On Thu, Nov 23, 2023 at 05:14:42PM +0000, Pascal Deveaux wrote: > all files are present in /bin/ mkdir. Oddly enough after several attempts I > was able to create the directory
You probably typed: $ mkdir[some unprintable character] test For example, if you type 'mkdir', then hit ALT-ENTER, then ' test', you will get exactly the error message you first reported: ksh: mkdir: not found Then, I'm guessing that instead of typing it again, you just hit 'cursor up' to get the line back from the shell's command history, which would include the unprintable character. Eventually, when you typed it again without the unprintable character, it worked. Try: $ mkdir[ALT-ENTER] test 2> /dev/stdout | hexdump -C And you will get the following: 00000000 6b 73 68 3a 20 6d 6b 64 69 72 8d 3a 20 6e 6f 74 |ksh: mkdir.: not| 00000010 20 66 6f 75 6e 64 0a | found.| 00000017 Notice the 0x8d byte following 'mkdir'. This is 0x0d, (ENTER), plus 0x80 as a result of seting bit 7 by pressing ALT.
