Solaris

No need for another disk. Just boot a Solaris installation CD, select to run a shell from it, mount your / filesystem and fix the directory name.

Running programs have their libs already open and so by inode and mmap(), not path.

If any user has a mounted home dir, you can go elsewhere and add the mistake to LD_LIBRARY_PATH in their .kshrc, .profile, and then maybe their account might log in from the console or something.

If you have a running terminal anywhere, you can export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:mistake_dir. I keep a bunch per server, xterms under VNC Xvnc local desktop. I have used them like sacrificial troops when swap is full, one exec per screen to rm -rf /tmp (not as root).

As jlliagre also suggests, do you have your install CDROM?

Most people I know can't find them in emergencies, and with a 1998 model, I would be surprised if you can find yours.

Do you have an install disk or a bootable version of Solaris 8 anywhere?

If not, do you have another machine handy? If so, what is it?

---------- Post updated at 18:08 ---------- Previous update was at 18:04 ----------

In theory... but when you ssh into a box I believe the exec process will go to disk again to look for libs.

I could be wrong... but I have never got anything to work ever when I did this, and I have done it. I have removed the /lib directory before and I can't even get most commands to work.

And, as the poster confirms, he can't get in that way so the point is moot.

I have three hand-burned discs:

Solaris 8 10/01 Installation Disk
Solaris 8 10/01 Disk 1 of 2
Solaris 8 10/01 Disk 2 of 2

I don't know what 10/01 means...

---------- Post updated at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous update was at 01:11 PM ----------

I've tried getting to the terminal from different machines, no dice.

Great!! You are halfway to geek heaven!

One of the Solaris gurus like jlliagre can "bring you home" from here.

Thanks for stopping by and glad to get you on the road to recovery

Thank you so much everyone, this is all brand new to me, I was just trying to instal PHP on the machine and couldn't because I had to update libxml. I thought I read that when I update the libxml, it would create a lib directory, but I allready have a lib directory, and I knew it was important, so I renamed it to "lib_old" and before going any further after unpacking libxml2... and that's how I got where I am.

I did make a copy of lib on my windows machine, but I should have made the copy on the linux machine and called THAT "lib_backup"...

---------- Post updated at 01:18 PM ---------- Previous update was at 01:17 PM ----------

Once I insert the instal CD, and reboot, will it be self-explanatory from there, and give me the option to repair?

It isn't going to simply start installing Solaris 8, is it?

No worries!

We all have done the same thing or even worse at one time or another!

We have a lot of Solaris experts here to help you.

---------- Post updated at 18:21 ---------- Previous update was at 18:19 ----------

Hold your jets, jetjaguar... wait for one of the Solaris gurus to intercept your post and reply.