Prompt command misdisplay, 2 letters constantly displayed b4 command

Question

I run Arch Linux in VirtualBox.
I use bash history. On first click a _long_ command is displayed. On next clicks, the first 2 characters of the _long_ command are constantly displayed on the screen followed by the next command in turn. If I press "enter" the new command is normally executed without considering the first 2 characters. They disappear by "enter" or "clear" and come back again after the execution of another _long_ command.
e.g.
# > pwd
# > time
# > date
# > date (time, pwd) (are displayed by pressing the upwards arrow)
# > less /.../.../.../file (first long command)
# > ledate (letime, lepwd) (are displayed by the upwards arrow)
Any idea what I have done wrong?
Thanks
PS: bash.bashrc.local
# This file is in the public domain.
# It's created by ...
echo
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m##############################################################################"
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m#@@@                                                                      @@@#"
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m#@@                             \e[36;40;1mArch GNU/Linux!\e[35;40;1m                            @@#"
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m#@                                                                          @#"
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m#@@                  \e[32;40;1mIt puts the fun back into computing.\e[35;40;1m                  @@#"
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m#@@@                                                                      @@@#"
echo -e "\e[35;40;1m##############################################################################"
# Check for an interactive session
[ -z "$PS1" ] && return
PS1='\n\[\e[30;40;1m\]\016l\017-[\[\e[36;40m\]\s\[\e[30;40;1m\]]-[\[\e[37;40m\]\u@\H\[\e[30;40;1m\]]-[\[\e[32;40m\]\l\[\e[30;40;1m\](\[\e[31;40m\]\j\[\e[30;40;1m\])]-[\[\e[33;40m\]\@ \d\[\e[30;40;1m\]]-(CmdNo.\[\e[31;40m\]\!\[\e[30;40;1m\])-(HistNo.\[\e[31;40m\]\#\[\e[30;40;1m\])\n\[\e[30;40;1m\]\016t\017-[\[\e[34;40;1m\]$(pwd)\[\e[30;40;1m\]]-(\[\e[34;40m\]$(ls-t | wc -l) files,$(ls-l | grep -m 1 total | sed {s/total//})b\[\e[30;40;1m\])\n\016m\017-> \[\e[35;40m\]\$\[\e[37;40m\] > '
PS2='\[\e[31;40m\]more!\[\e[37;40m\] > '
PS3='\[\e[31;40m\]Select\[\e[37;40m\]> '
PS4='\[\e[31;40m\]debug\[\e[37;40m\] > '

Answer 1

I do not have a backup. Should I back up before I try doing a reinstall of the os x?
That's also known as shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.
It can't hurt, but it's not going to help much.
Camelot: when you say "apps and user content should stay intact" - doesn't sound very definitive. Are there any variables that come into play?
No.. generally it's pretty reliable, but yours is an odd situation. I wouldn't expect to lose any user data, just CYA
I do have a start up disk along with some apps that I created in retrospect many years ago ....(I think it's os x 10.2.8) Can I use this to boot up and then just navigate to my user files so I can get some things done that I need to?
Unlikely. For one have you even tried restoring from your Retrospect backup? (it's not the most reliable system).
Secondly, you can't boot from your Retrospect backup, so you'll need to restore that system to boot from it. Have you got a second disk to restore to (you do NOT want to restore 10.2.x over your 10.4.x system).
in terms of "random deleted files" : not entirely random
Ok, maybe not entire random, but it's also somewhat unknown. You need to have some idea of what files you're trying to restore, but if you haven't got them in a backup where are you going to get them from?
You cannot just take old copies from your 10.2.x system and hope they'll work (in case that's what you're thinking).
The BEST solution is to boot from the 10.4.x installer disk and let it do its thing.
And for what its worth, Unauthorized access attempts, in and of themselves, are not a cause for concern since they were clearly caught by the OS. It's the access attempts that succeed (and are not logged) which are more of an issue.