Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!bacchus.pa.dec.com!wsl.dec.com!gringort
From: gringort@wsl.dec.com (Joel Gringorten)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Re: Problem with Software in DECWindows
Keywords: Decwindows hanging
Message-ID: <1990Oct3.112557@wsl.dec.com>
Date: 3 Oct 90 18:25:57 GMT
References: <2360@kiwi.mpr.ca>
Sender: news@wrl.dec.com (News)
Reply-To: gringort@wsl.dec.com (Joel Gringorten)
Organization: DEC Western Software Lab
Lines: 26

In article <2360@kiwi.mpr.ca>, nakamoto@joplin.mpr.ca (Alan Nakamoto) writes:
|> 
|> I'm trying to put my finger on a problem we are having with a piece of
|> software. We are currently running Ultrix 3.1D (Worksystem V2.2) on
|> color 3100's and model 5000 DECstations. 
[...]
|> The mouse can be moved around but the system no longer
|> responds to any button clicks at all. Thus, the session manager cannot
|> be selected, or anything. [...] Also, this seems to
|> be a random event, everything will work fine on the 5000 for sometimes
|> minutes, or sometimes hours without hanging up.
[...]
|> I was wondering if anyone might have a thought about this. Is such a
|> problem likely to be with the application software or would it be a
|> windowing/OS problem on the 5000. If so, would upgrading to Ultrix 4.0

This is almost certainly a known problem with 3.1D on the 5000.  The problem
has to do with a race condition which causes an infrequent and random hang
that can occur during cursor loading.  There's a patch available from the
Support Center in Atlanta.  Perhaps somebody else can tell you the exact
procedure for getting this patch, but I imagine that any DEC SW support 
person knows how to get it.  (Sorry to be so vague, I can get more info
on the procedure for this if you like.)

Upgrading to 4.0 does certainly fix the problem as well.
-joel