Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!uwvax!astroatc!vidiot!brown
From: brown@vidiot.UUCP (Vidiot)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: Another ISC 386/ix bug?
Message-ID: <173@vidiot.UUCP>
Date: 22 Feb 90 18:08:49 GMT
References: <158@vidiot.UUCP> <1990Feb17.200910.12402@virtech.uucp>
Reply-To: brown@vidiot.UUCP (Vidiot)
Distribution: na
Organization: Vidiot's Hangout
Lines: 36

In article <1990Feb17.200910.12402@virtech.uucp> cpcahil@virtech.UUCP (Conor P. Cahill) writes:
<In article <158@vidiot.UUCP> brown@vidiot.UUCP (Vidiot) writes:
<>Entering commands on the keyboard fails to do anything.  What is entered
<>is seen on the screen, but the computer ignores you.  The switching between
<>virtual screens works, but that is all.  Even logging in via the modem fails
<>to operate.  Trying to log in via a new virtual screen fails, ie, you enter
<>your login name, but it fails to respond with the password prompt.
<
<I have seen this happen on just about every unix system I have worked on.
<
<To know what is going on you need to describe you problem better, including
<things like what you were doing before it happened, is the disk activity
<light on, what drivers you have loaded, what hardware you are using, etc.
<
<The fact that you are getting echo back, indicates that the kernel has not
<panic'd, but it is locked up on something else.  This is usually due to 
<a bug in one of the device drivers.  (I can get someghint similar to happen
<whenever I exit from X on my 386/ix system that is using the Sigma Designs 
<Laser View server from Interactive.   All my windows go away and my little
<X pointer icon becomes bloated and then the system is gone.  all I can do
<is reboot).
<
<To really get down to the crux of the problem, you need to track down
<what you are doing just before it locks up.

Would you believe absolutely nothing.  I had finished the night before doing
some text editing, or whatever.  Xwindows doesn't work yet, as I am having
trouble of SoftSel replacing a defective/out-of-date version.  The next
morning I went to the system and that is when it wouldn't except anything.
So, the system was just sitting there not doing anything special.  After I
rebooted the system, I had to start a uucico session to my mail/newsfeed site,
as nothing got through all night.
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