/dev/initctl

/dev/initctl

[Jim Holliaoke]

Folks,
    When I try to boot my linux system using a rescue
disk, login as root, mount my root filesystem,
pivot_root to it and try to execute '/sbin/init', I
get an error that says 'error opening/writing control
channel /dev/initctl'. I understand that /dev/initctl
is a FIFO that used to pass messages to init and the
error message is probably caused by the absence of the
running process on the other end to pick up the
message, but isn't this the feat that an initrd
achieves with no special effort? Am I understanding
this right or is executing init from an interactive
shell prohibited?

    I have tried to find an anwser at several places
on the internet, to no avail. I'd love it if someone
could clarify this for me. 

    Please CC me as I'm not subscribed to the list.

thanks,
Jim

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Re: /dev/initctl

[Miquel van Smoorenburg]

In article <20030120223459.57535.qmail@web21512.mail.yahoo.com>,
Jim Holliaoke  <jholliaoke@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>    When I try to boot my linux system using a rescue
>disk, login as root, mount my root filesystem,
>pivot_root to it and try to execute '/sbin/init', I
>get an error that says 'error opening/writing control
>channel /dev/initctl'. I understand that /dev/initctl
>is a FIFO that used to pass messages to init and the
>error message is probably caused by the absence of the
>running process on the other end to pick up the
>message, but isn't this the feat that an initrd
>achieves with no special effort? Am I understanding
>this right or is executing init from an interactive
>shell prohibited?

Exactly, you cannot execute init from a shell. Init *must* have
process-id #1. If your shell is PID #1, try exec /sbin/init

If init isn't PID #1, it behaves like 'telinit'.

Mike.
-- 
They all laughed when I said I wanted to build a joke-telling machine.
Well, I showed them! Nobody's laughing *now*! -- acesteves@clix.pt