[tor-bugs] #8303 [Vidalia]: port.conf error

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#8303: port.conf error
-------------------------------+-----------------------------
     Reporter:  RedStateGreen  |      Owner:  erinn
         Type:  defect         |     Status:  new
     Priority:  normal         |  Milestone:
    Component:  Vidalia        |    Version:  Vidalia: 0.2.17
   Resolution:                 |   Keywords:  needs-triage
Actual Points:                 |  Parent ID:
       Points:                 |
-------------------------------+-----------------------------
Changes (by cypherpunks):

 * version:   => Vidalia: 0.2.17
 * component:  Tor bundles/installation => Vidalia


Comment:

 Connection Error
 Vidalia can't figure out how to talk to Tor because it can't access this
 file: /path/to/data/directory/port.conf

 Dec 17 03:48:30.299 [Warning] Couldn't open "../Data/port.conf.tmp"
 (../Data/port.conf) for writing: No such file or directory
 Dec 17 03:48:30.299 [Warning] Writing ../Data/port.conf failed: No such
 file or directory

 I see the above error message using Vidalia bridge bundle 0.2.21 and Tor
 0.2.4.23. It appears to be related to setting ControlPort to auto. When
 ControlPort is set to auto, Vidalia looks for port.conf (a file it uses to
 determine the control port) in the Tor data directory, but Tor doesn't
 write this file by default.

 As a workaround, change ControlPort from auto to 9051 (or any other unused
 port). You can do this by goint into Vidalia's Settings menu, clicking the
 Advanced button, and unchecking the box "Configure ControlPort
 automatically".

 In order to fix this, I added the line "ControlPortWriteToFile
 /path/to/data/directory/port.conf" to my torrc without quotes. I then
 started Tor by itself. This caused Tor to successfully write a control
 port file to my Tor data directory.

 However, Vidalia continued to give the same error if I started Vidalia and
 Tor together. This appears to be related to bug 3463, which was fixed in
 Vidalia 0.2.17. Bug 3463 says Vidalia deletes port.conf if it exists, so
 that an old control port from a previous run is not used.

 I'm not sure how to get Vidalia to use Tor's control port automatically.
 Once the control port is set by Tor, Tor writes a control port file.
 Vidalia then deletes the control port file and tries to read it, in that
 order. This obviously fails, which means Vidalia doesn't learn Tor's new
 control port and never successfully connects to Tor.

 I've also noticed other bugs regarding setting ControlPort to auto
 (outside the scope of this one), so I would recommend disabling that
 feature and just setting ControlPort manually.

 The default port 9051 should work fine unless you have something already
 using that port, in which case you can easily change it to something else.

 If someone who knows more about Tor could look at this for me, I would
 really appreciate it.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/8303#comment:8>
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