slice for each mount point on /mnt.

• GNU cpio has --no-absolute-filenames (just what I need), but Solaris 8 cpio doesn't.

• I tried running it in a chroot, but chroot looks for the command you give it inside the chroot, where of course it isn't (and nor are all the libraries it needs, and copying /usr/lib into the chroot isn't sufficient). Same for the tape drive. (Though I've worked around that one by dumping the cpio archive to the disk, and cpio can at least open the dumped copy.)

Note that I have no idea if the archives actually add up to a working system when applied to a bare box. At least the tapes are still good. For now. Note also the box is not networked and won't be unless and until it's restored — all I have is a bare machine, some Solaris 8 CDs and three DATs.

Ideas please!

Comments

[reddragdiva]

It acted like an operating system where someone had splattered incompatible config files all over the thing and it couldn't even go into single-user. You've probably been lucky enough never to see a Windows install which has had components added or removed using a different version to the original install; it was acting a bit like that. But the install the tapes were of was (as I am told, which of course is orthogonal to being true) from Solaris 8 02/02, in fact the exact same CDs I booted it off this time.

Gah. All Unix sucks.

[lithiana.livejournal.com]

well that sounds fun. i once tried to repair a solaris system with a missing /usr (thinking that, you know, it might actually be usable without a /usr? otherwise i wouldn't've made it separate to start with). ended up reinstalling it instead...

[reddragdiva]

"well that sounds fun."

Thankfully, failing well with a report afterwards counts as almost as successful as succeeding. Possibly more so, because it involves a Word document. Ah, conslutting!