# Need Some Help



## andy8 (Mar 30, 2011)

Hi,

I  have  just  begun  using  FreeBSD  and  this  question  may  sound  very  trivial  but  it's  quite  crucial  to  me. I  have  read  the  FreeBSD  handbook  but  still  couldn't  solve  the  problem.

I  would  like  to  access  a  path  and  open  its  file, so  being  the  root  user,  for  (e.g.)  I  type  in  */var/run/dmesg.boot* to  view  the  file.

But  the  output  I  get  is  Permission  Denied!

Have  I  done  anything  wrong  on  the  command?


----------



## Fred (Mar 30, 2011)

In order to view a text file, use something like *less*. Type [cmd=]less /var/run/dmesg.boot[/cmd] for this file, for instance. You can use the cursor keys to go forward / backward in the file, and *q* to quit; *h* will bring up a help screen.

The "Permission denied" you see comes from the shell, which tried to execute the file dmesg.boot. Obviously (?) you can't execute a text file.


----------



## andy8 (Mar 30, 2011)

Thanks Fred!


----------

