> >  It would
> > -seem- as if inetd was able to spawn ftpd, since I at least get the
> > "Connected to" message back, but I don't get the FTP banner back.

> No, the "connected to" message is printed when the TCP socket is established -
> all what's needed for this on the remote machine happens in the kernel (it's
> a syn/ack sequence).

OK.


> > Plus, not being able to log into the console directly seems very strange.

> > Clearly, I've not been able to see what processes were running at that time.

> No ddb on the machine ? On the console you could enter it via 'ctrl-alt-esc'
> and then type 'ps' to see what's running.

Yikes, yes, next time I'll 'ctrl-alt-esc' to see what's running (blush!)


> > I was running two tasks to test the machine's reliability, which
> > compiled, gzipped, deleted the .o file and then looped using C and f77.  And
> 
> Didn't you see anything strange in top ?

Unfortunately, all my windows into that machine were minimized when it
crashed, and I didn't see anything unusual when I maximized the (now dead)
windown running top.

Next time it happens, I'll work to collect more clues.  Thanks -Mike