> I've recently had .. ahem .. fun trying to get my headless FreeBSD box to
> spit messages at the console. I've got the kernel doing it right, but not
> the boot loaders. The boot loader will print to the serial device - but it
> won't load my kernel :-( I haven't exhausted all oppurtunities here yet -
> this isn't a cry for help on that.
>
> The reason I need to play around with the boot loaders is that I need the
> serial console on COM2. I have a modem on COM1. Before you ask, I can't
> swap them over easily, I'd need to swap the connectors internally or buy
> some 9-25 adaptors. But I digress.
"Swapping them internally" would probably involve about 30 seconds of
work. It's not hard, really. 8)
> I think (I am not positive on this) that if the boot loader talks to a
> modem in command mode with echo on, it gets confused and won't boot any
> further. Is this a known problem?
Yes. The solution is "do not connect a modem with echo enabled to the
console". The loader will spend endless hours talking to the modem (and
if _it_ didn't, getty would a few seconds later).
> Is there enough room in there for some code, which checks for this? IE if
> the first line output to the serial device == the first input (some
> version string probably) then it just ignores it and does the default
> action?
No. Wrong solution. Connect your console to the console port and your
modem to the modem port.
> Sorry about the vagueness - I didn't have time to test this or gain any
> real empirical evidence - I needed to get the machine back in action ASAP.
Sorry about the fascist attitude, but you really do just need to Do The
Right Thing here.
--
\\ Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. \\ Mike Smith
\\ Tell him he should learn how to fish himself, \\ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
\\ and he'll hate you for a lifetime. \\ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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