scotte@netbsd.warped.com writes:
> I've recently been using my 3/110 as an xterminal, and have noticed
> some off 'pauses' occuring.  I'm running current (bins are from Feb 14,
> kernel is from Mar 2).
> 
> The behaviour I'm seeing is that at random intervals, the machine seems
> to just pause, as though it's stuck waiting for something.  If I
> happen to be typing a character at the time, the character repeats until
> the machine 'unsticks'. 

I've seen this too.. (on a 3/50 w/ a kernel built from Sup's up to March 1.)
I thinking now that the "hang" that I had with this kernel was actually this 
"pausing" problem, and not the vm problems of late.  (Since that one "hang", 
the machine has been up for about 2 days, with a load typically around 3.00+)

> If I was moving the mouse, the pointer freezes,
> and I get a message on the console about '/ms0 input overrun'.  I've found
> that I can often unlock the machine by sending input via the network
> (that is, typing in a shell opened from another machine).

That's how I managed to "free" it one time when it was incessantly repeating 
"c"'s on the console.. (I'd typed "cd src", and the final "c" just kept 
repeating, until the line buffer thingy filled, and then the machine started 
beeping at me, once for each "c")

>  I haven't noticed
> these pauses lately over ttyb (where I have a terminal connected), although
> I did get similar pauses on ttyb in early Jan.
> 
> During the 'pauses', the machine is not busy, is not swapping, or doing
> any other task, and the pauses seem to occur at random intervals.

I've seen them both when the machine was busy (although they didn't seem to 
last as long), and when it was "idle"... 

Just my $0.02.

Later...

Greg Oster

oster@cs.usask.ca
Department of Computer Science
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CANADA