Subject: Re: Serial Console Ignorance
To: Tristan Doherty <ristar@abacom.com>
From: The Great Mr. Kurtz [David A. Gatwood] <davagatw@Mars.utm.edU>
List: port-mac68k
Date: 11/29/1996 19:39:04
On Fri, 29 Nov 1996, Tristan Doherty wrote:

>   I just got 1.2 installed on my IIcx/20MB RAM and I'm trying to get the
> modem (an *OLD* Abaton 1200 bps Interfax) running. So I have to get the
> serial cosole working. Unfourtunately, I haven't had any luck in finding
> any documentation on getting it set up. So when I check the "Serial
> Console" box in the booter and try to boot, it gives me the following
> message before it even clears the screen:

You don't use serial console to use a modem.  You use serial console if
your system won't boot without it.  Serial console means, instead of
setting up the internal keyboard and monitor, it uses the serial port as a
login connection.  That usually means another mac connected directly to
yours, serial port to serial port.  Since the internal video and keyboard
work just fine on the IIcx, this isn't necessary, and is pretty much
undesirable, unless you're running a server and are _really_ pressed for
speed....

If you want to set up the serial port as an additional login (without
displaying the internal console), you need to boot _without_ serial
console, and edit the file /etc/ttys to turn on tty00 (I think it's 00,
not 01, somebody correct me if not).

> Error -5025 trying to open slot 0x9 video driver
> Error -5025 processing video card slot 0x9 sRsrcID 0x90
> Aborting on non-fatal error.
> Warning - error -5025 turning off interrupts...booting anyway!

That's caused by a strange graphics card....  Try selecting the "do 
not disable video interrupts checkbox" and that problem should be cured.
The inability to disable interrupts probably won't cause problems unless 
you have an ethernet card in another slot, in which case things could get 
fun (I think that's right....)  Also, what kind of display board are you
using?

> Some of the LEDs on the modem flash and then it completely freezes so I
> have to restart.

That's because of the serial console.  The LED flash is caused by the
computer sending all the normal boot dialog to your modem instead of the
screen.  If your modem had bee connected to another computer's modem, you
could have run your box through the modem, but you wouldn't have the
internal console running.

Hope that helps,

 /---------------------------------------------------------------------\
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