Confused file name in directory

[dave at onfcanim.UUCP]

>) There is still another way, easier yet but more dangerous and
>) thrilling.  You cannot edit a directory, but you can edit a file.
>) And the only difference between the two is one byte.   ...
>
>Hoowie!  Is that complicated.  Sounds fun though.  I just
>unmount the partition, get out a calculator, and adb the raw
>disk.

It's most easily done as a three-step process:

1) unmount the disk, figure out where that inode lives on the disk,
   adb disk and patch the inode's "format" word to make it into a plain file.

2) mount the disk (while single user!), and edit the directory with
   adb, emacs, whatever

3) unmount the disk, patch the inode back into a directory, fsck the
   filesystem unless you have a great deal of confidence in yourself,
   then bring the machine back up.

This minimizes the possibility of clobbering something other than
the directory you want to alter.