I tried applying a single patch using patchadd in single user mode and got the same error. patchadd works when the system is up.
My kernel patch is 138888-05. I had been using the April 13 update. I thought it might be corrupt since it took so long to download, so I downloaded the April 19 release today. Same result. I also thought maybe the zip fix had not been applied since the 1st patch in the cluster was 119254-73. So I applied that patch (not in single user mode), deleted the 10_Recommended directory and unzipped the cluster again. Same result.
It looks like patching only works when the system is fully booted, which is not recommended. The next patch in the list to apply is 142251-01, which specifically states to apply in single user mode.
The log files are not telling me much and the audit files are not recording anything useful. I will look at truss, but could there be some service or proccess turned off in single user mode that is available in normal mode that the install process requires. The system gets locked down pretty hard by security, which often breaks our system.
Thanks in advance.
Ken
---------- Post updated at 03:57 PM ---------- Previous update was at 01:08 PM ----------
I can't believe it is so simple or even required. I had placed the patch cluster in /patch/10 Recommended. The problem was /patch only had permissions of 700. So even though /patch/10 Recommended has permissions of 755, the script would not execute. Apparently, the patchadd proccess looks for an "install user" and if it doesn't exist it switches to "nobody". If "nobody" doesn't have permissions, the install crashes. Permissions must propagate from the root, not just the 10 Recommended directory. I opened up everything from root to 777 and it worked.
So in other words, to log into single user mode you need to pass the firmware password and the root password. Then once you start applying patches, patchadd uses a different user who may or may not exist or have permissions! Ridiculous.
Anyway, here are a couple links I found explaining the situation:
Patch 124672-06 failed to install due to a failure produced by pkgadd. - Shitalkumar Patel's Weblog
SUMMARY: patchadd/pkgadd failed for 114219-11
It probably could have fixed this issue as well:
patchadd error
Thanks to all for you help.
Ken
