[daip] AIPS problem accessing data

[Eric Greisen]

Jose Afonso wrote:
> Dear DAIP (Eric?),
> 
> I am currently facing a problem with accessing my data with AIPS. I have 
> installed 31DEC08 version (still to upgrade to current one), and 
> everything has been working fine until last week, when the access to one 
> of the data disks had some problems. AIPS started reporting that the 
> filesystem was read-only, and I traced this back to a problem with a 
> sata disk connection.
> 
> (log messages showed something like:
> Mar 27 15:39:26 midas kernel: [286861.009348] ata5: port is slow to 
> respond, ple
> ase be patient (Status 0xd0)
> Mar 27 15:39:31 midas kernel: [286865.992112] ata5: device not ready 
> (errno=-16)
> , forcing hardreset
> Mar 27 15:39:31 midas kernel: [286865.992117] ata5: soft resetting link
> Mar 27 15:39:31 midas kernel: [286866.181041] ata5.00: configured for 
> UDMA/33
> Mar 27 15:39:31 midas kernel: [286866.181057] ata5: EH complete
> )
> 
> The local system manager had a look and found some connection error that 
> seems to be solved now. However, when trying to access my many data 
> files with AIPS I now get (example):
> 
>  >ind 2
> AIPS 1: PROTECTED!
>  >pcat
> AIPS 1: Catalog on disk  1
> AIPS 1:  Cat Usid Mapname      Class   Seq  Pt     Last access      Stat
>  >help
> AIPS 1: ZDIR: COULD NOT TRANSLATE LOGICAL =
> AIPS 1: ZDIR:
> AIPS 1: ZTXMAT ERROR =      2
> AIPS 1: SYNTAX!
>  >free
> AIPS 1: Disk Volume name              Total Full       Free Timd Access
> AIPS 1:  #                           blocks    %     blocks days
> AIPS 1:  1  <2/aips/DATA/MIDAS_1  240362688    2  233945184  365 Alluser
> AIPS 1:  2  <1/aips/DATA/MIDAS_1  240348400   23  184081824  365 Alluser
> AIPS 1:  3  <2/aips/DATA/MIDAS_2  240362688    2  233945184  365 Alluser
> AIPS 1:  4  <1/aips/DATA/MIDAS_2  240348400   23  184081824  365 Alluser
> 
> (the data areas above are correct, I just don't seem to be able to read 
> anything on them...)
> 
> perhaps the disk problems when I last exited AIPS created some file that 
> has now not recognizing me as a permitted user...? The user number I am 
> using is the same as before, 2. If I use "3", a previously unused user, 
> then everything works fine:
>  >pcat
> AIPS 1: Catalog on disk  1
> AIPS 1:  Cat Usid Mapname      Class   Seq  Pt     Last access      Stat
> AIPS 1: Catalog on disk  2
> AIPS 1:  Cat Usid Mapname      Class   Seq  Pt     Last access      Stat
> AIPS 1: Catalog on disk  3
> AIPS 1:  Cat Usid Mapname      Class   Seq  Pt     Last access      Stat
> AIPS 1: Catalog on disk  4
> AIPS 1:  Cat Usid Mapname      Class   Seq  Pt     Last access      Stat
> etc...
> 
> so the problem seems to affect only user 2 (was actually the only user 
> with files on this machine) and not new users.
> 
> I would very much appreciate any help you may offer on this - seems an 
> easy problem, but outside my low-level understanding of AIPS workings...

I suspect that your saved POPS vocabulary has been compromised.  The 
first thing to try after starting up as user 2 is to say RESTORE 0.
This resets the full POPS vocabulary.  I do not understand the protected 
message but the adverb VERSION is used for INP etc and appears to 
contain something unprintable.  Try the RESTORE 0 or if that fails try 
deleting in the first data area files SG*.002\;.

Eric Greisen