Tag: File system permissions

hen you are debugging a problem for hours and hours, you suddenly realize, “I bet it’s something really dumb!” It often is. Therefore, we present…
a list of dumb things to check
Update: 2009-11-25: People keep referring to this as if it was something I wrote to be funny. Damn it, this list is 100% true! These are all things that have happened to me and made me think, “I better write that down to help me remember it!” Even the last item!
Layer 0 – PEBKAC

1. Make sure CapsLock is off. (Same for ScrollLock and NumLock)
2. Type it again (without using cut-and-paste) and see if you get the same results. (good way to find a typo) (or a unicode “whitespace” char)
3. Use cut-and-paste to copy that variable name (or URL, commmand line, etc.) to see if it was entered correctly.
4. Are the binaries really the ones you think are running? (Did you install in single user mode when /opt wasn’t mounted? Can you check the md5 or sha1 checksum vs. a machine that is running properly?)
5. Check the file permissions.
6. Are you really on the host you think you are?

via Everything Sysadmin: a list of dumb things to check.
I’m officially adopting this list as a filter for people asking for help. If you haven’t done/checked if the stupid stuff is the one that is the stubling block do not ask for help. Exception is if you are hot!!! heheh!! joke joke joke!!!!