🚀 go-pugleaf

Y'know, if you ever think of trying to delete any netboot (bootptab,
bootparams) entries in NetInfo, DO NOT empty out the corresponding flatfile
and niload -d bootptab/bootparam it.

It'll blow away /machines.

No /machines, no serves property.

No serves property, no NetInfo.  I couldn't even use the niutil tag stuff to
GET to the database to FIX it.

So I do a restore (in singleuser mode, no NetInfo running) of it, and use an
ninparse script that I wisely created minutes before I blew everything away,
to bring NetInfo back up to snuff.

Did you all know that niutil -create will create a duplicate entry, unlike
niutil -createprop which BEHAVES ITSELF?

Anyway.

I finally get NetInfo restored (the niunparse *after* the fact is identical
to the niunparse *before* the fact).  Reboot.

loginwindow:  can't find WindowServer port! <kaboom>

NetInfo works fine.  I can boot into console mode just fine.  But I can't get
the damn WindowServer to come up.  It runs according to lastcomm, but then it
dies with an ignominious "X".  netstat shows the machine frantically trying
what looks like every friggin' port on the machine, looking for the
WindowServer (lots and lots of TIME_WAITs).

I restored /usr/lib from a good machine.  Still no go.

When it reboots, it says stuff like
unmounting /local... done
unmounting / ... done
unmounting / ... done
unmounting /NextUsers ... done
unmounting / ... done

not exactly, but there IS no /local in any NetInfo mounts database or fstab
file, and why is it unmounting / so many times?

fsck reports no errors.

I'm at a complete loss.  Looks like I'm in for a 4 hour complete restore
(optical disks are so bloody slow).

Does ANYBODY have ANY hint WHATSOEVER as to what exactly I did to the poor
machine and what can be done to fix it without a full restore?  It's a
NeXTdimension system (USED to be our NetInfo server :-( ), which usually runs
NeXTstep 2.1.

Replies being sent to matthews@ectds.com.  Please respond by Email as our
news feed probably won't pick this message up until tomorrow, so I won't see
any replies until next week.
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Mike Matthews, matthews@oberon.umd.edu (NeXTmail accepted)
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Let me play with it first and I'll tell you what it is later.
- Miles Davis