SCO Unix /etc/passwd question

Lee Sailer UH2 at psuvm.psu.edu
Tue Jul 24 09:44:56 AEST 1990


There is this big warning in the manuals---do not edit /etc/passwd
with a text editor!!!!---which I have just ignored.  Am I in for
trouble.

The problem:  Several early users had accounts created with home directories
in /usr.  But I wanted them in the newly created /u.  Sysadmsh doesn't
seem to have a "move user's HOME directory" command.  So, like in the
"old days" 8-) I edited /etc/passwd to indicate /u/userid for each
home directory, and used tar to move everyone's files.

So far, it seems to have worked.  But that warning has me a little
nervous.

So.  Am I in trouble, or what?

Perhaps someone who has stayed abreast of developments in 3.2
would explain how the new passwd system works, since the encrypted
string are no longer in plain view.  Where'd they go?

                 thanks.



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