Linux Error error while loading shared libraries

Do you have any sort of rescue disk/CD?

One command that should work is

ldd

You can try

ldd  /usr/bin/ls
and
ldd  /cat

and report what you see.

Yes indeed; I have a rescue CD. Please advise how I should proceed.

[oracle@cdrserver sbin]$ ldd  /usr/bin/ls
/bin/sh: error while loading shared libraries: libdl.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

[oracle@cdrserver sbin]$ ldd  /cat
/bin/sh: error while loading shared libraries: libdl.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

I can only give general advice since I'm not familiar with that dist of Linux.  (But until someone else comes along, I'll try to give you some help)

I also don't know exactly what you have for a rescue CD.  In any event...

Boot from the CD.  Go into rescue mode, if that's one of the options.
(I also don't know how your drive is partitioned).

To get some idea of how your drives are partitioned, you can try
# blkid
(and hope you have that program on the CD)

# fdisk
might help too but don't change anything.

Mount every drive that can be mounted.

Look for library files.  One way to search is
# find / -name libdl.so.2

Remember, you might find one of your CD and that won't help much.

If you can find the libraries on your HD, the next task is to find out why they aren't being found.

One possibility is /lib is supposed to be mounted and isn't or isn't supposed to be mounted and is (look in /etc/fstab on the HD).

For instance, and this is a guess, say / is mounted on /dev/sda1 and /lib should be mounted on /dev/sda7.  Now, lets say that the updater didn't mount /lib.  Then the libraries would have ended up on /dev/sda1.  Then when you booted, /lib would be mounted on /dev/sda7 and would be empty -- causing this problem.

Again, this is a guess as to what it might be.  It could be lots of things.

Thank You for the help; I suppose I will have to wait for suggestion from others before I proceed. The system is a production server.

The problem is I cannot seem to do anything... no commands are working regardless of which account I log in as.

1) production server??? Do all processes of the production server run as expected?
2) How do you login? On a console terminal? Or through ssh?

1) Do all processes run as expected? I cannot confirm since I cannot run any commands. It is basically an OLTP system; but my guess is nothing is running right now.

2) How do you login ->> Through console terminal and through ssh

I get the following errors the moment I log in


awk: error while loading shared libraries: libdl.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
awk: error while loading shared libraries: libdl.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
Cannot locate ORACLE_HOME.
ORACLE_HOME = [] ? \c

ORACLE_BASE environment variable is not being set since this
information is not available for the current user ID zambia.
You can set ORACLE_BASE manually if it is required.
grep: error while loading shared libraries: libc.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
awk: error while loading shared libraries: libdl.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[zambia@cdrserver ~]$


Thats basically it, and so far, the only command I can run is pwd

You should be able to run
/sbin/ldconfig

What is the output? Does it change anything? Has the server been rebooted after the migration von 4 to 5?

I forgot: you should run /sbin/ldconfig it as root.

Sure you cannot confirm with a list of running processes. But a production server should be good for something, it must provide some services...thus does it produce what it is meant to be for?
If it is not being used, then it is easy to take it down and boot off a rescue CD.

I cannot login directly as root; I can only su into root; but unfortunately, su is not working.

[zambia@cdrserver ~]$ /sbin/ldconfig
/sbin/ldconfig: /usr/lib/libcpqlsptransport.so.0 is not a symbolic link

/sbin/ldconfig: Can't create temporary cache file /etc/ld.so.cache~: Permission denied


It is an OLTP and we basically use it for reporting and loading CDRs into an Oracle Database; I am certain it is not producing what it is supposed to.

How do I go about using the rescue CD?

How do I go about using the rescue CD?

Insert CD.  Try to shutdown computer but that will almost certainly fail.  Turn the computer off if that's the only way.

Power up the computer (with CD still in drive) .  Follow any directions it provides.  If stuck, try some of the suggestions I posted earlier.  (Try to find the location of the libraries on the HD)

Thank You; I will try it and let you know what happens.

If the server has a console (serial or network), you should be able to connect through that as root.  You'll not be able to fix this as a non-root user.

The problem appears to be one of two things.  First, it is possible that the upgrade failed and several required libraries were not copied to the right location.  If this is the case, about all you can do is recover the server from backup.  If you didn't get a clean backup prior to upgrading than you will have learned this lesson the hard way (most of us do) and will have to re-install from scratch.

The other possibility is that your library path doesn't include a path it needs to.  You may be able to test this with the non-root user.  Set this variable:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib

If this works, the libraries your system is complaining about should be in one o these three paths.  If the error does not go away, you've almost certainly got a system that is unusable and will require backup recovery or reinstall.

Unfortunately, I do did not get a backup.

Isn't there any other way besides a complete re-install?

[zambia@cdrserver ~]$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib
[zambia@cdrserver ~]$ echo $LD_LIBRARY_PATH
/lib:/usr/lib:/usr/local/lib
[zambia@cdrserver ~]$ ls
ls: error while loading shared libraries: librt.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[zambia@cdrserver ~]$ pwd
/home/zambia
[zambia@cdrserver ~]$ df -h
df: error while loading shared libraries: libc.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[zambia@cdrserver ~]$

Try

# find / -name "libc.so*"

If find can't find the libraries, nothing else is going to work either.  libc, BTW, it critical.

I just managed to convince my boss and bought myself a day. Is there no other way besides a fresh install? I know for one thing that the find command will failed because all commands seem not to work.

I meant for you  to run the find command after booting to the rescue CD and mounting all the HD partitions.  Hopefully find is on the rescue CD.

Unless you can locate the missing libraries, you are likely stuck with a fresh install.

If you do a fresh install, I suggest a partition scheme where your applications are on a different partition (filesystem) than the system programs.  

Also, have you given some thought to the backup problem?  One option is to boot a rescue CD, mount the root partition and then the other partitions as indicated by fstab.  Then make a tar cjf backup to a USB drive.  This, of course, will take a while which is a problem for a production computer.  (Another option is hot swappable RAID but that's a whole different discussion.)

hmccurdy is right; it would be wise to boot the thing from media (DVD or the like), connect a USB disk or large thumb drive, mount the boot disk's mountable partitions, and tar off anything you can now.  I suspect you will end up reinstalling the OS at the very least here.  Frankly, if libc isn't in /lib (and it appears not to be since LD_LIBRARY_PATH didn't fix the problem), you are pretty much out of options.

There is something else that is strange. It turns out there are a couple of accounts that are not affected. I can login with another account without any issues.

Is this normal?

Is this normal?

If on the same machine, no, not normal.  Very very strange.

This document should give you some idea of how libraries are supposed to work.
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Program-Library-HOWTO/shared-libraries.html

Perhaps issuing the command
export LD_DEBUG=files

Will help you figure out what's going on.

Thanks; so does that mean I do not necessarily have to re-install the OS after all? I mean if some accounts are working just fine, then it probably a problem that can be fixed... yes?

I can't be sure as this is very strange.  However, my guess is that this can be somehow fixed without a reload.  Unfortunately, I don't know what's wrong.  The problem you have is likely very rare.

To fix this, I'd try to find out what's different between the users that work and those that don't work.  I'd try setting LD_DEBUG=file (for instance).

From a working user, I'd make sure the libraries are where they should be (usually /lib).

okay; will try it out and let you know. how do I use LD_DEBUG?

On the console you should be able to login as root!
As root do a
/sbin/ldconfig -v
and post the results.

Also: you said there are account, which are not affected. Login on one of those accounts and do the su.
What is the shell the accounts use, that work. I've seen that you had been using /bin/sh which is unusual for Redhat 4/5.

As you said, you login over the net through ssh. Therefore, the libraries must be there, because sshd is running properly and sshd also needs libdl.so.2.

Have you rebootet after the transition from 4 to 5?

----  As root -->>> /sbin/ldconfig -v

/usr/lib/qt-3.3/lib:
      libqt-mt.so.3 -> libqt-mt.so.3.3.6
      libqui.so.1 -> libqui.so.1.0.0
/usr/X11R6/lib:
      libMrm.so.2 -> libMrm.so.2.1
      libUil.so.2 -> libUil.so.2.1
      libXm.so.2 -> libXm.so.2.1
      libGLU.so.1 -> libGLU.so.1.3
/lib:
      libproc-3.2.7.so -> libproc-3.2.7.so
      libe2p.so.2 -> libe2p.so.2.3
      libnss_winbind.so.2 -> libnss_winbind.so.2
      libnss_wins.so.2 -> libnss_wins.so.2
      libasound.so.2 -> libasound.so.2.0.0
      libvolume_id.so.0 -> libvolume_id.so.0.66.0
      libdb_cxx-4.1.so -> libdb_cxx-4.1.so
      libdevmapper.so.1.02 -> libdevmapper.so.1.02
      libcidn.so.1 -> libcidn-2.5.so
      libssl.so.6 -> libssl.so.0.9.8b
      libcrypt.so.1 -> libcrypt-2.5.so
      libdbus-1.so.3 -> libdbus-1.so.3.2.0
      libsepol.so.1 -> libsepol.so.1
      libBrokenLocale.so.1 -> libBrokenLocale-2.5.so
      libiw.so.28 -> libiw.so.28
      libblkid.so.1 -> libblkid.so.1.0
      libdevmapper-event-lvm2snapshot.so.2.02 -> libdevmapper-event-lvm2snapshot.so.2.02
      libSegFault.so -> libSegFault.so
      libdevmapper-event-lvm2mirror.so.2.02 -> libdevmapper-event-lvm2mirror.so.2.02
      libnss_ldap.so.2 -> libnss_ldap-2.5.so
      libnss_dns.so.2 -> libnss_dns-2.5.so
      libm.so.6 -> libm-2.5.so
      libauparse.so.0 -> libauparse.so.0.0.0
      libpthread.so.0 -> libpthread-2.5.so
      libglib-2.0.so.0 -> libglib-2.0.so.0.1200.3
      libcrypto.so.6 -> libcrypto.so.0.9.8b
      libdb-4.3.so -> libdb-4.3.so
      libdb-4.2.so -> libdb-4.2.so
      libnss_compat.so.2 -> libnss_compat-2.5.so
      libutil.so.1 -> libutil-2.5.so
      libss.so.2 -> libss.so.2.0
      libnss_hesiod.so.2 -> libnss_hesiod-2.5.so
      libkeyutils.so.1 -> libkeyutils-1.2.so
      libnsl.so.1 -> libnsl-2.5.so
      libnss_nis.so.2 -> libnss_nis-2.5.so
      libnss_files.so.2 -> libnss_files-2.5.so
      libattr.so.1 -> libattr.so.1.1.0
      libexpat.so.0 -> libexpat.so.0.5.0
      libdb_cxx-4.2.so -> libdb_cxx-4.2.so
      libpcre.so.0 -> libpcre.so.0.0.1
      libthread_db.so.1 -> libthread_db-1.0.so
      libdb-4.1.so -> libdb-4.1.so
      libext2fs.so.2 -> libext2fs.so.2.4
      libnss_db.so.2 -> libnss_db.so.2.0.0
      libselinux.so.1 -> libselinux.so.1
      libanl.so.1 -> libanl-2.5.so
      librt.so.1 -> librt-2.5.so
      libc.so.6 -> libc-2.5.so
      libdevmapper-event.so.1.02 -> libdevmapper-event.so.1.02
      ld-linux.so.2 -> ld-2.5.so
      libdl.so.2 -> libdl-2.5.so
      libsemanage.so.1 -> libsemanage.so.1
      libresolv.so.2 -> libresolv-2.5.so
      libgcc_s.so.1 -> libgcc_s-4.1.2-20080102.so.1
      libcap.so.1 -> libcap.so.1.10
      libgobject-2.0.so.0 -> libgobject-2.0.so.0.1200.3
      libpam.so.0 -> libpam.so.0.81.5
      libgmodule-2.0.so.0 -> libgmodule-2.0.so.0.1200.3
      libcom_err.so.2 -> libcom_err.so.2.1
      libacl.so.1 -> libacl.so.1.1.0
      libnss_nisplus.so.2 -> libnss_nisplus-2.5.so
      libtermcap.so.2 -> libtermcap.so.2.0.8
      libaudit.so.0 -> libaudit.so.0.0.0
      libuuid.so.1 -> libuuid.so.1.2
      libpam_misc.so.0 -> libpam_misc.so.0.81.2
      libpamc.so.0 -> libpamc.so.0.81.0
      libgthread-2.0.so.0 -> libgthread-2.0.so.0.1200.3
/usr/lib:
      libdb_cxx-4.3.so -> libdb_cxx-4.3.so
      libimlib-bmp.so -> libimlib-bmp.so
      libxklavier.so.11 -> libxklavier.so.11.0.0
      libtk8.4.so -> libtk8.4.so
      libplc4.so -> libplc4.so
      librpm-4.4.so -> librpm.so
      libcups.so.2 -> libcups.so.2
      libaio.so.1.0.0 -> libaio.so.1.0.0
      libcspi.so.0 -> libcspi.so.0.10.11
      libORBitutil.so.0 -> libORBitutil.so.0.5.17
      libplds4.so -> libplds4.so
      libcupsimage.so.2 -> libcupsimage.so.2
      libgtkxmhtml.so.1 -> libgtkxmhtml.so.1.0.1
      libgssapi_krb5.so.2 -> libgssapi_krb5.so.2.2
      libwvstreams.so.4.2 -> libwvstreams.so.4.2
      libwvutils.so.4.2 -> libwvutils.so.4.2
      libMrm.so.4 -> libMrm.so.4.0.0
      libguilereadline-v-17.so.17 -> libguilereadline-v-17.so.17.0.0
      libosp.so.5 -> libosp.so.5.0.0
      libbluetooth.so.2 -> libbluetooth.so.2.4.1
      libgfortran.so.1 -> libgfortran.so.1.0.0
      libospgrove.so.0 -> libospgrove.so.0.0.1
      libgstaudio-0.10.so.0 -> libgstaudio-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libpangox-1.0.so.0 -> libpangox-1.0.so.0.1400.9
      libGL.so.1 -> libGL.so.1.2
      libmusicbrainz.so.2 -> libmusicbrainz.so.2.0.1
      libXdmcp.so.6 -> libXdmcp.so.6.0.0
      libodbc.so.1 -> libodbc.so.1.0.0
      libboost_signals.so.2 -> libboost_signals.so.1.33.1
      libgphoto2_port.so.0 -> libgphoto2_port.so.0.6.1
      libgnome-desktop-2.so.2 -> libgnome-desktop-2.so.2.2.21
      libnm-util.so.0 -> libnm-util.so.0.0.0
      libgstvideo-0.10.so.0 -> libgstvideo-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libtiff.so.3 -> libtiff.so.3.8.2
      libdv.so.4 -> libdv.so.4.0.2
      libgmodule-1.2.so.0 -> libgmodule-1.2.so.0.0.10
      libgtkhtml-3.14.so.19 -> libgtkhtml-3.14.so.19.1.0
      libloginhelper.so.0 -> libloginhelper.so.0.0.0
      libmenuw.so.5 -> libmenuw.so.5.5
      libh323_linux_x86_r.so.1.13.4 -> libh323_linux_x86_r.so.1.13.4
      libnetsnmphelpers.so.10 -> libnetsnmphelpers.so.10.0.1
      libX11.so.6 -> libX11.so.6.2.0
      libmenu.so.5 -> libmenu.so.5.5
      libostyle.so.0 -> libostyle.so.0.0.1
      libecpg.so.5 -> libecpg.so.5.1
      libsoftokn3.so -> libsoftokn3.so
      libgdbm.so.2 -> libgdbm.so.2.0.0
      libgpilotdcm.so.2 -> libgpilotdcm.so.2.0.2
      libmcop_mt.so.1 -> libmcop_mt.so.1.0.0
      libFLAC.so.7 -> libFLAC.so.7.0.0
      libaprutil-1.so.0 -> libaprutil-1.so.0.2.7
      libgamin-1.so.0 -> libgamin-1.so.0.1.7
      libtcl8.4.so -> libtcl8.4.so
      libdistcache.so.1 -> libdistcache.so.1.0.1
      libgpilotdconduit.so.2 -> libgpilotdconduit.so.2.0.3
      libimlib-png.so -> libimlib-png.so
      libapol.so.3 -> libapol.so.3
      libsmbclient.so.0 -> libsmbclient.so
      liboraodbcS.so.1 -> liboraodbcS.so.1.0.0
      libtemplate.so.1 -> libtemplate.so.1.0.0
      libfam.so.0 -> libfam.so.0.0.0
      libFLAC++.so.5 -> libFLAC++.so.5.0.0
      libpanel-applet-2.so.0 -> libpanel-applet-2.so.0.2.11
      libgtop-2.0.so.7 -> libgtop-2.0.so.7.0.0
      libSDL-1.2.so.0 -> libSDL-1.2.so.0.7.3
      libscim-gtkutils-1.0.so.8 -> libscim-gtkutils-1.0.so.8.1.0
      libXfont.so.1 -> libXfont.so.1.4.1
      libuniconf.so.4.2 -> libuniconf.so.4.2
      libpng12.so.0 -> libpng12.so.0.10.0
      libgssrpc.so.4 -> libgssrpc.so.4.0
      libgd.so.2 -> libgd.so.2.0.0
      libpisock++.so.0 -> libpisock++.so.0.0.0
      libIDL-0.6.so.0 -> libIDL-0.6.so.0.4.4
      libvorbis.so.0 -> libvorbis.so.0.3.1
      libedataserver-1.2.so.7 -> libedataserver-1.2.so.7.1.0
      libpng.so.3 -> libpng.so.3.10.0
      libslang.so.2 -> libslang.so.2.0.6
      libXaw.so.6 -> libXaw6.so.6.0.1
      libnautilus-extension.so.1 -> libnautilus-extension.so.1.1.0
      libcroco-0.6.so.3 -> libcroco-0.6.so.3.0.1
      libgcrypt.so.11 -> libgcrypt.so.11.2.2
      libstartup-notification-1.so.0 -> libstartup-notification-1.so.0.0.0
      libstdc++-libc6.2-2.so.3 -> libstdc++-3-libc6.2-2-2.10.0.so
      libzvt.so.2 -> libzvt.so.2.2.10
      libisccfg.so.1 -> libisccfg.so.1.0.6
      libboundparam.so.1 -> libboundparam.so.1.0.0
      libviaXvMCPro.so.1 -> libviaXvMCPro.so.1.0.0
      libedata-cal-1.2.so.6 -> libedata-cal-1.2.so.6.0.2
      libpopt.so.0 -> libpopt.so.0.0.0
      libpisync.so.0 -> libpisync.so.0.0.1
      libvte.so.9 -> libvte.so.9.1.5
      libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0 -> libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0.1000.4
      libnn.so.1 -> libnn.so.1.0.0
      libpt.so.1.6.5 -> libpt.so.1.6.5
      libpoppler-glib.so.1 -> libpoppler-glib.so.1.0.0
      libkrbafs.so.0 -> libkrbafs.so.0.0.0
      libwvtelephony.so.4.2 -> libwvtelephony.so.4.2
      libgnomeprintui-2-2.so.0 -> libgnomeprintui-2-2.so.0.1.0
      libbeecrypt.so.6 -> libbeecrypt.so.6.4.0
      libguile-srfi-srfi-4-v-3.so.3 -> libguile-srfi-srfi-4-v-3.so.3.0.0
      libcdda_interface.so.0 -> libcdda_interface.so.0.9.8
      libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 -> libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0.1000.4
      libkdb5.so.4 -> libkdb5.so.4.0
      libevent-1.1a.so.1 -> libevent-1.1a.so.1.0.2
      libartsflow.so.1 -> libartsflow.so.1.0.0
      libicuio.so.36 -> libicuio.so.36.0
      libecpg_compat.so.2 -> libecpg_compat.so.2.1
      libXevie.so.1 -> libXevie.so.1.0.0
      libart_lgpl.so.2 -> libart_lgpl.so.2.2.0
      libxslt.so.1 -> libxslt.so.1.1.17
      libreadline.so.5 -> libreadline.so.5.1
      libncurses.so.5 -> libncurses.so.5.5
      libicutu.so.36 -> libicutu.so.36.0
      libssl3.so -> libssl3.so
      libcpqlsptransport.so.0 -> libcpqlsptransport.so.0.0
      libcddb-slave2.so.0 -> libcddb-slave2.so.0.0.0
      librsvg-2.so.2 -> librsvg-2.so.2.16.1
      libcamel-1.2.so.0 -> libcamel-1.2.so.0.0.0
      libpython2.4.so.1.0 -> libpython2.4.so.1.0
      libodbcdrvcfg2S.so.1 -> libodbcdrvcfg2S.so.1.0.0
      libboost_python.so.2 -> libboost_python.so.1.33.1
      libdistcacheserver.so.1 -> libdistcacheserver.so.1.0.1
      libpanel.so.5 -> libpanel.so.5.5
      libnfsidmap.so.0 -> libnfsidmap.so.0.2.0
      libsmime3.so -> libsmime3.so
      libXft.so.2 -> libXft.so.2.1.2
      libisccfg.so.0 -> libisccfg.so.0.0.11
      libidn.so.11 -> libidn.so.11.5.19
      libodbcmyS.so.1 -> libodbcmyS.so.1.0.0
      libspeex.so.1 -> libspeex.so.1.3.0
      libutempter.so.0 -> libutempter.so.1.1.4
      libavahi-common.so.3 -> libavahi-common.so.3.4.3
      libnal.so.1 -> libnal.so.1.0.1
      libXt.so.6 -> libXt.so.6.0.0
      libgstcontroller-0.10.so.0 -> libgstcontroller-0.10.so.0.8.1
      libglade-2.0.so.0 -> libglade-2.0.so.0.0.7
      libstdc++.so.6 -> libstdc++.so.6.0.8
      libICE.so.6 -> libICE.so.6.3.0
      libgnutls.so.13 -> libgnutls.so.13.0.6
      libwnck-1.so.18 -> libwnck-1.so.18.2.3
      libgtksourceview-1.0.so.0 -> libgtksourceview-1.0.so.0.0.0
      libsilc-1.0.so.2 -> libsilc-1.0.so.2.1.0
      libxmlsec1-openssl.so.1 -> libxmlsec1-openssl.so.1.2.9
      libx11globalcomm.so.1 -> libx11globalcomm.so.1.0.0
      libfontenc.so.1 -> libfontenc.so.1.0.0
      libodbcpsqlS.so.1 -> libodbcpsqlS.so.1.0.0
      libboost_thread.so.2 -> libboost_thread.so.1.33.1
      libgif.so.4 -> libgif.so.4.1.3
      libgnutls-openssl.so.13 -> libgnutls-openssl.so.13.0.6
      libgconf-2.so.4 -> libgconf-2.so.4.1.0
      libgimpprint.so.1 -> libgimpprint.so.1.1.3
      libgcj-tools.so.7rh -> libgcj-tools.so.7rh.0.0
      libXxf86misc.so.1 -> libXxf86misc.so.1.1.0
      libicuuc.so.36 -> libicuuc.so.36.0
      libhal-storage.so.1 -> libhal-storage.so.1.0.0
      libcmacommon.so.1 -> libcmacommon.so.1.0
      libartsdsp.so.0 -> libartsdsp.so.0.0.0
      libbind.so.4 -> libbind.so.4.0.7
      libgtkhtml-2.so.0 -> libgtkhtml-2.so.0.0.0
      libXvMCW.so.1 -> libXvMCW.so.1.0.0
      libicui18n.so.36 -> libicui18n.so.36.0
      libgpm.so.1 -> libgpm.so.1.19.0
      libbind9.so.0 -> libbind9.so.0.0.8
      libgij.so.7rh -> libgij.so.7rh.0.0
      libnm_glib.so.0 -> libnm_glib.so.0.0.0
      libgssapi.so.2 -> libgssapi.so.2.0.0
      libnssutil3.so -> libnssutil3.so
      libIDL-2.so.0 -> libIDL-2.so.0.0.0
      libguile-srfi-srfi-1-v-3.so.3 -> libguile-srfi-srfi-1-v-3.so.3.0.0
      libmetacity-private.so.0 -> libmetacity-private.so.0.0.0
      libartsc.so.0 -> libartsc.so.0.0.0
      libImlib.so.11 -> libImlib.so.11.0.0
      libz.so.1 -> libz.so.1.2.3
      libedata-book-1.2.so.2 -> libedata-book-1.2.so.2.4.1
      librpcsecgss.so.2 -> librpcsecgss.so.2.0.1
      libI810XvMC.so.1 -> libI810XvMC.so.1.0.0
      libcpqci.so.1 -> libcpqci.so.1.0
      libeststring.so.1.2 -> libeststring.so.1.2
      libgtrtst.so.1 -> libgtrtst.so.1.0.0
      libdbus-glib-1.so.2 -> libdbus-glib-1.so.2.0.0
      libexchange-storage-1.2.so.3 -> libexchange-storage-1.2.so.3.0.0
      libkmedia2.so.1 -> libkmedia2.so.1.0.0
      libgnomeui-2.so.0 -> libgnomeui-2.so.0.1600.0
      libVFlib2.so.24 -> libVFlib2.so.24.0.4
      libmng.so.1 -> libmng.so.1.0.0
      libboost_prg_exec_monitor.so.2 -> libboost_prg_exec_monitor.so.1.33.1
      libsensors.so.3 -> libsensors.so.3.1.0
      libgdk_pixbuf_xlib.so.2 -> libgdk_pixbuf_xlib.so.2.0.0
      libkrb5.so.3 -> libkrb5.so.3.3
      libgmpxx.so.3 -> libgmpxx.so.3.0.5
      libstdc++.so.5 -> libstdc++.so.5.0.7
      libbonobo-2.so.0 -> libbonobo-2.so.0.0.0
      liblber-2.3.so.0 -> liblber.so
      libIIOP.so.0 -> libIIOP.so.0.5.17
      libXinerama.so.1 -> libXinerama.so.1.0.0
      libexif.so.12 -> libexif.so.12.0.1
      libuser.so.1 -> libuser.so.1.1.6
      libogrove.so.0 -> libogrove.so.0.0.1
      libnetsnmptrapd.so.10 -> libnetsnmptrapd.so.10.0.1
      libXm.so.4 -> libXm.so.4.0.0
      libeel-2.so.2 -> libeel-2.so.2.16.1
      libapr-1.so.0 -> libapr-1.so.0.2.7
      libboost_unit_test_framework.so.2 -> libboost_unit_test_framework.so.1.33.1
      libicudata.so.36 -> libicudata.so.36.0
      libgnomespeech.so.7 -> libgnomespeech.so.7.0.1
      libkmedia2_idl.so.1 -> libkmedia2_idl.so.1.0.0
      libsefs.so.3 -> libsefs.so.3
      libdns.so.16 -> libdns.so.16.0.0
      libicule.so.36 -> libicule.so.36.0
      libpspell.so.15 -> libpspell.so.15.1.3
      libOggFLAC++.so.2 -> libOggFLAC++.so.2.0.0
      libvorbisenc.so.2 -> libvorbisenc.so.2.0.2
      libgthread-1.2.so.0 -> libgthread-1.2.so.0.0.10
      libboost_iostreams.so.2 -> libboost_iostreams.so.1.33.1
      libnss3.so -> libnss3.so
      libformw.so.5 -> libformw.so.5.5
      libboost_program_options.so.2 -> libboost_program_options.so.1.33.1
      libneon.so.25 -> libneon.so.25.0.5
      libdes425.so.3 -> libdes425.so.3.0
      liboplodbcS.so.1 -> liboplodbcS.so.1.0.0
      libmusicbrainz.so.4 -> libmusicbrainz.so.4.0.0
      libgucharmap.so.5 -> libgucharmap.so.5.0.1
      libavahi-glib.so.1 -> libavahi-glib.so.1.0.1
      libguile-srfi-srfi-60-v-2.so.2 -> libguile-srfi-srfi-60-v-2.so.2.0.0
      librom1394.so.0 -> librom1394.so.0.3.0
      libgettextlib-0.14.6.so -> libgettextlib-0.14.6.so
      libdmraid.so.1.0.0.rc13 -> libdmraid.so.1.0.0.rc13
      libORBitCosNaming-2.so.0 -> libORBitCosNaming-2.so.0.1.0
      libXmuu.so.1 -> libXmuu.so.1.0.0
      liblockdev.so.1 -> liblockdev.so.1.0.1
      libXxf86vm.so.1 -> libXxf86vm.so.1.0.0
      libimlib-gif.so -> libimlib-gif.so
      libtotem-plparser.so.1 -> libtotem-plparser.so.1.3.6
      libodbcdrvcfg1S.so.1 -> libodbcdrvcfg1S.so.1.0.0
      libXxf86dga.so.1 -> libXxf86dga.so.1.0.0
      libavahi-client.so.3 -> libavahi-client.so.3.2.1
      libSM.so.6 -> libSM.so.6.0.0
      libartsdsp_st.so.0 -> libartsdsp_st.so.0.0.0
      libhpasmintrfc.so.1 -> libhpasmintrfc.so.1.0
      libgnomeprint-2-2.so.0 -> libgnomeprint-2-2.so.0.1.0
      libgstnetbuffer-0.10.so.0 -> libgstnetbuffer-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libsoup-2.2.so.8 -> libsoup-2.2.so.8.5.0
      libiculx.so.36 -> libiculx.so.36.0
      libXau.so.6 -> libXau.so.6.0.0
      libgdk-1.2.so.0 -> libgdk-1.2.so.0.9.1
      libgstcdda-0.10.so.0 -> libgstcdda-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libORBit-2.so.0 -> libORBit-2.so.0.1.0
      libusb-0.1.so.4 -> libusb.so
      libestbase.so.1.2.95.1 -> libestbase.so.1.2.95.1
      librpmio-4.4.so -> librpmio.so
      libijs-0.35.so -> libijs.so
      libbonobo-activation.so.4 -> libbonobo-activation.so.4.0.0
      libXi.so.6 -> libXi.so.6.0.0
      libxml2.so.2 -> libxml2.so.2.6.26
      libFS.so.6 -> libFS.so.6.0.0
      libodbcinst.so.1 -> libodbcinst.so.1.0.0
      libUil.so.4 -> libUil.so.4.0.0
      libnuma.so.1 -> libnuma.so.1
      libexslt.so.0 -> libexslt.so.0.8.13
      libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 -> libpangocairo-1.0.so.0.1400.9
      libg2c.so.0 -> libg2c.so.0.0.0
      libgsf-gnome-1.so.114 -> libgsf-gnome-1.so.114.0.1
      libartsflow_idl.so.1 -> libartsflow_idl.so.1.0.0
      libavahi-core.so.4 -> libavahi-core.so.4.0.5
      libjpeg.so.62 -> libjpeg.so.62.0.0
      libform.so.5 -> libform.so.5.5
      libaspell.so.15 -> libaspell.so.15.1.3
      libgnomevfs-2.so.0 -> libgnomevfs-2.so.0.1600.2
      libXTrap.so.6 -> libXTrap.so.6.4.0
      libgstinterfaces-0.10.so.0 -> libgstinterfaces-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libtdsS.so.1 -> libtdsS.so.1.0.0
      libXcursor.so.1 -> libXcursor.so.1.0.2
      libgweather.so.0 -> libgweather.so.0.0.0
      libtheora.so.0 -> libtheora.so.0.2.0
      libimlib-ps.so -> libimlib-ps.so
      libqpol.so.1 -> libqpol.so.1
      libhistory.so.5 -> libhistory.so.5.1
      libimlib-ppm.so -> libimlib-ppm.so
      librpmdb-4.4.so -> librpmdb.so
      libscim-x11utils-1.0.so.8 -> libscim-x11utils-1.0.so.8.1.0
      libgdk_pixbuf.so.2 -> libgdk_pixbuf.so.2.0.0
      libisc.so.7 -> libisc.so.7.1.5
      libgpilotd.so.2 -> libgpilotd.so.2.1.1
      libalchemist.so.0 -> libalchemist.so.0.0.0
      libkadm5clnt.so.5 -> libkadm5clnt.so.5.1
      libORBit-imodule-2.so.0 -> libORBit-imodule-2.so.0.0.0
      liblftp-tasks.so.0 -> liblftp-tasks.so.0.0.0
      libXfontcache.so.1 -> libXfontcache.so.1.0.0
      libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 -> libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0.1000.4
      libgstreamer-0.10.so.0 -> libgstreamer-0.10.so.0.8.1
      libXfixes.so.3 -> libXfixes.so.3.1.0
      libisccc.so.0 -> libisccc.so.0.2.2
      libraw1394.so.8 -> libraw1394.so.8.2.0
      libbfd-2.17.50.0.6-6.el5.so -> libbfd-2.17.50.0.6-6.el5.so
      libegroupwise-1.2.so.13 -> libegroupwise-1.2.so.13.0.1
      libimlib-jpeg.so -> libimlib-jpeg.so
      libgnomesupport.so.0 -> libgnomesupport.so.0.0.0
      libodbcminiS.so.1 -> libodbcminiS.so.1.0.0
      libsilcclient-1.0.so.2 -> libsilcclient-1.0.so.2.1.0
      libdns.so.22 -> libdns.so.22.1.0
      libOggFLAC.so.3 -> libOggFLAC.so.3.0.0
      libgnome.so.32 -> libgnome.so.32.4.3
      libXaw.so.7 -> libXaw7.so.7.0.0
      libcamel-provider-1.2.so.8 -> libcamel-provider-1.2.so.8.1.0
      libXss.so.1 -> libXss.so.1.0.0
      libgstdataprotocol-0.10.so.0 -> libgstdataprotocol-0.10.so.0.8.1
      libodbctxtS.so.1 -> libodbctxtS.so.1.0.0
      libboost_regex.so.2 -> libboost_regex.so.1.33.1
      libgphoto2.so.2 -> libgphoto2.so.2.1.1
      libxmlsec1.so.1 -> libxmlsec1.so.1.2.9
      libhpip.so.0 -> libhpip.so.0.0.1
      libpanelw.so.5 -> libpanelw.so.5.5
      libao.so.2 -> libao.so.2.1.3
      libnssckbi.so -> libnssckbi.so
      libhpev.so.1 -> libhpev.so.1.0
      libwrap.so.0 -> libwrap.so.0.7.6
      libcdda_paranoia.so.0 -> libcdda_paranoia.so.0.9.8
      libsnmp.so.10 -> libsnmp.so.10.0.1
      libnotify.so.1 -> libnotify.so.1.1.0
      libelf.so.1 -> libelf-0.125.so
      libgcj.so.7rh -> libgcj.so.7rh.0.0
      libnspr4.so -> libnspr4.so
      libgnome-2.so.0 -> libgnome-2.so.0.1600.0
      libaio.so.1 -> libaio.so.1.0.1
      libnetsnmp.so.10 -> libnetsnmp.so.10.0.1
      libfontconfig.so.1 -> libfontconfig.so.1.1.0
      libORBit.so.0 -> libORBit.so.0.5.17
      libesddsp.so.0 -> libesddsp.so.0.2.36
      libgtk-1.2.so.0 -> libgtk-1.2.so.0.9.1
      libgettextsrc-0.14.1.so -> libgettextsrc.so
      libvorbisfile.so.3 -> libvorbisfile.so.3.1.1
      libgnomecups-1.0.so.1 -> libgnomecups-1.0.so.1.0.0
      libgnome-window-settings.so.1 -> libgnome-window-settings.so.1.0.0
      liblwres.so.1 -> liblwres.so.1.1.2
      libmagic.so.1 -> libmagic.so.1.0.0
      libmcop.so.1 -> libmcop.so.1.0.0
      libpoldiff.so.1 -> libpoldiff.so.1
      libgdk_pixbuf_xlib-2.0.so.0 -> libgdk_pixbuf_xlib-2.0.so.0.1000.4
      libgnutls-extra.so.13 -> libgnutls-extra.so.13.0.6
      libgomp.so.1 -> libgomp.so.1.0.0
      libgstrtp-0.10.so.0 -> libgstrtp-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libgsf-1.so.114 -> libgsf-1.so.114.0.1
      libldap-2.3.so.0 -> libldap.so
      libguile.so.17 -> libguile.so.17.0.0
      libodbccr.so.1 -> libodbccr.so.1.0.0
      libXcomposite.so.1 -> libXcomposite.so.1.0.0
      libpcreposix.so.0 -> libpcreposix.so.0.0.0
      libglut.so.3 -> libglut.so.3.8.0
      libnautilus-burn.so.4 -> libnautilus-burn.so.4.0.0
      libbonoboui-2.so.0 -> libbonoboui-2.so.0.0.0
      libebook-1.2.so.9 -> libebook-1.2.so.9.1.0
      libpq.so.4 -> libpq.so.4.1
      libbrlapi.so.0.4 -> libbrlapi.so.0.4.1
      libwacomcfg.so.0 -> libwacomcfg.so.0.0.1
      libspi.so.0 -> libspi.so.0.10.11
      libcurl.so.3 -> libcurl.so.3.0.0
      libkrb5support.so.0 -> libkrb5support.so.0.1
      libboost_serialization.so.2 -> libboost_serialization.so.1.33.1
      libncursesw.so.5 -> libncursesw.so.5.5
      libecal-1.2.so.7 -> libecal-1.2.so.7.0.2
      libXpm.so.4 -> libXpm.so.4.11.0
      libpcrecpp.so.0 -> libpcrecpp.so.0.0.0
      libpoppler.so.1 -> libpoppler.so.1.0.0
      libwvbase.so.4.2 -> libwvbase.so.4.2
      libgnomecanvas-2.so.0 -> libgnomecanvas-2.so.0.1400.0
      libgal-a11y-2.2.so.1 -> libgal-a11y-2.2.so.1.0.2
      libXRes.so.1 -> libXRes.so.1.0.0
      libartswavplayobject.so.0 -> libartswavplayobject.so.0.0.0
      libXdamage.so.1 -> libXdamage.so.1.0.0
      libparted-1.8.so.0 -> libparted-1.8.so.0.0.1
      libORBitCosNaming.so.0 -> libORBitCosNaming.so.0.5.17
      libgs.so.8 -> libgs.so.8.15
      libsasl.so.7 -> libsasl.so.7.1.11
      libgal-2.2.so.1 -> libgal-2.2.so.1.0.2
      libart_lgpl_2.so.2 -> libart_lgpl_2.so.2.3.17
      libcmaX.so.1 -> libcmaX.so.1.0
      libnetsnmpagent.so.10 -> libnetsnmpagent.so.10.0.1
      libXp.so.6 -> libXp.so.6.2.0
      libXmu.so.6 -> libXmu.so.6.2.0
      libpgtypes.so.2 -> libpgtypes.so.2.1
      libldap_r-2.3.so.0 -> libldap_r.so
      libavc1394.so.0 -> libavc1394.so.0.3.0
      libGLU.so.1 -> libGLU.so.1.3.060501
      liblwres.so.9 -> liblwres.so.9.1.5
      liblcms.so.1 -> liblcms.so.1.0.15
      libpng.so.2 -> libpng.so.2.1.0.16
      libesoobS.so.1 -> libesoobS.so.1.0.0
      liblvm2cmd.so.2.02 -> liblvm2cmd.so.2.02
      libGLw.so.1 -> libGLw.so.1.0.0
      libogg.so.0 -> libogg.so.0.5.3
      libviaXvMC.so.1 -> libviaXvMC.so.1.0.0
      libdrm.so.2 -> libdrm.so.2.0.0
      libgnomeui.so.32 -> libgnomeui.so.32.14.1
      libartsgslplayobject.so.0 -> libartsgslplayobject.so.0.0.0
      liblftp-jobs.so.0 -> liblftp-jobs.so.0.0.0
      libungif.so.4 -> libungif.so.4.1.3
      libcapi20.so.3 -> libcapi20.so.3.0.4
      libltdl.so.3 -> libltdl.so.3.1.4
      libboost_wserialization.so.2 -> libboost_wserialization.so.1.33.1
      libcrack.so.2 -> libcrack.so.2.8.0
      libgmp.so.3 -> libgmp.so.3.3.3
      libkadm5srv.so.5 -> libkadm5srv.so.5.1
      libXaw3d.so.7 -> libXaw3d.so.7.0
      libnewt.so.0.52 -> libnewt.so.0.52.1
      libXv.so.1 -> libXv.so.1.0.0
      libkrb4.so.2 -> libkrb4.so.2.0
      libfreetype.so.6 -> libfreetype.so.6.3.10
      libgaim-remote.so.0 -> libgaim-remote.so.0.0.0
      libsoundserver_idl.so.1 -> libsoundserver_idl.so.1.0.0
      libhal.so.1 -> libhal.so.1.0.0
      libglib-1.2.so.0 -> libglib-1.2.so.0.0.10
      libxkbfile.so.1 -> libxkbfile.so.1.0.2
      libstunnel.so -> libstunnel.so
      libgcj_bc.so.1 -> libgcj_bc.so.1.0.0
      libXext.so.6 -> libXext.so.6.4.0
      libhesiod.so.0 -> libhesiod.so.0.0.0
      librpmbuild-4.4.so -> librpmbuild.so
      libpcap.so.0.9.4 -> libpcap.so.0.9.4
      libsasl2.so.2 -> libsasl2.so.2.0.22
      libgstnet-0.10.so.0 -> libgstnet-0.10.so.0.8.1
      libboost_test_exec_monitor.so.2 -> libboost_test_exec_monitor.so.1.33.1
      libgstriff-0.10.so.0 -> libgstriff-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libpango-1.0.so.0 -> libpango-1.0.so.0.1400.9
      libcairo.so.2 -> libcairo.so.2.9.2
      libdw.so.1 -> libdw-0.125.so
      libtiffxx.so.3 -> libtiffxx.so.3.8.2
      libpisock.so.8 -> libpisock.so.8.0.5
      libgettextlib-0.14.1.so -> libgettextlib.so
      libgsttag-0.10.so.0 -> libgsttag-0.10.so.0.6.0
      libaudiofile.so.0 -> libaudiofile.so.0.0.2
      libgpg-error.so.0 -> libgpg-error.so.0.3.0
      libscim-1.0.so.8 -> libscim-1.0.so.8.1.0
      libodbcnnS.so.1 -> libodbcnnS.so.1.0.0
      libguile-srfi-srfi-13-14-v-3.so.3 -> libguile-srfi-srfi-13-14-v-3.so.3.0.0
      libatk-1.0.so.0 -> libatk-1.0.so.0.1212.0
      libneon.so.24 -> libneon.so.24.0.7
      libXrender.so.1 -> libXrender.so.1.3.0
      libgnome-menu.so.2 -> libgnome-menu.so.2.1.3
      libmikmod.so.2 -> libmikmod.so.2.0.4
      libgnome-media-profiles.so.0 -> libgnome-media-profiles.so.0.0.0
      libgmcop.so.1 -> libgmcop.so.1.0.0
      libbz2.so.1 -> libbz2.so.1.0.3
      libodbcpsql.so.2 -> libodbcpsql.so.2.0.0
      libXtst.so.6 -> libXtst.so.6.1.0
      libgnorbagtk.so.0 -> libgnorbagtk.so.0.0.0
      libdmx.so.1 -> libdmx.so.1.0.0
      libgdk_imlib.so.1 -> libgdk_imlib.so.1.9.13
      libmp.so.3 -> libmp.so.3.1.7
      libXvMC.so.1 -> libXvMC.so.1.0.0
      libboost_filesystem.so.2 -> libboost_filesystem.so.1.33.1
      libimlib-xpm.so -> libimlib-xpm.so
      libpangoxft-1.0.so.0 -> libpangoxft-1.0.so.0.1400.9
      libk5crypto.so.3 -> libk5crypto.so.3.1
      libgettextsrc-0.14.6.so -> libgettextsrc-0.14.6.so
      libiec61883.so.0 -> libiec61883.so.0.0.0
      libnl.so.1 -> libnl.so.1.0-pre5
      libgdict-1.0.so.5 -> libgdict-1.0.so.5.0.5
      libscrollkeeper.so.0 -> libscrollkeeper.so.0.0.0
      libgnorba.so.27 -> libgnorba.so.27.1.8
      libXrandr.so.2 -> libXrandr.so.2.0.0
      libsapdbS.so.1 -> libsapdbS.so.1.0.0
      libusbpp-0.1.so.4 -> libusbpp.so
      libisc.so.11 -> libisc.so.11.1.1
      libgstbase-0.10.so.0 -> libgstbase-0.10.so.0.8.1
      libmimerS.so.1 -> libmimerS.so.1.0.0
      libsysfs.so.2 -> libsysfs.so.2.0.0
      libnetsnmpmibs.so.10 -> libnetsnmpmibs.so.10.0.1
      libgtkspell.so.0 -> libgtkspell.so.0.0.0
      libgnome-mag.so.2 -> libgnome-mag.so.2.1.1
      libfreebl3.so -> libfreebl3.so
      libesd.so.0 -> libesd.so.0.2.36
      libsqlite3.so.0 -> libsqlite3.so.0.8.6
      libopcodes-2.17.50.0.6-6.el5.so -> libopcodes-2.17.50.0.6-6.el5.so
      libqtmcop.so.1 -> libqtmcop.so.1.0.0
      libodbcpsql.so.1 -> libodbcpsql.so.1.0.0
      libpangoft2-1.0.so.0 -> libpangoft2-1.0.so.0.1400.9
      libcryptsetup.so.0 -> libcryptsetup.so.0.0.0
      libgnome-keyring.so.0 -> libgnome-keyring.so.0.0.1
      libedataserverui-1.2.so.8 -> libedataserverui-1.2.so.8.0.2
      libboost_date_time.so.2 -> libboost_date_time.so.1.33.1
      libdaemon.so.0 -> libdaemon.so.0.2.4
      libartscbackend.so.0 -> libartscbackend.so.0.0.0
      libgailutil.so.18 -> libgailutil.so.18.0.1
      liboil-0.3.so.0 -> liboil-0.3.so.0.1.0
      libimlib-tiff.so -> libimlib-tiff.so
      libcmapeer.so.1 -> libcmapeer.so.1.0
      libbdevid.so.5.1.19.6 -> libbdevid.so.5.1.19.6
/lib/tls: (hwcap: 0x8000000000000000)
/lib/i686: (hwcap: 0x0008000000000000)
/usr/lib/tls: (hwcap: 0x8000000000000000)
/usr/lib/sse2: (hwcap: 0x0000000004000000)
      libgmpxx.so.3 -> libgmpxx.so.3.0.5
      libgmp.so.3 -> libgmp.so.3.3.3
      libmp.so.3 -> libmp.so.3.1.7
/lib/tls/i686: (hwcap: 0x8008000000000000)
/lib/tls/i486: (hwcap: 0x8002000000000000)
/lib/tls/i586: (hwcap: 0x8004000000000000)
/usr/lib/tls/i686: (hwcap: 0x8008000000000000)
/usr/lib/tls/i486: (hwcap: 0x8002000000000000)
/usr/lib/tls/i586: (hwcap: 0x8004000000000000)


-- su from account that works

bash-3.2$ whoami
ftptop
bash-3.2$ su
Password:
[root@cdrserver home]# bash
bash: error while loading shared libraries: libdl.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[root@cdrserver home]# ls
ls: error while loading shared libraries: librt.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
[root@cdrserver home]#


Yes indeed I did reboot the server after the upgrade; I was actually prompted to reboot after the upgrade.

One other thing is that /sbin/ldconfig works with the v option, but gives an error without that argument.

[root@cdrserver home]# /sbin/ldconfig
/sbin/ldconfig: /usr/lib/libcpqlsptransport.so.0 is not a symbolic link

The ldconfig message concerning libcpqlsptransport.so.0 has nothing to do with your problem.
It is some Compaq/HP software.

As the working user, instead of su do a
sudo -E /bin/bash

Does that lead to a functioning root user?

I am not quite so sure if this might help, but I found a forum were a similar problem was discussed. The advised the person who had a problem to do an "strace"

http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/Debian/2007-06/msg01575.html

Thing is, I am not that familiar with the strace command; but I have nonetheless attached the document. Perhaps it might be of help.

I issued the following command.
strace -o /tmp/ls.strace -f su - root -c ls
ls.strace.txt

bash-3.2$ sudo -E /bin/bash
sudo: illegal option `-E'
usage: sudo -K | -L | -V | -h | -k | -l | -v
usage: sudo [-HPSb] [-p prompt] [-u username|#uid]
            { -e file [...] | -i | -s | <command> }
bash-3.2$

The try a

su -m

instead of su alone. Does that lead to a functioning root bash?

hemmi!
It works after I preserve the environment. How do I proceed now; to permanently sort out the problem?

Actually the strace is a good idea.
However the strace output indicates, that you did not enter the correct root password.
Please first run

su - root -c ls

by itself. What is the output?

And afterwards

strace -o /tmp/ls.strace -f su - root -c ls

One more thing:

There is oracle installed on your system. Oracle does a lot of changes to the standard redhat. I've seen many problems stem from that.
Did you upgrade the oracle running on the former EL4 to an oracle for EL5 ??? If not, you must, because oracle fiddles around with the libraries a lot.

It's so strange; strace keeps saying incorrect password.... but I know for sure the password I just used is the correct one.

bash-3.2$ su - root -c ls
Password:
ls: error while loading shared libraries: librt.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
bash-3.2$


bash-3.2$ su - root -c ls
Password:
ls: error while loading shared libraries: librt.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
bash-3.2$ strace -o /tmp/ls.strace.hemmi.txt -f su - root -c ls
Password:
su: incorrect password
bash-3.2$

What about the oracle question?

The point is, you didn't move from "EL4" to "EL5", but from
"EL4 heavily modified by oracle" to ...?

Did you upgrade the oracle running on the former EL4 to an oracle for EL5 ???
We actually have an Oracle Database 9i R2 running on the server; it is the main reason we upgraded the OS.
I do not quite understand the relationship between the Oracle upgrade and the EL4 ->>> EL5 upgrade.

Your oracle was installed onto the EL4.
The oracle installation fiddles around with the EL4. Especially EL4 libraries are being changed.
Now you installed the EL5, but the oracle had not been installed on EL5.
Look into the strace output. You will see, how much a simple "su" uses oracle libraries.
Can you do an oracle update/reinstall?
You now have a working root user with enough privileges ...

Yes indeed; I am actually going to upgrade it today... from 9i ->>> 11g. One thing I still do not understand is why it affects some accounts but now others.

I quickly check the .bashrc files of ftptop (working account) and zambia (account with errors) and noticed they are quite different. Could that has an effect?

ftptop (working account)

bash-3.2$ cat .bashrc
# .bashrc

# User specific aliases and functions

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
        . /etc/bashrc
fi
bash-3.2$


bash-3.2$ pwd
/home/zambia
bash-3.2$ cat .bashrc
# .bashrc

# User specific aliases and functions

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
        . /etc/bashrc
fi
export PATH=$PATH:/home/oracle/product/ora9i/bin
export ORACLE_SID=zambia
export ORAENV_ASK=NO
. oraenv

. $HOME/bin/cdr.ini
. $HOME/bin/cdrenv
#export PS1="[ CDR PRIMARY ]"
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib
bash-3.2$


I was rather hoping I could permanently sort this issue out before the upgrade

Apart from what theses files do:

. oraenv

. $HOME/bin/cdr.ini
. $HOME/bin/cdrenv

(one would have to carefully read them)

The LD_LIBRARY_PATH make oracle libs to be used.

Therefore you should do the update and my guess is afterwards the libraries will be usuable again.

Thanks Hemmi; will try it out and give you feedback.

The only other issue I have is that I cannot get through to the GUI as I get the following error. I would have preferred to use DBUA when upgrading, but I guess I will have to use the Manual process

User's $HOME/.dmrc file is being ignored.  This prevents the default session and language from being saved.  File should be owned by user and have 644 permissions.  User's $HOME directory must be owned by user and not writable by other users.

I will close this question when I finish upgrading and things start functioning normally.

This is good news; you should not have to reinstall :)

In the non-working user's profile, comment out everything under the last fi (not the fi itself) and try the user.  If it works, uncomment one of the lines and retry until it doesn't work again.  When the user breaks, the last uncommented line is the winner (or loser).  Once we know which line in the profile is breaking the user, it will be easier to suggest a real solution.

Thanks; so I just discovered something else. The user (ftptop) that is working seems to have a home directory point to a location (/home/zambia/FTP/TOP)

ftptop account (working)
bash-3.2$ whoami
ftptop
bash-3.2$ echo $HOME
/home/zambia/FTP/TOP
bash-3.2$ ls -lhtr $HOME/.bashrc
ls: /home/zambia/FTP/TOP/.bashrc: No such file or directory
bash-3.2$

root account (not working)

bash-3.2# ls -lhtr /root/.bashrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 176 Jul 13  2006 /root/.bashrc
bash-3.2#

# .bashrc

# User specific aliases and functions

alias rm='rm -i'
alias cp='cp -i'
alias mv='mv -i'

# Source global definitions
if [ -f /etc/bashrc ]; then
        . /etc/bashrc
fi



So I rename the ~/bashrc file and now I can login normally with root. There is something wrong with the file /etc/bashrc but I don't know what exactly.

I have attached the file.

bashrc.txt

lyton: as I said before:
Your standard user is given a special oracle enviroment. This does not work anymore, because your oracle installation is for EL4.
After the upgrade or renstall of oracle, everything should be fine!

Noted. Thanks; just figured there could be a chance that things would work before the upgrade.

I did not see the /etc/bashrc attachment.
turnbulld is probably right! The LD_ASSUME_KERNEL is not the standard EL /etc/bashrc.
I have no idea whether oracle puts it there or who did it.
Would be interesting to see, if it's gone after the oracle upgrade.

how do I use LD_DEBUG?

Just type
$ export LD_DEBUG=file

However, at this time, I suggest you follow turnbulld's and hemmi's advice.  They appear to be on to something more useful.

Gentlemen!! I went out for a bit and just came in. I believe turnbulld just cracked it.

I uncommented the following and I am now able to login without a problem.
export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.4.1

However, I cannot seem to run the Oracle Upgrade assistant cause of the following error ->>>

/home/oracle/jre/1.1.8/bin/../lib/i686/green_threads/libzip.so: symbol errno, version GLIBC_2.0 not defined in file libc.so.6 with link time reference (libzip.so)
Unable to initialize threads: cannot find class java/lang/Thread
Could not create Java VM


I have only managed to install the Oracle Binaries, but cannot proceed with the upgrade using DBUA. Not quite sure if this has anything to do with the uncommenting.

You could try "recommenting" the statement and see what happens.

The problem start again if I do that.

The problem start again if I do that.

I know.  The purpose of the test is to see if that setting is the cause of the problem or not.

To solve the problem, the first thing we need to do is diagnose the problem.  

If the value must be set for those programs to run, then you would take steps such as seeing if another value will work; seeing if there's another version of the program; etc.

If changing the value doesn't get the programs to run, then you can eliminate the variable as the cause (and look elsewhere).

It turns out the other problem that popped up was due to the fact that I had two different versions of JRE. This article (http://www.scribd.com/doc/7237898/9i-on-RHEL-5) was rather helpful.

The errors was because the JRE symbolic link was pointing to JRE -> /home/oracle/jre/1.8.1 (a much lower version); though I must say, I have not quite figured out why it resulted in the error. The sequence of commands I executed are below, but the link above has a more comprehensive explanation.

cd $ORACLE_HOME
rm JRE
ln -s $ORACLE_BASE/jre/1.3.1 JRE
cd JRE/bin
ln -s java jre
cd i386/native_threads/
ln -s java jre

Thank You very much for your help Gentlemen; I must say, I have learnt quite a number of things these past two days.

Is there an unanswered question?

Awesome! That did it.... Thanks a million everyone.