in hindsight I should have just changed into the directory directly first then used chmod without needing the full path. Or run the flag that asks you to confirm each transaction or dry run. I’m a much smarter idiot nowadays.

This is actually my own Oh Shit story.

Early days of being a sysadmin and making changes on a major Linux server that we have in production. Running routine commands and changing permissions on a few directories and I make a typo. “sudo chmod 777 /etc/” instead of typing the rest of the directory tree I accidentally hit return.

It only ran for a fraction of a second before I hit CTRL + C to stop it but by then the damage had been done. I spent hours mirroring and fixing permissions by hand using a duplicate physical server. As a precaution we moved all production services off this machine and it was a good thing too as when we rebooted the server a few weeks later, it never booted again.

For those that don’t know, chmod is used to set access permissions on files and folders, the 777 stands for “Read + Write + Execute” for the owner, group, and everyone else. The /etc directory contains many of the basic system configuration files for the entire operating system and many things have very strict permissions for security reasons. Without certain permissions in place those systems will refuse to load files or boot if not properly set.

This article is the shareware version of the book. Great read though, now I want more.

Good luck, take your time and don’t use a metal spudger if it’s your first time doing it.

I had to replace mine while doing the atomic purple shell swap due to damage and impatience.

If you want a fancy replacement shell you have to de-laminate the LCD screen from the old shell first. Depending on the kit you buy DON’T use a metal spudger for removing the LCD and take your time, or you will have a bad time.

Side note, Ifixit sells direct replacement LCD panels and the kit for doing a better job removing the LCD if you don’t already have them.