[Pkg-utopia-maintainers] Bug#496221: invalid group "haldaemon"

[Robert Millan]

On Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 06:21:27PM +0200, Michael Biebl wrote:
> Robert Millan wrote:
> > Package: hal
> > Version: 0.5.11-3
> > Severity: serious
> > 
> > Postinst failed while installing gparted (which dragged in hal):
> > 
> > S'està configurant hal (0.5.11-3) ...
> > chown: el grup no és vàlid: haldaemon:haldaemon
> > dpkg: s'ha produït un error en processar hal (--configure):
> >  el subprocés post-installation script retornà el codi d'eixida d'error 1
> > 
> > hal seems to assume incorrectly that group "haldaemon" exists.
> 
> Please see #460107 for details.
> 
> I'd be interested how it is possible, that a user haldaemon exists, but
> no group haldaemon. Have you copied /etc/passwd from somewhere else?
> Do you use something like ldap or NIS (where the haldaemon user is
> defined). Anything special about your setup.

This is a chroot;  I copied /etc/passwd along with /etc/group when creating
it, but that must have been a while ago.  Anyway, the original versions I used
are from an etch system and have both the user and the group.

I don't use ldap or NIS.

Sorry that I can't be of more help in determining how this came to be;  anyway,
wouldn't it be better not to make any assumptions in the script?  I.e. for both
user & group, create if they weren't there.  Then it can cope with a variety of
situations in which the groups aren't there (including PEBCAKs).

-- 
Robert Millan

  The DRM opt-in fallacy: "Your data belongs to us. We will decide when (and
  how) you may access your data; but nobody's threatening your freedom: we
  still allow you to remove your data and not access it at all."