Repairing a User’s Path in Linux

By itecsadmin

Repairing a User’s Path in Linux

A problem can occur in Linux when the $PATH variable is incorrectly set, which prevents any commands from being found.

To fix this problem, follow these steps:

  1. Have the user log in to remote.eos.ncsu.edu via PuTTY.
    Above the eos$ prompt, it will say:
    -bash: quota: command not found
    -bash: uname: command not found
  2. Enter ls. It will say:
    -bash: ls: command not found
     Note: Everything until this point proves that the $PATH is incorrectly set. So you need to copy a good $PATH from someone else’s profile.
  3. Open another instance of PuTTY, log in to PuTTY as yourself, then echo $PATH and copy the resulting line into the clipboard.
  4. Going back to the user’s instance, type eos$ export PATH= and then paste the copied line.
  5. Enter echo $PATH again to ensure that $PATH is set correctly.
  6. Edit the .bashrc and .mybashrc files using vim to make sure the proper $PATH is there.
    eos$ vim .mybashrc

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