[NMLUG] Allowing noschg in multi-user mode on Mac OS X

[lwwoody at comcast.net (Larry W. Wood)]

On Jul 9, 07, at 10:40 AM, Michael Maddex wrote:
> Have you tried using the "sudo" command?  For example:
> $ sudo chflags noschg test.txt

Unfortunately, that won't work!  Kelly is exactly right in everything  
he described.
As root, you can set the system immutable flag, but you cannot unset it.
Also, unfortunately, once you set the flag on a file, you cannot make  
any changes to the file, including deleting it.
This is true, at least, in my version of bash:

		GNU bash, version 2.05b.0(1)-release (powerpc-apple-darwin8.0)
		Copyright (C) 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

I tested this by creating my own test.txt and setting the "schg" flag.
Now I have a 0-byte file that I can't get rid of easily.
I trust that Kelly is also correct that by booting into single-user  
mode, I will be able to unset the flag or delete the file.
That's too much trouble to go to to remove a small file that is  
causing no problems, so far.
If it starts to affect my backup procedure, however, I'll quickly  
change my mind.

Why this condition exists, I have no idea.  But I don't like it  
either!           --  Woody



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