/etc/.pwd.lock problem

[Sai Krishna]

Hello,

I  have to remove in  /etc/.pwd.lock  in my server to which Im connected  through ssh as root. I cant afford to reboot the server(as it is live)  and login through  kernel mode and remove it. Is there any other solution?

Thank You
Sai Krishna

--
Sai Krishna

[Jeremiah Bess]

Google Search:
--Begin --
/etc/.pwd.lock is the lock file. It is used to coordinate
modification access to the password files /etc/passwd and
/etc/shadow. lckpwdf and ulckpwdf are routines that are
used to gain modification access to the password files,
through the lock file. A process first uses lckpwdf to lock
the lock file thereby gaining exclusive rights to modify the
/etc/passwd or /etc/shadow password file. Upon completing
modifications, a process should release the lock on the lock
file via ulckpwdf. This mechanism prevents simultaneous
modification of the password files. i.e. it is a sentinel file,
never modified, only locked and unlocked as required. Think
of it as a semaphore.
-- End --

You should be able to delete the file as root. I would first check the process list to make sure passwd is not being used. BTW, what distro are you running?

--
Jeremiah E. Bess
Network Ninja, Penguin Geek, Father of twins