Sorry guys, false alarm. Just minutes after I sent the Help email, I discovered the solution. Somehow along the way the IPADDR, NETWORK, BROADCAST and GATEWAY numbers in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 were changed without my knowledge. Once I put them back, it was business as usual. Luckily I had the /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 file in hard copy which was more LUCK than preparation. The 90 minutes of cold sweat brought out some new questions: Are there effective ways to 1. back-up configuration files 2. back-up data files (I tried to access share files from DOS but they could not be seen) Or is it a simple matter of copying them into one of the client machines??? But all the config files??? But you know, this list did its role to help. Not trying to be too philosophical, but once I posted, my mind sort of cleared -- knowing help was on its way -- and a fresh look at the problem brought a solution. Thanks for being there. Shaggy ====================== I was able to connect my Linux/Slackware box file server to the net and, in my enthusiasm, attempted to set up IP masquerading. This involved editing files, in particular /etc/rc.d/rc.modules and /etc/rc.d/rc.local, and a couple of ifconfig and route command lines at the prompt. The operation was a failure, at least for now. However, even after rem'ing out the new lines, the box lost contact with its clients. This is what I got at boot-up Going multiuser <from /etc/rc.d/rc.M> SIOCADDRT: Network is unreachable Mounting remote file systems. <from /etc/rc.d/rc.inet2> Starting daemons.... I suspect the problem lies somewhere in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 but after hours of trial and error, I could not pinpoint it. Although not yet mission-critical, the server is now being run in a going business and a prolonged downtime would have a negative affect. So I really need a quick fix. Somebody please help. TIA, Shaggy Bangkok, Thailand
