Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!amdahl!pacbell!sactoh0!tree!stever
From: stever@tree.UUCP (Steve Rudek)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.microport
Subject: ps *insists* on accessing floppy on Microport SysV/AT 2.4
Keywords: ps, /dev/swap, "is it safe?"
Message-ID: <291@tree.UUCP>
Date: 30 Apr 89 17:25:21 GMT
Organization: TREE BBS (916)-349-0385 Sacramento, Ca
Lines: 34

About a month ago I wrote describing how I'd managed to save the root file
system by using "installit" and substituting "list" (a new installation) for
list.ug (upgrade path).  It worked except that "ps" thereafter insisted on
always accessing the floppy drive.

I got a number of thoughtful responses (thanks!) with with the most
practical being:

>From: pcg@aber-cs.UUCP (Piercarlo Grandi)
>Date: 10 Apr 89 12:44:11 GMT
>Organization: Dept of CS, UCW Aberystwyth[
>In article <264@tree.UUCP> stever@tree.UUCP (Steve Rudek) writes:
>
>Very bizarre. try to see if it does the same when saying
>	ps -s /dev/null
>If it no longer tries to read the floppy, then you know why
>I am surmising that /dev/swap is linked to /dev/dsk/fd. It may
>also be the case that your swapdev is still on the ramdisk...
-- 
I tried "ps -s /dev/null" and it does NOT try and read the floppy.  I don't
"know why" though.  I gather I'm running the kernel still somehow rooted on
the floppy (even though it isn't).  Based on the following "ls -la"s is it
safe to say tht the two devices are NOT linked?  (It appears that swap is
linked instead to /dev/dsk/0s25...yes?)  Is it "safe" to just
"ln /dev/swap /dev/dsk/fd" ??  I like to have a little bit of assurance
that I'm not going to regret my actions before I do unfamiliar things as
root; I *don't* have a tape backup unit (speaking of which, can anyone
recommend an adequate unit which they *know* works under 2.4?).

brw-r--r--   1 root     sys        1,198 Mar 23  1986 /dev/swap
brw-r--r--   5 root     sys        1, 70 Mar 28 17:21 /dev/dsk/fd
brw-r--r--   1 root     sys        1,198 Mar 23  1986 /dev/dsk/0s25
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Steve Rudek  {ucbvax!ucdavis!csusac OR ames!pacbell!sactoh0} !tree!stever