on 1/25/00 11:22 PM, Lloyd.Parkes@vuw.ac.nz at Lloyd.Parkes@vuw.ac.nz wrote:

> I have a MicroVAX 3100/20 (well I think it's a 20 anyway), and I am
> having some trouble getting NetBSD to use the console.
> 
> I have a VT420 plugged into the 3100. I have an MMJ cable connecting MMJ
> connector #1 on the 3100 to an MMJ-DB25 converter on the VT420. When I
> switch the machine on, I get PROM messages just fine. I tried to boot a
> number of ways, all with the same result. At the moment, I have
> cdboot.fs from the current section of the FTP site dd'ed onto the SCSI
> hard disk that I am booting from.

    I've heard that there is a "console" switch on the uVAXen like there is
on the VAXstations. I read on comp.sys.dec that switch may map the console
to the wrong port, but echo characters anyway. All I can say is try flipping
it and then check the OpenVMS faq.

> When I boot from the hard disk, I get the following behaviour. The boot
> loader loads. It then automatically loads the kernel. The kernel sizes
> and the twirling progress thingy appear as normal. Then nothing. If I
> wait a short while, and listen carefully, I can hear the second hard
> disk spin up. I guess this means that the kernel is running, even though
> nothing seems to be sent to the console. If I press the reset button on
> the back, then I get some baud barf on the console. I can get normal
> text at this point by switching the terminal to 4800bps instead of 9600
> bps. If I try switching the console to 4800bps real soon after starting
> the boot process, it doesn't seem to help.
> 
> Does anybody know where my console messages might be going?