Hostname change made my Linux box go crazy! Please, help.

Hi,
I've been asking questions about Samba install before and this
question sort of relates to that but I thought I put it in a different
thread.
Trying to get Samba installed I was advised to change my hostname
because my network was saying that localhost already exists.
Anyway, on my Linux box I went into system->Network
Configuration->Hosts.
I think I should have added a host but instead I changed the line:

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

TO:

mylinuxIp newHostName localhost

I don't know if what I've done was the right thing.
After I have rebooted my machine I can't get the graphical interface.
I see this black screen which you always get while booting but usually
it disappears and you get the graphics, but now it stays there and
asks me to input user name and password, logs me in but doesn't fire
up the graphical interface!
Is there some script I can run to get a graphical interface? Should I
change my hostname settings back to what it was? But where do I do
it? When I look in /etc/hosts I only see the old line with 127.0.0.1
and localhost.localdomain.
Is there another file that was modified? How do I get all my settings
back?
How should I have properly changed the hostname?
Please, help.
Thanks

On 14 Aug 2003 08:28:28 -0700, N.K. <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Hi,
> I've been asking questions about Samba install before and this
> question sort of relates to that but I thought I put it in a different
> thread.
> Trying to get Samba installed I was advised to change my hostname
> because my network was saying that localhost already exists.
> Anyway, on my Linux box I went into system->Network
> Configuration->Hosts.
> I think I should have added a host but instead I changed the line:
>
> 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
>
> TO:
>
> mylinuxIp newHostName localhost
>
> I don't know if what I've done was the right thing.

No, it is best NOT tamper with or remove the 127.0.0.1 line. The name
'localhost' always needs to point at 127.0.0.1.

It should be (for RH/Mdk):

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
yourlinuxip yourhostname.localdomain yourhostname

You also need to change whichever network script sets your hostname
(likely something in /etc/sysconfig). Note that yourlinuxip should be one
that is always up (like a nic). If yourlinuxip is NOT always up (like ppp
or pppoe) then you could assign it to an extra loopback IP like 127.0.0.2.

--
David Efflandt - All spam ignored http://www.de-srv.com/
http://www.autox.chicago.il.us/ http://www.berniesfloral.net/
http://cgi-help.virtualave.net/ http://hammer.prohosting.com/~cgi-wiz/

In article <(E-Mail Removed) >,
N.K. wrote:
> I think I should have added a host but instead I changed the line:
>
> 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

Yes. LEAVE that line in there.

> mylinuxIp newHostName localhost

your.local.ethernet.ip newhostname.domain newhostname

> How should I have properly changed the hostname?

Your distro's documentation would tell you this. In Slackware we would
run a script called "netconfig". In Red Hat I don't know, but I know
that the files it would change are located in /etc/sysconfig.
--
/dev/rob0 - preferred_email=i$((28*28+28))@softhome.net
or put "not-spam" or "/dev/rob0" in Subject header to reply

(E-Mail Removed) (N.K.) wrote in message news:<(E-Mail Removed). com>...
> Hi,
> I've been asking questions about Samba install before and this
> question sort of relates to that but I thought I put it in a different
> thread.
> Trying to get Samba installed I was advised to change my hostname
> because my network was saying that localhost already exists.
> Anyway, on my Linux box I went into system->Network
> Configuration->Hosts.
> I think I should have added a host but instead I changed the line:
>
> 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
>
> TO:
>
> mylinuxIp newHostName localhost
>
> I don't know if what I've done was the right thing.
> After I have rebooted my machine I can't get the graphical interface.
> I see this black screen which you always get while booting but usually
> it disappears and you get the graphics, but now it stays there and
> asks me to input user name and password, logs me in but doesn't fire
> up the graphical interface!
> Is there some script I can run to get a graphical interface? Should I
> change my hostname settings back to what it was? But where do I do
> it? When I look in /etc/hosts I only see the old line with 127.0.0.1
> and localhost.localdomain.
> Is there another file that was modified? How do I get all my settings
> back?
> How should I have properly changed the hostname?
> Please, help.
> Thanks


A good place to go for information is here:

http://www.tldp.org