Hello, New to group/New to Linux

I am having a problem getting crontab to run a job automatically. In
my /var/log/cron file I get this error:

Jun 2 13:57:19 fedora1 crond[17652]: (root~) ORPHAN (no passwd entry)
Jun 2 13:57:19 fedora1 crond[17652]: (cactiuser~) ORPHAN (no passwd
entry)

>From googling this error message, it looks like there are no entries
for these users in my /etc/passwd file. However, these users are cut
and pasted below from my 'passwd' file:

root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
cactiuser:x:502:502:Cacti User Account:/home/cactiuser:/bin/bash

I don't know if this is a stupid question or not. This is my first
linux install and I am trying to get this to work.

Thanks in advance.

David

dhardy@backroads.net wrote:
> Hello, New to group/New to Linux
>
> I am having a problem getting crontab to run a job automatically. In
> my /var/log/cron file I get this error:
>
> Jun 2 13:57:19 fedora1 crond[17652]: (root~) ORPHAN (no passwd entry)
> Jun 2 13:57:19 fedora1 crond[17652]: (cactiuser~) ORPHAN (no passwd
> entry)

Here are the last two entries in my /var/log/cron file:

Jun 2 14:30:00 trillian CROND[4039]: (jdb) CMD (/home/jdb/sensors.sh)
Jun 2 14:35:00 trillian CROND[4230]: (jdb) CMD (/home/jdb/.sigfile)

N.B.: the users are _jdb_, NOT _jdb~_.

>>From googling this error message, it looks like there are no entries
> for these users in my /etc/passwd file. However, these users are cut
> and pasted below from my 'passwd' file:
>
> root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
> cactiuser:x:502:502:Cacti User Account:/home/cactiuser:/bin/bash
>
Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that is true.

> I don't know if this is a stupid question or not. This is my first
> linux install and I am trying to get this to work.

Normally, stuff like this works right away after you do the install. I have
never had a problem like this. I imagine you screwed something up in your
installation.

You did use _crontab -e_ to build those crontab entries in /var/spool/cron,
did you hot?

--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 14:35:00 up 4 days, 21:10, 4 users, load average: 4.20, 4.20, 4.40

Thanks for the response

You said:

Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that
is true.

I don't see a way to change this--do you have any suggestions other
than reload the OS?

By the way, I did use crontab -e.

Thank you again for the respose

SCAutiger wrote:
> Thanks for the response
>
> You said:
>
> Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
> logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that
> is true.
>
> I don't see a way to change this--do you have any suggestions other than
> reload the OS?
>
> By the way, I did use crontab -e.
>
My guess is that the easiest way to fix this is to reload the OS from the
distribution disks. If I understood the intricasies of the cron system, I
might just reload those packages. Someone who knows might be able to find
where those tildas are coming from.

Somewhere, the cron system picks up your userid and converts it to a name.
Wherever that is, it is sticking on a tilde and it must not. But unless
someone knows where that is going on, reloading the whole system may be the
simplest way. Be sure you backup critial files if you have any. If you have
only been running a couple of days, you probably do not have any.


--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 16:20:00 up 4 days, 22:55, 3 users, load average: 4.44, 4.32, 4.21

Jean-David Beyer <jdbeyer@exit109.com> wrote:
> dhardy@backroads.net wrote:
> > Hello, New to group/New to Linux
> >
> > I am having a problem getting crontab to run a job automatically. In
> > my /var/log/cron file I get this error:
> >
> > Jun 2 13:57:19 fedora1 crond[17652]: (root~) ORPHAN (no passwd entry)
> > Jun 2 13:57:19 fedora1 crond[17652]: (cactiuser~) ORPHAN (no passwd
> > entry)

> Here are the last two entries in my /var/log/cron file:

> Jun 2 14:30:00 trillian CROND[4039]: (jdb) CMD (/home/jdb/sensors.sh)
> Jun 2 14:35:00 trillian CROND[4230]: (jdb) CMD (/home/jdb/.sigfile)

> N.B.: the users are _jdb_, NOT _jdb~_.

Yes. He has left backup editor files in the crontabs directory. The
file names end with a tilda. Is that emacs?

> >>From googling this error message, it looks like there are no entries
> > for these users in my /etc/passwd file. However, these users are cut
> > and pasted below from my 'passwd' file:
> >
> > root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
> > cactiuser:x:502:502:Cacti User Account:/home/cactiuser:/bin/bash
> >
> Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
> logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that is true.

Well done. Well noticed. Good eyesight there!

Peter

In comp.os.linux.setup SCAutiger <dhardy@laurens55.k12.sc.us>:
> Thanks for the response

> You said:

> Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
> logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that
> is true.

> I don't see a way to change this--do you have any suggestions other
> than reload the OS?

Look at:

ls -l /var/spool/cron

And delete those with ~ appended, perhaps restart crond in
addition and see if this fixes things. There's zero reason to
reinstall Linux for such a minor problem, perhaps you have used
doze to much?

Unsure for reasons, perhaps you have set $EDITOR or/and $VISUAL
somewhere? I haven't and the system happily uses vi(m) as
standard editor, as it should.

--
Michael Heiming (X-PGP-Sig > GPG-Key ID: EDD27B94)
mail: echo zvpunry@urvzvat.qr | perl -pe 'y/a-z/n-za-m/'
#bofh excuse 255: Standing room only on the bus.

Michael Heiming wrote:
> In comp.os.linux.setup SCAutiger <dhardy@laurens55.k12.sc.us>:
>
>>Thanks for the response
>
>
>>You said:
>
>
>>Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
>>logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that
>>is true.
>
>
>>I don't see a way to change this--do you have any suggestions other
>>than reload the OS?
>
>
> Look at:
>
> ls -l /var/spool/cron
>
> And delete those with ~ appended, perhaps restart crond in
> addition and see if this fixes things. There's zero reason to
> reinstall Linux for such a minor problem, perhaps you have used
> doze to much?
>
> Unsure for reasons, perhaps you have set $EDITOR or/and $VISUAL
> somewhere? I haven't and the system happily uses vi(m) as
> standard editor, as it should.
>
You know, that is an idea.

I bet at some time, someone edited those files in /var/spool/cron with emacs
in spite of the fact that the files specifically say (at the beginning):

DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE.

If I use _crontab -e_ it sticks me in vi and it edits without creating the
"backup file", the ones with the tilde suffix.

--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 07:40:01 up 6 days, 14:15, 3 users, load average: 4.25, 4.23, 4.11

"Michael Heiming" <michael+USENET@www.heiming.de> wrote in message
news:fe86n2-v9k.ln1@news.heiming.de...
> In comp.os.linux.setup SCAutiger <dhardy@laurens55.k12.sc.us>:
>> Thanks for the response
>
>> You said:
>
>> Your /etc/passwd does not have tildas after the user names. Since your
>> logfile complains that those with tildas after do not exist, I bet that
>> is true.
>
>> I don't see a way to change this--do you have any suggestions other
>> than reload the OS?
>
> Look at:
>
> ls -l /var/spool/cron
>
> And delete those with ~ appended, perhaps restart crond in
> addition and see if this fixes things. There's zero reason to
> reinstall Linux for such a minor problem, perhaps you have used

Ahh. $5 says he was editing the files directly with "emacs
/var/spool/cron/name", instead of using "crontab -e" which does sanity
checking and lockfile management and other tricks without leaving accidental
debris in /var/spool/cron.

This is an old, old, old problem. It's why tools like "crontab -e" and
"vipw" for editing password files and "vigr" for editing group files exist.

> Unsure for reasons, perhaps you have set $EDITOR or/and $VISUAL
> somewhere? I haven't and the system happily uses vi(m) as
> standard editor, as it should.

Emacs does this, not vi.

In article <119urabr93nt099@corp.supernews.com>,
Jean-David Beyer <jdbeyer@exit109.com> wrote:

>My guess is that the easiest way to fix this is to reload the OS from the
>distribution disks.

This isn't Dimdows--you don't fix problems by doing a full OS install as
a matter of course.

I would wait to see if other simpler fixes do the trick. My money's on
the leftover-files-with-tilde-suffix-in/var/spool/cron one.

Lawrence D¹Oliveiro wrote:
> In article <119urabr93nt099@corp.supernews.com>,
> Jean-David Beyer <jdbeyer@exit109.com> wrote:
>
>
>>My guess is that the easiest way to fix this is to reload the OS from the
>>distribution disks.
>
>
> This isn't Dimdows--you don't fix problems by doing a full OS install as
> a matter of course.

In the case of a new user who just installed a Linux distribution and
screwed up something, it is no doubt far easier to do a full OS install than
to figure out what is the trouble.
>
> I would wait to see if other simpler fixes do the trick. My money's on
> the leftover-files-with-tilde-suffix-in/var/spool/cron one.

Sure, that is likely the problem. Trouble is, IIRC, the O.P. asserted that
he used crontab -e to make the cron files up there. No I doubt that, but
rather than calling the O.P. names, it seemed easier to reinstall than have
him track down the problem. Besides, a new user can benefit from the
practice of doing a few installs. He might read parts of the installation
dialog as it goes by and notice things he overlooked the first time, for one
thing. It is not that there is most of a long-running system out there.

--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ PGP-Key: 9A2FC99A Registered Machine 241939.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 23:15:00 up 9 days, 5:51, 3 users, load average: 4.71, 4.36, 4.23