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- TECHNICAL BULLETIN
- Bulletin #1-255
-
- October 26, 1989
-
- BINDFIX Aberration
-
- When BINDFIX.EXE is executed under the following conditions, data loss will
- occur:
-
- The NetWare operating system is version 2.15 or below.
-
- The NetWare shell being used on the workstation where BINDFIX.EXE
- is being executed is a NetWare 386 shell, version 3.0.
-
- The NetWare 386 v3.0 shell is using the "SHOW DOTS ON" parameter.
- The default for this parameter is ON.
-
- A user has been deleted from the bindery without the corresponding
- mail directory being deleted. This occurs when the SYSCON utility
- being used was an earlier version shipped with NetWare v2.11 or
- below and the shell being used is a NetWare 386 version 3.0 shell.
-
- The BINDFIX user answers "Yes" to the question, "Delete mail
- directories of users that no longer exist?"
-
- NOTE: Data loss will occur only when all the above conditions are met.
-
-
- The Cause
-
- The early versions of SYSCON.EXE were not prepared to deal with the
- directory entry '.' (from the SHELL.CFG parameter "SHOW DOTS = ON").
- This resulted in the user mail directory not being properly deleted.
-
- BINDFIX.EXE, similarly, is unable to deal with the '.' directory entry.
- When it attempts to delete mail directories of nonexistent users, it will
- get caught in a loop of deleting files and directories.
-
-
- Preventive Measures
-
- We recommend that NetWare users use the 3.0 shell only with NetWare
- 386 file servers and with NetWare 386 utilities.
-
- In an internetwork environment where it may be necessary to use the
- 3.0 shell with 2.1x file servers, place the command "SHOW DOTS =
- OFF" in the SHELL.CFG file.
-
- Users of some applications need the "SHOW DOTS = ON" parameter set.
- Make sure that they have insufficient rights to run BINDFIX.EXE.
-
- Make sure that there are no versions of SYSCON.EXE on your
- internetwork that are earlier than NetWare version 2.12.
-
- Maintain current backups.