Ubuntu
gnome-ppp package

Establish permissions for Gnome-PPP Unbuntu 8.10

Asked by Robert Brownscombe

I have installed Gnome-PPP to Unbuntu 8.10 but there is a permissions problem and the program times out and will not connect my dialup unless I run Gnome-PPP from terminal mode using the command "sudo gnome-ppp" and enter my password - inconvienient but it works so I know the configuration and modem drivers work. There are hundreds of references to this problem in various forums but not one solution that I have found works. There is no DIP group to join that may have solved the problem in the past. Something to do with permissions was changed from 8.04 to 8.10. The failed connection log looks like this:

{start of log}
--> Sending: ATM1L1DT5036228279
--> Waiting for carrier.
ATM1L1DT5036228279
CONNECT 31200/ARQ/V34/LAPM/V42BIS
--> Carrier detected. Waiting for prompt.
Level 3 Comm nas24.por1 UQKT2
Username:/login:/Login:
--> Looks like a login prompt.
--> Sending: <email address hidden>
<email address hidden>
Password:
--> Looks like a password prompt.
--> Sending: (password)
    Entering PPP Session.
    IP address is 4.255.49.24
    MTU is 1524.
--> Looks like a welcome message.
--> Unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd.
--> Check permissions, or specify a "PPPD Path" option in wvdial.conf.
--> Looks like a welcome message.
--> Unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd.
--> Check permissions, or specify a "PPPD Path" option in wvdial.conf.
--> Looks like a welcome message.
--> Unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd.
--> Check permissions, or specify a "PPPD Path" option in wvdial.conf.
--> Don't know what to do! Starting pppd and hoping for the best.
--> Unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd.
{repeats Ad Nausium.............}
--> Check permissions, or specify a "PPPD Path" option in wvdial.conf.
--> Don't know what to do! Starting pppd and hoping for the best.
--> pipe failed: Too many open files
{end of log}

It is unable to run /usr/sbin/pppd because of incorrect permissions unless run as root. I am only one user (the first user with admin privileges). What can I do to either give the user or the /usr/sbin/pppd file the correct permissions? If you have as solution for this problem that has been tested with 8.10 and works, please let me know. Please no wild guesses. I have researched the forums for considerable hours and have tried many of the suggestions. This solution will help numerous others still stuck with dialup.

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Ubuntu gnome-ppp Edit question
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Robert Brownscombe
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Revision history for this message
Yuriy (yu-chumak) said : 		#1

You are right, there was no a such issue in the 8.04.

Following is my workaround.

Add "Connect to Internet using a modem" into the account properties: System->Administration->Users and Groups, Unlock, select your account, push "Properies" button, select "User Privileges" tab.

After that I am able to connect to Internet via bluetooth modem by Gnome-PPP.

Revision history for this message
Henry Peters (hwpeters) said : 		#2

Hi Robert & Yuriy,

Thanks for bringing up this problem (which I also had), I would just say, incase anyone else has this problem of permissions & dial up with Ubuntu 8.10, that the only thing I would add was that I had to restart Ubuntu before the change in permissions took effect.

Henry

Revision history for this message
Yuriy (yu-chumak) said : 		#3

I think, need no to restart - relogin is enough.

Revision history for this message
Henry Peters (hwpeters) said : 		#4

Ok, but too late now, though! :)

Henry

Yuriy wrote:

> Question #56076 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/56076
>
> Yuriy proposed the following answer:
> I think, need no to restart - relogin is enough.
>
>

Revision history for this message
Robert Brownscombe (robert-pon) said : 		#5

Thank you Yuriy. I have not tried your solution yet but it sounds simple enough and logical. In experimenting with permissions logged in as root (sudo su), I lost ALL permissions as first user with no access to Users and Groups and have decided to totally reinstall Ubuntu. (It was a new installation so nothing lost.) For those of you who like to live dangerously:

DON'T DO THIS (Ubuntu 8.10) to add the dip group to username:
sudo su
usermod -G dip username

There is something special or strange about the dip group in 8.10 in which it is either nonexistent or hidden (probably for a good reason).

I will let you know how your solution works after I reinstall Ubuntu.

Robert

Revision history for this message
Barbara Dauerty (bdauerty) said : 		#6

I am a new UBUNTU user, having gotten fed up with Windows. Having problems downloading Codecs for an external DVD read/write for my Mini-Dell. Machine keeps telling me I´m not authorized, have the wrong user name/password or combination, am not the administrator. Anyone know the way to add this external HD to my little system?

Revision history for this message
Henry Peters (hwpeters) said : 		#7

Hi Barbara,

I found, for the problem i was having (connecting with dial-up & using GNOME PPP, a dial-up program) the advise 'Yuriy said on 2009-01-02:" was very helpful...

That said, I just recently upgraded to Ubuntu 8.10 myself, & all of a sudden, I am having problems getting my other hard drives/partitions to show up... & other problems having to do with the desktop (GNOME is a desktop program, menus, trash, mounting, etc.). There is another program associated with it called 'nautilus', that I am also trying to find out more about (I too am relatively new to Ubuntu/Linux)... but not having much luck (so far)... So, if it sounds like similar problems... I can try to let you know what I

Revision history for this message
Henry Peters (hwpeters) said : 		#8

Hi Barbara,

I found, for the problem i was having (connecting with dial-up & using GNOME PPP, a dial-up program) the advise 'Yuriy said on 2009-01-02:" above here, was very helpful...

That said, I just recently upgraded to Ubuntu 8.10 myself (from an earlier version; 8.04.1), & all of a sudden, I am having problems getting my other hard drives/partitions to show up... & other problems having to do with the desktop (GNOME is a desktop program, menus, trash, mounting, etc.). There is another program associated with it called 'nautilus', that I am also trying to find out more about (I too am relatively new to Ubuntu/Linux)... but not having much luck (so far)... So, if it sounds like similar problems... I can try to let you know what I am able to find out towards resolution (I have been hearing a few mentions of some similar problems popping up on some discussion lists... but do not think this seems to be getting much attention... maybe because, as my grandfather used to say; "The squeaky wheel gets the grease..." (?) Or perhaps there are (to try & be fair) other reasons... Let me know.

Henry

Revision history for this message
Barbara Dauerty (bdauerty) said : 		#9

Thank you, Henry.  Unfortunately, I have limited time to investigate, and try to avoid things not relatively intuitively obvious.

--- On Sun, 1/18/09, Henry Peters <email address hidden> wrote:

From: Henry Peters <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: [Question #56076]: Establish permissions for Gnome-PPP Unbuntu 8.10
To: <email address hidden>
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2009, 8:41 PM

Question #56076 on Ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/56076

Henry Peters posted a new comment:
Hi Barbara,

I found, for the problem i was having (connecting with dial-up & using
GNOME PPP, a dial-up program) the advise 'Yuriy said on 2009-01-02:"
was very helpful...

That said, I just recently upgraded to Ubuntu 8.10 myself, & all of a
sudden, I am having problems getting my other hard drives/partitions to
show up... & other problems having to do with the desktop (GNOME is a
desktop program, menus, trash, mounting, etc.). There is another
program associated with it called 'nautilus', that I am also trying to
find out more about (I too am relatively new to Ubuntu/Linux)... but not
having much luck (so far)... So, if it sounds like similar problems... I
can try to let you know what I

--
You received this question notification because you are a direct
subscriber of the question.

Revision history for this message
Robert Brownscombe (robert-pon) said : 		#10

My solution was to install Ubuntu 8.04. I have had no problems with establishing dial-up service using the packaged networking programs with this version. For me, the updates of 8.10 are certainly not worth the problems with dial-up.

Revision history for this message
jkohler2 (jkohler2) said : 		#11

I had the same problem on Ubuntu 8.10 and upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04 and the
problem is still there, and solved the same way, in a terminal window:

sudo gnome-ppp

Then I get the gnome ppp dialog box, in which I have put in id/password and
ISP dialup number.

It works, but I'd like to do the same without all the extra effort!