*BSD News Article 65936


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From: russ@seismo.demon.co.uk (Russ Evans)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc
Subject: Re: NetBSD/mak68k: problems with serial overruns, X console
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1996 10:00:57 +0100
Organization: Dis Organisation
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Message-ID: <russ-1304961000570001@seismo.demon.co.uk>
References: <4kk201$4gg@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
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In article <4kk201$4gg@spool.cs.wisc.edu>, tuc@sol21.cs.wisc.edu (Brian
Cole) wrote:

> Howdy,
>   I've got X and pppd running on my IIvx running generic MacBSD 1.1, but
> I'm having a few minor difficulties:
> 
> 1) I keep getting serial overruns, even with a minimal processor load.
>    Lowering the port speed from 38400 to 19200 didn't seem to help any.
>    I'll try 9600, but I'm wondering if there's something else I should
>    be doing.  After all, the same machine running MacOS can handle speeds
>    of 38400 and higher without any trouble.  Is there a process I can
>    renice to a higher priority, maybe?  (note: The modem-to-modem speed
>    is only 9600, not counting the v.42bis compression.)

I'm still a newcomer to MacBSD myself, but as I run a IIvi (with FPU), my
machine is identical with yours except for even slower clock speed, and
I don't get this problem except at 57600, it seems unlikely that this is
some inherent problem.  Which version of the kernel are you using?  I think
I'm still using GENERIC52; perhaps yours is older (e.g. straight out of the
1.1 distribution).  There are more up-to-date kernels (ADBTEST family) 
which avoid the ROM glue problems, and are reported to give better 
performance.  

> 2) Console messages mess up the X screen.  No biggie since an 'xrefresh'
>    cleans everything up, but I'm getting so many serial overruns (which
>    generate console messages) that I'm having to do this often enough
>    that it's annoying.  (It also happens when I 'su root'.)  If I run
>    'xconsole' I see the messages there, but it still messes up the sceen.

You can turn console logging off in /etc/syslogd.conf (or is it syslog.conf?)
Not exactly recommended, but as a quick fix ... just don't forget to turn
it back on when the problem's solved.

> 3) 'xconsole' and 'xload' (from the puma ftp site) don't work unless I'm
>    root.  If I'm not root xconsole says "Couldn't open console", and
>    xload says "cannot get access to kernel address space getValue".
>    Ok, it makes sense, but I don't know what to do to get around it.
>    (I don't know anything about setuid executables, but is this maybe
>    why they exist?)

That sounds like a sensible solution.  Do 'man chmod' for details.

> PS.  I asked before if the macbsd mailing list is archived anywhere (or if
>      there is any way to read the goings on there without cluttering my
>      mailbox) but noone has answered me.  Should I take that as a "no"?

They definitely are archived, and very neatly, too.  I scan the mail 
messages but throw them away, and occasionally download updates to the
archive.  IIRC, it's beneath the NetBSD www site.

All remarks subject to my opening proviso!

Russ