oem-config does not create new user

[jefcanuk]

Binary package hint: oem-config

after installing Feisty on a Toshiba M45-S265, I manually installed oem-config then ran oem-config-prepare. While running through step 4 (create user) dialog box closes on it's own (i.e without me clicking anything), X restarts and a new user is not created. Reboot into single user mode, run oem-config-prepare again, same result.

[Torsten Spindler (tspindler)]

Did you add a new user before running oem-config-prepare? If so, there is a duplicate bug report 153310.

[Loye Young (loyeyoung)]

Torsten,

I am pretty sure you are right that this IS a duplicate, but from the sequence of events described, I don't think it would have been necessary to add a new user to get this result.

If oem-config were manually installed, then by necessity a user already was created (i.e., some existing user had to do the installing). Unless the existing username was "oem", the same crash would happen as in 153310, and for the same reasons.

Loye

[jefcanuk (jefcanuk)]

I created a user at installation. Looks like a dupe. Thanks.

On Feb 12, 2008 4:40 PM, Loye Young <email address hidden> wrote:

> Torsten,
>
> I am pretty sure you are right that this IS a duplicate, but from the
> sequence of events described, I don't think it would have been necessary
> to add a new user to get this result.
>
> If oem-config were manually installed, then by necessity a user already
> was created (i.e., some existing user had to do the installing). Unless
> the existing username was "oem", the same crash would happen as in
> 153310, and for the same reasons.
>
> Loye
>
> --
> oem-config does not create new user
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/139705
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

[Loye Young (loyeyoung)]

I thought of a work-around for the particular situation described.

If the machine had exactly one non-system user account, the following would work around it:

* Change the username to "oem"
* Move the home directory from "/home/username" to "/home/oem"
* Either (i) change every instance of the string "/home/username" to "$HOME" in all the files in /home/oem (using a recursive search, of course) (the safer option), or
          (ii) reboot into single user mode and delete the contents of /home/oem, and then reboot regularly (allowing the OS to repopulate the home directory) (the quicker, but possibly dangerous option).
* As user "oem", finish configuring the machine and issue oem-config-prepare as in the normal case.

I've pulled it off before. It's not a terribly complex procedure, but consideration should be given to starting over by deleting the partition and reinstalling with the alternate install disk. Most of the time that ends up being cleaner and faster.

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

While I accept this issue, it only happens if you use oem-config outside of the normal recommended OEM installation procedure, so I don't consider it high-priority at the moment.