[mismith]

i am a unix/command line novice and just recently upgraded to os 10.1 (+ most recent update) and when i try to use the ftp command in the terminal, i get...

ok? sftp?

the server i am connecting to will not accept this connection, but will accept cleartext password in fetch under classic.

_______

Also is there a good site with introductory information about ssh and how to go about using it. Thanks for your help

[fitter]

Can you ssh to the machine? If not, you won't be able to use sftp. Sftp is run over ssh; in fact, ssh makes the connection, then starts a program called sftp-server on the server, which then provides the prompt and interface for the command line.

If you want to run ftp from the command line, try specifying the full path to the program, so:

<font face = "courier">user% /usr/bin/ftp login.to.this.host.org</font>

That should do the trick. If it fails, either your path variable doesn't contain /usr/bin--which is unlikely, given that it finds sftp in the same directory--or ftp is screwed. You can determine that by typing this from the command line:

<font face = "courier">user% ls -l /usr/bin | grep ftp</font>

If ftp has no size--i.e., zero bytes--you'll have to reinstall or get someone to send you a copy of the binary. I recommend reinstalling. It's safest, and will only install the portions that need to be updated.

[mismith]

Originally posted by fitter:
<STRONG>Can you ssh to the machine?

&lt;font face = "courier"&gt;user% /usr/bin/ftp login.to.this.host.org&lt;/font&gt;


&lt;font face = "courier"&gt;user% ls -l /usr/bin | grep ftp&lt;/font&gt;

</STRONG>

I really appreciate the help, but... the plot thickens

I can't ssh to the machine yet, i think we are switching to secure connections in late December.

so...

using &lt;font face = "courier"&gt;user% ls -l /usr/bin &lt;/font&gt; I found NO ftp, nor did I find "top."

To make matters even worse, my 10.1 upgrade CD won't install over the 10.1.1 system, I was just going to erase the whole hard drive and start over. Maybe now I will have to start all the way back at 10.0.

Thanks for your help, I keep fiddling, and let you know what i come up with.

[mismith]

Problem solved...

It seems, during my numerous OS X installs, while unchecking different languages for installation I unchecked 'BSD Subsystem.'

So I whipped out the trusty ol' 10.1 upgrade cd, installed the package, and I am ftp'ing all over the place...

I'll bet this had something to do with not being able to ftp INTO the system either.... go figure

Thanks for your help..