[X-Unix] Backdoor method to add users

[David Ledger]

>From: Mike Jezierski <pcdoctor at galesburg.net>
>
>We have an OS X 10.3.2 box (DP 450 G4) and it has 99 users accounts
>set up on it. I am not aware of any hard limit on OS X on number of
>users.
>
>When we click + to add a user, nothing happens. We removed a user,
>and tried to add another, and still nothing happens.
>
>Any backdoor method to add users from the terminal?

Do an:
	nidump passwd / > /etc/ passwd
**As long as you understand the Unix passwd file format and how it 
works** you can then add users as you wish (the limit is 64,000 or 
more, depending on implementation).  Following this you can do:
	niload passwd / < /etc/ passwd
to load them back into netinfo.

This is how I manage my user accounts.  It helps to keep accounts 
matched between machines.  When I change or add a user on one 
machine, I scp the /etc/passwd to the other machines and load their 
netinfos from it.  I do basically the same for groups and hosts.
The first step is always needed before each session because the 
cleanup scripts junk /etc/passwd regularly.

David


-- 
David Ledger - Freelance Unix Sysadmin in the UK.
Chair of HPUX SysAdmin SIG of hpUG technical user group (www.hpug.org.uk)
dledger at ivdcs.co.uk (also dledger at ivdcs.demon.co.uk)
www.ivdcs.co.uk