Subject: Re: AXP 3000-300X hangs
To: John Birrell <jb@cimlogic.com.au>
From: Chris G. Demetriou <cgd@cs.cmu.edu>
List: port-alpha
Date: 03/05/1997 19:16:06
> I've tried booting a kernel (built from sources as of March 3) on
> a 3000-300X to see if it hangs in the way mmcnamar@gr-lakes.com
> described after installing the rz25 image on his machine.
> 
> The kernel hangs after the scc0 probe (the same place that Matt reported).

Uh, was that report sent to the mailing list?  I just looked though
the mailing list archive, and I don't see anything about that.
(I see his problems where he was losing after AUDIT_LOAD_DONE, but
nothing where the kernel's actually running.)  Maybe it just didn't
make it to all members of the list (or the archives) yet...


> After writing the scc0 address to the console, there is a ~1 sec pause
> then a disk burgle, another ~1 sec pause and another disk burgle, and
> then the machine locks. Pressing the interrupt button will not get me
> back to the SRM console.

So, I don't know what the whole problem is here (and can't hope to
know without dmesg output, which you didn't include and I've not yet
seen from his other message 8-), but it _really_ sounds as if you're
trying to use the keyboard/display as console.


This is a no-no, as is mentioned in the Alpha snapshots' README:

>        If you are using one of the supported systems that includes a
>        PCI bus, and have either a PCI VGA frame buffer of any type or
>        a ZLXp-E1 frame buffer, you may use it as console.  (If you
>        are using your frame buffer as the console, you should use the
>        terminal type 'sun'.)  Otherwise (if you are using a TurboChannel
>        Alpha or have a different kind of frame buffer), you have to use
>        a serial console.

and on the 3000/300-family systems' "supported hardware" page on the
web site:

>Since no frame buffer or keyboard is supported on DEC 3000/300-family
>systems, you MUST use a serial console when running NetBSD/alpha on
>them. See your owner's manual for information on how to configure your
>system to use a serial console.


I'd like to get this fixed eventually (yes, to the person who sent me
private mail about fixing it, i mean to get back back to you but
haven't had time yet thanks to travel 8-S), but it doesn't work yet.


cgd