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This is the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) list for A/UX 2.0.1
This FAQ list is intended to cut down on the number of "often asked questions"
that make the rounds here on comp.unix.aux. Also included you'll find a few
words of wisdom too. This list assumes that you are familiar with Unix (to
some extent) but are curious about A/UX's eccentricities. The list will
concentrate on A/UX 2.0.1 but may also have info about previous versions. If
you don't understand something in the FAQ List, and a "Point of Contact" isn't
specified then contact me and I'll attempt to help or else point you to someone
who can. In any case, let me know how I can make the list more clear.
The list will be posted every month or so on comp.unix.aux as well as being
available via anonymous ftp on jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov.
This version of the A/UX FAQ focuses on A/UX 2.0.1. It includes a few
"teasers" concerning A/UX 3.0. This FAQ is basically here to serve that
section of the A/UX world that can't, won't or haven't yet upgraded to 3.0.
Send your additions|modifications to Jim Jagielski (jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov).
(editor's notes are included as <<ED: ...>>)
===============================================================================
**** TABLE OF CONTENTS: ****
o List of Contributors to A/UX FAQ List
o List of anon-ftp archives for A/UX
o List of what's broken under A/UX 2.0.1
o List of ported software
o List of compatible INITs, CDEVs and DAs known to work under 2.0.1
o Hints and Words of Wisdom
o Q&A-
1) What's the minimum system I need (CPU, disk and RAM) to run A/UX 2.0.1?
2) Can I use my Teac|DC2000|DC6000|DAT|etc tape drive under A/UX 2.0.1?
3) How come rn|elm|less|etc... acts weird concerning signals? Mainly, their
support of job-control is less than perfect.
4) What screen-savers are compatible with A/UX 2.0.1?
5) Is X11R5 available for A/UX?
6) I've noticed that FSF GNU doesn't support A/UX. Does that mean I'll
miss out on all the neat Gnu-stuff like gcc?
7) HD Setup refuses to recognize my hard disk! How can I partition it for
A/UX?
8) I have an EtherNet card that works fine under the Macintosh operating
system but not under A/UX. Why?
9) How come my Login screen is gray, not color?
10) Even though I have lot's of swap space and only a little bit is
being used, I STILL get a lot of messages saying that my swap
space is running low. What the buzz?
11) How can I copy a complete file system from one disk|partition to
another?
12) What's with UUCP?
13) How can I log anonymous ftp entries? in.ftpd has a -l option,
but it doesn't work.
14) It looks like cron runs everything twice. Why? Is this a feature?
15) I'm trying to use a SyQuest drive under A/UX but it refuses to work.
I keep on getting a "more data than device expected" error message.
What's wrong?
16) I'm unable to start a getty process on a built-in serial port. When
I use "setport" to enable the port, I get a "no such device" error.
Configuring /etc/inittab to respawn getty on the port has no effect.
17) NFS under A/UX 2.0.1 doesn't like using "ld" to link objects and huge
libraries with the result residing on a NFS-mounted file system.
18) I am using and depending on /etc/hosts to do all my hostname resolving
(i.e. not using named or /etc/resolv.conf). How come I can't mail
to other hosts, but I can ping|ftp|etc... them?
19) Is A/UX 2.0.1 System 7 savvy? How about the System 7 printer drivers?
20) My MacOS partition mounts fine under MacOS but it doesn't show up
under A/UX... Why?
21) I have 2 (or more) Macintosh partitions on my hard disk, but A/UX 2.0.1
only sees one! What am I doing wrong?
22) What 3-button mice work under A/UX (and X)?
23) How come when I do a "df" as a regular user, it shows me a different
number of free blocks compared to when I run it as "root"?
24) Does A/UX LocalTalk support IP?
25) How do I get MPW 3.1 to work? It hangs my system...
26) Can I refer to a file on my Mac system from within A/UX?
27) How can I adjust the amount of virtual memory available Finder uses?
28) Is it worth getting a cache card for the IIci?
29) How do I keep command lines that I edit with "backspace" from erasing
the prompt?
30) When I try to mail something, I get the following error message:
"Cannot read frozen config file: not a typewriter". What's wrong?
31a) I have MacsBug installed. How can I trigger it?
31b) Sometimes my MultiFinder environment (and/or CommandShell) freezes
up; how can I unfreeze it? Should I hit the Interrupt switch?
32) Is there an archive of comp.unix.aux out there somewhere?
33) My site is not upgraded to EtherTalk Phase 2 yet... can I use Phase 1
under A/UX?
34) When I switch from 32 to 24-bit mode, my screen changes from Color
to Gray-Scale. If I change it to Color, then when I switch back to
32-bit mode, I'm back to Gray!
35) How can I figure out the /etc/disktab entry for my hard disk?
36) How come I can't use color under X?
37) When is Apple shipping A/UX 3.0? How much will it cost. What does it
include?
38) How do I set up my Mac and A/UX to enable remote logins via a modem
on tty0?
39) How come I can't used "talk" with some of the other Unix boxes out
there, and they can't talk to me?
40) I'm having trouble transfering files between A/UX and my MacOS disk...
Also, sometimes things get transfered fine, othertimes not. What's
going on?
41) Using the command shell interface, I'm trying to delete some Mac files
(that have strange names) but I can't; "rm" returns an error and I can't
remove the file. What's going on?
42) How can I reports bugs that I find?
43) Which serial cards work under A/UX?
44) I have a IIfx and a 800K floppy disk drive. On boot-up, A/UX 2.0.1 claims
it's a 400K drive. What gives?
45) I'm using a LaserWriter IIg with A/UX 2.0.1 and whenever I print some-
thing to it through "lpr", the first line of the page is cut off. Why?
46) Whenever I try to run xinit (or startx) from the CommandShell I get
a fatal server error. Why?
47) Can I use my scanner under A/UX?
===============================================================================
**** List of Contributors to A/UX FAQ List ****
The editor would like to thank all the various people who have contributed to
the A/UX FAQ List (both those that submitted questions as well as those who
submitted answers). Also included under the Q&A section are the relevant people
to contact if you have specific questions about specific A/UX items. If I've
left you out, PLEASE E-mail me!
Brian Bechtel (blob@apple.com)
Nick Beser (beser@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu)
John Coolidge (coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu)
Tony Cooper (sramtrc@albert.dsir.govt.nz)
Bob Denny (denny@alisa.com)
Eric Dittman (dittman@skitzo.dseg.ti.com)
Ron Flax (ron@afsg.apple.com)
Jim Jagielski (jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov)
Chris Johnson (cjohnson@brl.mil)
Bill Johnston (johnston@me.udel.edu)
Ron Johnston (johnston@apple.com)
Bob Kirby (kirby@moe.esl.com)
Luke Mewburn (s902113@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU)
Darrell Pfeifer (spycal!denigma!darrell@cpsc.ucalgary.ca)
William Roberts (liam@dcs.qmw.ac.uk)
Alexis Rosen (alexis@panix.com)
Craig Ruff (cruff@ncar.ucar.edu)
Jim Ryan (jryan@adobe.com)
Paul Sander (paul@sander.uucp)
Kent Sandvik (ksand@apple.com)
Craig Struble (cstruble@gnu.ai.mit.edu)
Chuq Von Rospach (chuq@apple.com)
Jon W{tte (d88-jwa@nada.kth.se)
===============================================================================
**** List of anonymous ftp archives for A/UX ****
The following sites have A/UX related archives and materials available via
anonymous ftp (see below for more information):
aux.support.apple.com (130.43.6.2)
comp.unix.aux archives;
A/UX patches and some ports;
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov (128.183.44.1)
FAQ List;
ports and utilities;
rascal.ics.utexas.edu (128.83.138.20)
misc. ports;
Mac applications, CDEVs, etc...;
wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4)
ports; (look in systems/aux)
===============================================================================
**** List of what's broken under A/UX 2.0.1: ****
adduser:
buffer size too small to read long lines in /etc/group.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
cron:
runs commands twice.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
See Q&A #14
f77:
reported problems with "i*2"
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
finger:
would not produce correct information if /etc/passwd uses the
"&" hack (use login name as part of real name).
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
in.telnetd:
occasionally leaves a pty port allocated even when the user has
logged out.
*** 3.0 patch available via anon-ftp on wuarchive.wustl.edu...
the patch doesn't seem to work under 2.0.1 though... ***
libmac.a (and libmac_s.a):
the following toolbox routines are buggy:
Color2Index
Index2Color
Gestalt
GetCPixel
*** Gas code replacements are available from cjohnson@brl.mil ***
ksh:
doesn't handle multiple commands correctly (for example, if
you type "find / -name core -print" and then while "find" is
running type "who" followed by "ls", after "find" is done,
what "ksh" sees is "who^Jls" and will only execute "who").
to fix, "set -o viraw" in your ~/.kshrc file...
mail|rmail:
the locking protocol is broken.
in some circumstances, a user's mailbox (in /usr/mail) is
created with the owner being the sender's user-ID.
*** 2.0.x patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
(make sure that /etc/rpc.lockd and /etc/rpc.statd are started
up in /etc/inittab if you have an nfs kernel)
make:
problem with "Include" directive expansion in the makefile.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
newunix:
problems caused with Developer CD series.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
NFS:
problems loading objects and large libraries onto NFS mounts.
zeros (0) appended to files.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
See Q&A #17
routed (actually, in.routed):
"-t" option doesn't work... requires "-t -t" to function correctly.
tar:
problem with "-o" option.
limited to 28 symbolic links.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
UUCP:
problems with serial drivers and heavy-loaded system.
See Q&A #12
wall:
ordinary users could only send messages to themselves.
*** 2.0.1 patch available via anon-ftp on aux.support.apple.com ***
===============================================================================
**** List of ported software available via anon-ftp: ****
(Included is the person responsible for the port and the location of the port)
gated (2.0.1.14):
Herb Weiner (herbw@wiskit.rain.com)
onion.rain.com [pub/wiskit]
gcc (1.40 and 2.1):
John Coolidge (coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu)
wuarchive.wustl.edu [systems/aux/gnu]
(See Q&A #6)
logging in.ftpd:
Jim Jagielski (jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov)
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov [pub]
(See Q&A #13)
sendmail 5.65:
Jim Jagielski (jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov)
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov [pub]
(See Q&A #18)
<<ED: sendmail 5.65 & IDA 1.4.4.1 may soon be made available>>
talk and talkd (BSD 4.3 versions)
Steve Green (xrsbg@dirac.gsfc.nasa.gov)
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov [pub]
(See Q&A #39)
tcsh (6.00.03): (if you have 6.00.02, you really _should_ upgrade)
Eric Dittman (dittman@skitzo.dseg.ti.com)
wuarchive.wustl.edu [systems/aux/packages]
X11R5 and X11R4:
John Coolidge (coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu)
wuarchive.wustl.edu [systems/aux/gnu]
(See Q&A #5)
The following have also been successfully ported to A/UX with minimal trouble.
Since the ports are pretty straightforward, only a few are actually available
in their ported form (please see Q&A #3): (those that have been personnally
verified by the editor are marked with '#')
o Cnews (Ver. ??)
# elm 2.3.11
o Ghostscript 2.3
o GNU Stuff:
binutils 1.9
bison 1.15
fileutils 3.1
# find 3.5 (for DEFS use: -DUSG -DMAJOR_IN_SYSMACROS -DFS_MNTENT \
-DHAVE_UNISTD_H -DSTRERROR_MISSING -DVOID_CLOSEDIR)
flex 2.3.7
gawk 2.13
# gdbm 1.5
# grep 1.5
sed 1.08
shellutils 1.5
Smalltalk 1.1.1
tar 1.10.12
textutils 1.1.1
o Gwm 1.7h
# less 177
# NetHack
# nn 6.4.16
# nntp 1.5.11
# perl 4.010 (requires the rewinddir() function in libposix.a)
# rn 4.3.54
# rn 4.4.1
o SB Prolog 3.1 (minor changes in the builtin directory)
o smail 3.1.24
o trn (Ver. ??)
===============================================================================
**** List of compatible INITs, CDEVs and DAs known to work under 2.0.1****
(will focus on popular ones, mostly of the shareware variety)
o After Dark (2.0u and later) - some displays don't have enough
memory to work so the default (low memory) one comes up
o ATM 2.0.3
o BlackOut (1.21) - Login screen compatible
o Desktop Manager (2.0.1)
o Disinfectant INIT (2.7)
o DiskTools (3.0)
o Facade (1.x)
o Font Porter
o FMbackup 1.4 (prevents having to totally rebuild Desktop when A/UX
crashes)
o GateKeeper (1.2.5) - For some reason, "Show Log" doesn't work although
log entries _are_ made. Chris Johnson knows about this and is
looking into it.
o MacsBug (6.2.x)
o Moire (3.22) - even works under login screen
o Suitcase (1.2.6) - the latest version, 1.2.12, doesn't
(if you have ATM, you can use Font Porter instead which automatically
installs Font suitcases)
<< ED: well, now I hear that 1.2.6 may not even work... I'll keep you
all posted >>
o Windows (2.1)
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
According to Jim Ryan of Adobe (jryan@adobe.com), the following Adobe products
have been tested for 3.0 compatibility. Hopefully there will be no changes with
the final release of 3.0.
o Illustrator 3.2
o Photoshop 2.0.1 <mostly> (Gamma, which is included, does _not_ work)
o Premiere 1.0
o Streamline 2.0 <mostly... not 32-bit clean>
o ATM 2.0.3
o ATM 3.0
o Type Reunion 1.3
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
===============================================================================
**** Hints and Words of Wisdom: ****
o By default, A/UX allocates only 10% of memory for disk buffers
(that is, the value of "NBUF" is 0... see kconfig(1M))
If you have a lot of RAM, you could greatly increase system
performance by increasing the allotment. However, you cannot
use kconfig to specify "20%" but you must give it an actual number
to use. The way to determine the number of buffers being used,
run "pstat -m". This will give you the number of buffers that are
currently allocated. For example, if the value is 1000, then you know
that to increase the number of buffers to 20%, you must use "kconfig"
to set "NBUF" to 2000.
Please note that if you change the amount of RAM you have, you'll
need to change the value of "NBUF." I suggest that before you
add|remove RAM, you use "kconfig" to reset "NBUF" to 0, then
do the RAM change and see how your system performance is. If needed,
you can then use the above to increase (or decrease) the number of
disk buffers.
o Note that under 2.0 and 2.0.1 (well, to be more exact, under the
BSD Fast File System) the following doesn't really hold true. If for
some reason you are using the System V file system-type (either
because you "prefer" it under 2.0.x or are using A/UX 1.x.x) then
the below would give you good performance gains (putting /tmp on
IT'S OWN DISK, as described below, is ALWAYS a good idea).
If you have the extra disk space and do a lot of compiling, you
can decrease the time spent compiling by creating a separate partition
specifically for /tmp. This will reduce the movement of the disk heads
when reading|writing /tmp (as it checks the SuperBlock for disk infor-
mation) and result in quicker compiles. Putting /tmp on it's own
disk (or, at least, a disk different than the one with the sources)
would be ideal. You may be able to get by with a 5MB partition for
/tmp (that's over 10000 blocks) but if you are doing so many compiles
that this method helps, maybe 20MB would be better :)
o The DayStar Digital 50MHz PowerCard (MacII version) requires a hardware
modification for it to correctly work under A/UX. The mod is done by
DayStar free of charge. If you can, specify that you want the board
modified by DayStar before they ship it... (versions other than the
PowerCard II may not require this mod and it's only on the 50MHz versions
of those)
o You can run A/UX on the original MacII, however the PMMU chip must be
installed. You can also use one of the many 68030 upgrades for the
MacII, such as the Marathon '030, but the MacII ROMs won't recognize
the PMMU capabilities onboard the CPU. You'll need to get the MacII
FDHD ROM Upgrade Kit. This kit replaces your ROMs with IIx ROMs, thus
enabling you (and A/UX) to use the upgrade. The kit also replaces your
SWIM chip (floppy controller) enabling you to use FDHD disks (if such
a drive is installed) too... thus the name of the kit. This kit can
be had for about $120 although some dealers also include a FDHD drive
as well, bumping the price up to about $430.
o You can configure the built-in serial ports for hardware handshaking
(RTS & DTS) _or_ dialup security (DTR & CD) but not both, due to the
lack of a sufficinet number of modem control lines.
o "dp" _can_ change or select partition slices. It's undocumented, but
it's the "s" command when in BZB-field mode.
o When using ftp, unless you are _sure_ that a file is, in fact, a true
Text file, set the ftp mode to Binary. This is especially true when
downloading GIFs and "true" Mac files. If it's a BINHEXed file or a
uuencoded file, then you can specify Ascii mode (in some cases, it's
required). If the file you wish to download has the ".tar" or ".Z"
suffix, then you _need_ Binary; if the suffix is ".uu" or ".hqx"
then use Ascii.
o To download GIF files via anon-ftp, be sure to specify Binary mode. Then
use "setfile" to create the correct Type and Creator fields (for, example,
for Giffer use 'setfile -t"GIFf" -c"Bozo"'). You can then keep this file
on your A/UX disk or transfer it over to your MacOS disk (See Q#40).
o For some reason, the latest port of 2.1 by John Coolidge doesn't seem
to like the "-fpcc-struct-return" flag. However, it also appears that
you no longer need to use it; i.e. programs compiled without the flag
compile and run fine... it's doubtful that it's a porting problem.
===============================================================================
**** Q&A: ****
1) What's the minimum system I need (CPU, disk and RAM) to run A/UX 2.0.1?
A/UX 2.0 works on the MacII (with PMMU _or_ 68030 upgrade with FDHD ROM's
installed). IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx and SE/30 machines. A/UX 2.0.1 additionally
supports the IIsi (although the IIsi requires the 68882 chip). A/UX is
available preinstalled on a hard disk, on CD-ROM and on floppies (DC2000 tape
is no longer supported).
If you really want to cut it close, 4MB RAM and an ENTIRE 80MB hard disk
will just make it. You'll have little room for user files (unless you clear
out some space by removing /games and maybe /catman) and depending on your
workload, may suffer from low performance (due to swapping... you may even
encounter the infamous swap messages :) According to William Roberts
(liam@dcs.qmw.ac.uk), if you are mounting a _lot_ of stuff over NFS, a 40MB
disk should be plenty (please contact William for more info about this).
I much better system would be 8MB of RAM and about 150MB of disk space. This
would give you much more room to grow as well as sufficient RAM to increase
your performance (assuming that you tune some kernel parameters). All in all,
more RAM is prefered: 20MB (or more) is ideal.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
A/UX 3.0 will _not_ support the PowerBooks nor the Classic II.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
===
2) Can I use my Teac|DC2000|DC6000|DAT|etc tape drive under A/UX 2.0.1?
Apple only "officially" supports the DC2000 tape drive, since this was the type
that the Apple 40SC Tape Drive was. To do this, one had to reconfigure the
kernel (using newunix-autoconfig or newconfig) to include the "tc" device
driver. Unofficially, the "tc" driver also can handle some of the DC6000
tape drives too; specifically the Viper and Archive 150MB tape drives. It
doesn't support the TDC series of DC6000's
To fill this hole, Tony Cooper (sramtrc@albert.dsir.govt.nz) has written
a streaming tape driver ("st") that supports the following tape drives
Teac MT-2ST/N50 (Micro/Tape MT-155)
Tandberg TDC 3800 (Micro/Tape MT-320)
Tandberg TDC 3660 (Micro/Tape MT-150)
WangDAT Model 1300 (Micro/Tape MT-1300)
It also will probably drive other drives of the same model as the MicroNet
drives (eg it seems to work for all TEAC MT-2ST/N50's whether MicroNet or
not) and will drive Exabyte and GigaTape helical scan drives.
Tony has also written a VERY nice double-buffering copier that greatly
increases the speed of backups; it's called "tbb." It works quite nicely
with "st"...
The device driver (as well as "tbb") is available via anonymous ftp on
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov under pub/tape.utilities.
.
Craig Ruff (cruff@ncar.ucar.edu) has written a Teac device driver also, which
works with both the 150 MB and 60 MB drives. You get the complete source so you
may "adjust" the driver if you want for other drives.
The Teac driver is available via anonymous ftp of jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov.
%%% For more information about "st", please contact Tony via E-mail %%%
%%% For more information about "teac", please contact Craig via E-mail %%%
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
Apple is looking into supporting the Teac 600, Teac 150 and WangDAT 1300
tape drives under 3.0. Currently, the appropriate code has been installed
although not thoroughly tested... At present, the "officially" supported
tapes will be:
Qualstar 9 track
Archive 4mm DAT
Archive QIC
Teac DCAS 600
Exabyte 8200 and 8500
The 'tc' driver will be able to handle DAT drives that use firmware compressing
as well as allowing for the use of extended (90m) DAT tapes.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
===
3) How come rn|elm|less|etc... acts weird concerning signals? Mainly, their
support of job-control is less than perfect.
Well, it's not really them at all. Many people have found that more than a few
ports require the addition of the "set42sig()" call to enable reliable signal
delivery. The best place to add this is as the 1st executable statement under
"main() {"
Another point about porting applications: A/UX's "cc" does provide "strict"
BSD, SystemV and Posix libraries. If you are porting a BSD program, you can
enable BSD "emulation" by adding the "-ZB -lbsd" options to your "cc" command
line. Please note that you may STILL require the addition of "set42sig()",
but this 1st attempt may be worth a shot :)
===
4) What screen-savers are compatible with A/UX 2.0.1?
Moire (ver. 3.22) and BlackOut work quite well under A/UX 2.0.x, even under
the Login screen. AfterDark (2.0u and later) also works but some displays
may not have enough memory under Login. It appears that BlackOut may not
work correctly in environments with 2 (or more) monitors.
Darkside is also available. Unlike other screen savers, Darkside is an
application, not an INIT. This means it won't work under the Login screen.
The latest version of Darkside is 3.0 and will _not_ work on Pre-System7
systems, so don't attempt to use this under A/UX 2.0.1.
===
5) Is X11R5 available for A/UX?
Yes! John Coolidge (coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu) has ported X11R5 and the binaries
(with shared libX11 and libXmu) for A/UX 2.0.1 are available via anon-ftp
on wuarchive.wustl.edu under systems/aux/X11R5. Patches for X11R5
compiled with gcc are also available. It looks like it results in a nice
10-20% increase in performance!
%%% For more information about X11R5 for A/UX, E-mail John %%%
===
6) I've noticed that FSF GNU doesn't support A/UX. Does that mean I'll
miss out on all the neat Gnu-stuff like gcc?
Although it's true that FSF is "boycotting" Apple and A/UX, ports of most Gnu-
applications are available. Of particular interest is gcc version 1.40 which
has been ported by John Coolidge (coolidge@cs.uiuc.edu) and is available via
anon-ftp on wuarchive.wustl.edu in systems/aux/gnu. The binaries, sources
and diffs are all available.
GCC version 2.1 for A/UX has been ported and is available... Highly
recommended!
%%% For more info about gcc for A/UX, please contact John via E-mail %%%
===
7) HD Setup refuses to recognize my hard disk! How can I partition it for
A/UX?
There are a number of other utilities that can create A/UX partitions on your
disk. Most people use SilverLining but "On Track" and "Drive 7" are also good
options. Without a doubt, FWB's Hard Disk Toolkit is the best disk utility
you could ask for (and the one I use and recommend). Now that A/UX is seen as
a "viable system" and not a toy, many hard disk manufacturers are fixing their
supplied disk utilities to create A/UX partitions. For example, MicroNet and
MacinStor both provide this capability in their disk tools. APS also has a
new, "super" version of their disk tools out which can be downloaded from their
BBS (I've made a BinHexed stuffed copy available via anon-ftp on jagubox).
Ask your specific drive vendor (just make sure it creates partitions as defined
in Inside Macintosh V).
It's always a good idea to check the partition map information using dp. In
particular, make sure that the slice and logical block size of the partition
in correct.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
The 3.0 Installer (actually, HD Setup) will recognize many (all?) 3-rd party
disk drives.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
===
8) I have an EtherNet card that works fine under the Macintosh operating
system but not under A/UX. Why?
The reason is because to access the card (which is seen as a device by A/UX),
you need an A/UX device driver for it. This is NOT the same as the stuff you
had to install under the MacOS for it to work. Now A/UX includes drivers
for the Apple EtherNet card (they aren't installed by default though), but
they don't work with most of the 3rd party cards except for the 3Com "EtherLink
NB" and Asante "MacCon" cards. They are 100% register compatible with their
Apple counterparts, so you can use Apple"s "ae" driver with them. Drivers for
the EtherPort II cards are available via anon-ftp on jagubox. However, the
drivers for the "old" EPII cards (full length) only support TCP/IP (they
were written for A/UX 1.1 but will work under 2.0.x). As far as other cards
are concerned, you will have to ask the vendor for A/UX drivers for it.
Please note that there have been numerous reports about problems with the
EtherPortII cards, A/UX and the IIfx and IIsi... you are warned :)
I've heard that Dove's FastNet IIIN Ethernet card is also register compatible
with the Apple EtherTalk card...
<<ED: Anybody have any experience with the new Apple EtherNet cards? They
require the 'as' driver... (These cards have 512K RAM and a 68000 onboard)>>
===
9) How come my Login screen is gray, not color?
Because that's the way Apple wanted it :) Actually, the reason why is
because the "scrn" resource is missing from "System" in /mac/sys/Login System
Folder. If you're handy, you can copy "scrn" from some other System and
paste it in Login's using ResEdit. Make sure the "Is Color" field in "scrn"
is "1".
Of course, maybe you have a gray-scale monitor...
===
10) Even though I have lot's of swap space and only a little bit is
being used, I STILL get a lot of messages saying that my swap
space is running low. What the buzz?
Unix is justifyably concerned about having adequate swap space. A system crash
caused by this beast is a sight to behold. However, A/UX seems EXTREMELY
nervous about the amount needed before it starts getting fidgety. If you do
a "/etc/swap -l" and see that you're only using a small portion of your swap
space and have a "lot" left, then you can safely ignore the messages (just how
much is a "lot" is hard to say, but if you have 25000 blocks and are only using
1000 or 2000, then I'd say you were fine). If you DO need more swap space,
then you have a few options:
a. Using "kconfig", reduce the number and size of buffers.
This isn't really a good idea since it could really degrade
performance as well as possibly causing more panics.
b. Add more swap space.
Fine, if you have it. You could either add another disk
as swap (nice) or repartition your present disk to create
a larger Swap partition (Ack!).
c. Add more memory.
If you have more memory, then this will reduce the need to
augment it with swap space... RAM's cheap too!
===
11) How can I copy a complete file system from one disk|partition to
another?
You have three options: dd, dump.bsd and cpio (pax MAY work but tar won't since
it won't handle special-type files). If the two partitions are the same size,
you can use "dd" (to copy c0d0s0 to c5d0s3, e.g.):
$ dd < /dev/rdsk/c0d0s0 > /dev/rdsk/c5d0s3
To use dump.bsd, you can use the following command (this assumes that the
destination disk in mounted on /mnt and you want to copy the root file system
which is on SCSI 0... of course, you must be root and it would be MUCH better
to do this in single-user mode):
$ dump.bsd 0f - /dev/rdsk/c0d0s0 | (cd /mnt; restore xf -)
To use cpio, you must use it in a pipe with find. For example, to copy /usr
(let's assume it's on it's own file system) to another disk|partition (assume
it's mounted on /mnt) then you can use (you can add the "-depth" flag to
'find' if you want):
$ cd /usr
$ find . -print | cpio -pdmuva /mnt
The problem with this is that if the mount point of the destination disk
falls under the file system's directory you're trying to copy, you'll load
up your destination disk. For example, the following would NOT work:
$ cd /
$ find . -print | cpio -pdmuva /mnt
because "find" would see the stuff in /mnt (which you just put in there) and
try to copy in back to /mnt! To way to avoid this is by adding a little filter:
$ cd /
$ find . -print | grep -v '^./mnt*' | cpio -pdmuva /mnt
dump.bsd creates a "truer" copy of your file system (the access and
modification dates aren't mucked with... with the find/cpio pipe, at the
least the directory dates are touched) but it won't backup named pipes...
===
12) What's with UUCP?
As distributed, UUCP is a bit broken but is relatively easily repairable. The
basic problem is with the serial drivers; they will crash the machine after
enough usage and they work poorly with UUCP - even worse if you're trying
to run a getty on the same line. You will need Alexis Rosen's sendmail.cf
as well as his pointers on where to move some files and some file permissions
to change. By following his advice, he can get a working UUCP environment.
%%% For more information about UUCP and hints in getting it to work correctly
(if you're stuck) send E-mail to Alexis Rosen at alexis@panix.com %%%
===
13) How can I log anonymous ftp entries? in.ftpd has a -l option,
but it doesn't work.
Jim Jagielski (jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov) has hacked in.ftpd to enable
logging via the syslogd daemon. It also pays extra close attention to anonymous
ftp logins. It's available (as well as other ports|hacks) on jagubox.
%%% For more info, contact Jim %%%
===
14) It looks like cron runs everything twice. Why? Is this a feature?
If you like it, then it's a feature. If it's a pain, then it's a bug.
A fix for cron is available on Apple's A/UX "server": aux.support.apple.com.
Look in aux.patches/unsupported/2.0. In fact, there's a number of Apple
released bug-fixes (as well as a comp.unix.aux archive) on aux.support...
===
15) I'm trying to use a SyQuest drive under A/UX but it refuses to work.
I keep on getting a "more data than device expected" error message.
What's wrong?
The "problem" is with the generic SCSI disk driver under A/UX. For SCSI drives,
there are certain parameters that may be adjusted by the user; these parameters
are grouped in "pages." One such page concerns how the disk responds to and
recovers from errors: the Error Recovery Page. A/UX expects the parameters in
this page to have certain values. Now the vast majority of SCSI disks have
the values set as expected, but this isn't the case with SyQuest drives. There
is one parameter (PER) which is opposite than expected by A/UX. When A/UX trys
to set this value to what it wants, however, the SyQuest drive reads this
"request" wrong (the request is 16 bytes but the SyQuest only reads 4) so
the SCSI Manager reports the error.
Tony Cooper (sramtrc@albert.dsir.govt.nz) has written a Mac application
which sets the Error Page values correctly: Fix Error Page. This application
must be used under the MacOS. It can be found on rascal.ics.utexas.edu as well
as on aux.support.apple.com (aux.patches/unsupported/2.0). You can also use the
FWB Hard Disk Toolkit - World Control Application to enable the PER bit in
the recovery page (Page #1).
By the by, here is the /etc/disktab entry for SyQuest:
# SyQuest disk
#
Syquest|syquest|S45:\
:ty=winchester:ns#34:nt#2:nc#1275:
===
16) I'm unable to start a getty process on a built-in serial port. When
I use "setport" to enable the port, I get a "no such device" error.
Configuring /etc/inittab to respawn getty on the port has no effect.
AppleTalk is probably enabled for the port. The getty process can be started
temporarily by turning off AppleTalk via A/UX's Finder Chooser and THEN
using the "setport" command.
You can permanently disable AppleTalk by reconfiguring the kernel with
"newconfig noappletalk". If you wish to keep the drivers installed in the
kernel but still want to "permanently" disable AppleTalk, you can edit
/etc/startup to prevent AppleTalk from initializing and /etc/inittab can be
editted to start getty. (NOTE: /etc/startup is regenerated by newconfig so
you'll have to redo this if you reconfigure the kernel).
If you don't have an EtherTalk card installed, then you can also modify
/etc/appletalkrc to point to "ethertalk0" instead of "localtalk0". Doing this
stops AppleTalk from bothering the serial port because it tries to use
the non-existant card.
===
17) NFS under A/UX 2.0.1 doesn't like using "ld" to link objects and huge
libraries with the result residing on a NFS-mounted file system.
There is an Apple released patch that stops NFS from appending zeros to files.
This should fix the problem. It's available via anon-ftp on the A/UX server:
aux.support.apple.com. As a side note, this problem also exists under the
Sun OS...
===
18) I am using and depending on /etc/hosts to do all my hostname resolving
(i.e. not using named or /etc/resolv.conf). How come I can't mail
to other hosts, but I can ping|ftp|etc... them?
Well, the problem is actually with sendmail (in /usr/lib). sendmail (under
A/UX 2.0 and later) assumes the use of a nameserver. Pre-2.0 versions were
"adjusted" to look in /etc/hosts if any nameserver call failed (which it would
if it wasn't running, of course :). Jim Jagielski (jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov)
has hacked sendmail 5.65 for A/UX to allow it to also check /etc/hosts. The
source code is available via anon-ftp on jagubox.
%%% For more info, contact Jim %%%
===
19) Is A/UX 2.0.1 System 7 savvy? How about the System 7 printer drivers?
Concerning Sys.7, you cannot startup A/UX under System 7. If you want to use
System 7, you still can, just do the following: Keep System 6 on MacPartition.
Then, when you want to boot A/UX, make MacPartition the Startup Device and
reboot your Mac. You can then boot A/UX. (An alternate way would be to keep
a copy of System 6 on your Mac and use "System Switcher" to switch to 6 before
booting A/UX)
A/UX 2.0.1 _can_ use the System 7 printer drivers with no problem at all. Just
copy "LaserWriter", "Laser Prep" and "PrintMonitor" to your System Folder
and you're set (of course, you'll need to reChooser your LaserWriter...).
The latest versions of the LaserWriter driver (7.1 and 7.1.1) look like they
don't need the Laser Prep file, so if you are running them, you can delete
the Laser Prep file. LaserWriter 7.0 needed (and still does need) the
"revised" Laser Prep file to run under System6 (and A/UX). I believe you
can find this file in the System 6.0.8 distribution disks... then again,
why not just upgrade to LW 7.1.1....
If you use System7 when under the MacOS but also switch to A/UX (or System6),
it's a good idea to install the "Desktop Manager" INIT in your A/UX (and
System6) System Folder to avoid having to rebuild your desktop and having
a huge Desktop file floating around. Desktop Manager makes System6 (and,
therefore, A/UX) use the System7-type desktop. The version of Desktop Manager
that's built-into A/UX only operates on the A/UX file system disk and not all
your other MacOS disks. Installing the DM INIT will make A/UX use the "new"
Desktop scheme on those disks as well. Of course, "Desktop Manager" is
needed under A/UX 3.0.
===
20) My MacOS partition mounts fine under MacOS but it doesn't show up
under A/UX... Why?
Whether or not a Mac partition mounts under A/UX depends on a number of
factors (possibly even including the phases of the moon and the color socks
you happen to be wearing)... Necessary conditions for a partition to mount are:
1. The disk MUST be partitioned using the "new" partitioning scheme
detailed in Inside Macintosh V. There is still plenty of disk
software out there that uses the "old" scheme and this drives will
not mount under A/UX. Generic disk formatters that use the "new"
scheme include SilverLining and FWB Hard Disk Toolkit. Most major
disk vendors supply A/UX compatible formatting s/w.
(The "old" scheme simply uses large invisible files as
disk partitions. The "new" scheme actual creates true,
hard partitions.)
2. The partition must mount under MacOS BEFORE A/UX is booted. A/UX
only tries to mount partitions that were already when it was booted.
So, if you use an INIT to boot A/UX and this INIT runs before a
partition is mounted, A/UX won't mount it for you. If you have a
removable drive (such as SyQuest), you must insert the disk before
you boot A/UX... this means you can't swap cartridges under A/UX.
===
21) I have 2 (or more) Macintosh partitions on my hard disk, but A/UX 2.0.1
only sees one! What am I doing wrong?
Absolutely nothing. Although A/UX treats Mac partitions the same way the MacOS
does, A/UX is only capable of seeing and accessing the 1st partition. Tony
Cooper (sramtrc@albert.dsir.govt.nz), however, has written an application
called HFSmount which may help. It will search your SCSI disks looking for HFS
partitions and attempt to "mount" them. It may, or may not, work. It must be
run by root.
===
22) What 3-button mice work under A/UX (and X)?
The Gravis SuperMouse is a 3-button mechanical mouse that is completely
configurable and compatible with A/UX. Mouse System's A-3 mouse is compatible
but is "hard-wired" configured for A/UX as: Left Button = Actual Mouse Button;
Middle Button = Left Arrow; Right Button = Right Arrow. There is also the
Logitech MouseMan. The general agreement is that the SuperMouse is your
best bet...
Please note that A/UX 2.0.1 only supports a subset of the ADB Manager. Thus
there are a few ADB devices that may not work under A/UX.
===
23) How come when I do a "df" as a regular user, it shows me a different
number of free blocks compared to when I run it as "root"?
One of the details about the BSD Fast File System is that it sets aside 10% of
the available disk space (by default... this value can be changed by using
the "tunefs" command) and makes it unavailable to regular users. This
prevents 2 things: filling up a file system and destroying performance by
having a "too full" file system. "root", however, does have access to this
"extra" disk space, hence the difference in the numbers reported by df between
"root" and "regular joe".
===
24) Does A/UX LocalTalk support IP?
Nope... not at all. And it doesn't look like 3.0 will either. Maybe 3.0.1...
===
25) How do I get MPW 3.1 to work? It hangs my system...
MPW 3.1 doesn't work under A|UX 2.0 although 3.2 does. In the meantime,
you can make 3.1 work by breaking into MacsBug when it's hung and entering:
pc=pc+2;g
See Q#31 for info about entering MacsBug...
===
26) Can I refer to a file on my Mac system from within A/UX?
A/UX's "Finder" mode is the only way (currently) to access both file systems.
You could write a hybrid application that could attach to the Finder world (a
la, CommandShell and cmdo which can "see" both file systems), but you can't
access HFS volumes from the A/UX kernel directly. In a similar vein, you can't
"mount" an HFS volume on an A/UX inode.
===
27) How can I adjust the amount of virtual memory available Finder uses?
The easiest way is to use the "TBMEMORY" environment variable. You can set
it's "value" equal to the amount of memory you wish to use (a maximum of 16Megs
under 32-bit and 8M under 24-bit). For example:
set TBMEMORY=10m (in .profile for ksh or sh or /etc/profile)
-or-
setenv TBMEMORY 10m (in .login for csh)
configures Finder for 10M.
You can also edit /mac/bin/mac32|mac24 (or .mac32|.mac24 if you are using this
method) to call "startmac" with the memory size you want using the "-m" option.
For example:
/mac/bin/startmac -m 8m > $SMLOGFILE 2>&1 &
-------
in (.)mac32|(.)mac24 will configure an 8M environment.
===
28) Is it worth getting a cache card for the IIci?
Absolutely! The card makes an amazing difference in performance. However, this
performance increase is reduced when an external monitor is used. For more
information about extensive benchmarking with the IIci and cache cards, contact
William Roberts (liam@dcs.qmw.ac.uk).
===
29) How do I keep command lines that I edit with "backspace" from erasing
the prompt?
This behavior is due to the tty driver under A/UX. The BSD tty driver (which
A/UX doesn't use) handles this, whereas the SysV driver doesn't. If you are
running "ksh" then you can "set -o viraw" to prevent this from happening.
As far as I know, there are no work-arounds for "sh" or "csh". ("tcsh" does
not suffer from this problem... I don't know about "bash".)
===
30) When I try to mail something, I get the following error message:
"Cannot read frozen config file: not a typewriter". What's wrong?
This message is produced by sendmail (/usr/lib/sendmail) when it's frozen
configuration file (/usr/lib/sendmail.fc) is unusable (as it is in the A/UX
distribution which has it as a 0-byte file). To create a "new" frozen file
of your present sendmail.cf file (assuming that it's good), type:
$ /usr/lib/sendmail -bz
(the sendmail daemon, if it exists, must be killed 1st).
===
31a) I have MacsBug installed. How can I trigger it?
-- or --
31b) Sometimes my MultiFinder environment (and/or CommandShell) freezes
up; how can I unfreeze it? Should I hit the Interrupt switch?
The "Command-Control-e" keypress will kill the current MultiFinder environment
and "unfreeze" (and kill) your MultiFinder|CommandShell. Depending on
whether your session-type is Console Mode or 32|24-Bit, you will either get
returned to the console or get returned to the Login screen. You should _NOT_
press the Interrupt switch since this puts you into A/UX's kernel debugger.
If you have MacsBug installed (which is recommended) then you can press
"Command-Control-i" to enter it. This may enable you to clean some things up
before the MultiFinder environment is blasted (even just using "rs" under
MacsBug helps...). If MacsBug is _not_ installed, the "C-C-i" behaves almost
like a "C-C-e" except that it appears that A/UX doesn't need to "rebuild" your
icon/Desktop "environment" the next time Mac-mode is entered.
===
32) Is there an archive of comp.unix.aux out there somewhere?
Yes, it's located on aux.support.apple.com under archives/comp.unix.aux.
===
33) My site is not upgraded to EtherTalk Phase 2 yet... can I use Phase 1
under A/UX?
A/UX only supports EtherTalk Phase 2. Upgrading to Phase 2 is recommended for
a variety of reasons, but most importantly to ensure compatibility with
new products from Apple and developers (of course, the added features over
Phase 1 are nice too :).
===
34) When I switch from 32 to 24-bit mode, my screen changes from Color
to Gray-Scale. If I change it to Color, then when I switch back to
32-bit mode, I'm back to Gray!
This is a relatively well known problem... there's no known work around.
===
35) How can I figure out the /etc/disktab entry for my hard disk?
Many hard disk applications will reveal the disk drive geometry for you:
FWB Hard Disk ToolKit and SCSI Evaluator are very good (SilverLining is a bit
wrong on the number of tracks... it includes spares). Also, Jim Jagielski
(jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov) is maintaining a list of /etc/disktab entries.
If you have one, send it to him; if you need one, snag it from it's ftp-site:
jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov. <<ED: I need _LOTS_ of entries>>
===
36) How come I can't use color under X?
Apple's X, and John Coolidge's X11R4 and X11R5 all support color. However,
you must start the server with the "-screen 0 -depth 8" option (similar
command with other screens if you have them). You can add these options to
the command line or to your server's defaults file. You can also create a
".X11" file in your home directory which includes the line:
X -screen 0 -depth 8
to get the same effect.
===
37) When is Apple shipping A/UX 3.0? How much will it cost. What does it
include?
A/UX 3.0 is now shipping (Apple started shipping it April 16, 1992). Suggested
retail of the CD-ROM package is $709 ($1208 bundled with a CD-ROM drive).
If you bought A/UX after October 31, 1991 then you are entitled to a free
upgrade; if you bought A/UX before that then you can update to 3.0 by buying
the CD-ROM Upgrade package for $245.
===
38) How do I set up my Mac and A/UX to enable remote logins via a modem
on tty0?
First of all, you must edit /etc/inittab to start getty on tty0 using mo_2400:
00:2:respawn:/etc/getty tty0 mo_2400
(/etc/apm_getty can also be used to set the modem to auto-answer. However,
using apm_getty with Hayes modems _could_ change some other settings when
it selects this mode. Nonetheless, more people have luck with apm_getty then
with getty.)
Make sure that your modem is set to be quiet, to not return result codes and
to not echo back. It must also reset on DTR being dropped ("atq1e0&d3" will
achieve this for most Hayes-compatible modems except certain (or all) USR
models (as well as the original Hayes SmartModem 2400). You modem must also
raise DCD on connection ("at&c1"). You can then save these changes using the
"at&w" sequence.
Make sure that the modem cable is correctly configured:
Mac Modem
--------------------
1 (HskO) 20 (DTR)
2 (HskI) 8 (DCD)
3 (TxD-) 2 (TxD)
4 (GDN) 7 (Sgnd)
5 (RxD-) 3 (RxD)
6 NO CONNECT
7 NO CONNECT
8 (RxD+) 7 (Sgnd) <- this is right, it gets tied to Mac pin 4 too.
If you mess up pin 8 things can get so flaky that you'll never figure out
what's going on.
%%% For more info concerning modem|serial problems for A/UX, you really
should contact Alexis Rosen (alexis@panix.com)... He's really worked
this area... %%%
===
39) How come I can't used "talk" with some of the other Unix boxes out
there, and they can't talk to me?
The reason why is because there are two versions of talk (and it's daemon
talkd) out there. A/UX uses the BSD 4.2 version. Others use the 4.3 version.
The two aren't compatible and don't even talk on the same port. If you try
to talk to someone and all you get is a "Checking for invitation..." message
then it's because the machine you're trying to access is using 4.3.
Steve Green (xrsbg@dirac.gsfc.nasa.gov) has ported the 4.3 versions of talk
and talkd (now renamed ntalk and ntalk for A/UX) to overcome this snag. You
can have both versions available and running with no problems. The port is
available via anon-ftp on jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov.
===
40) I'm having trouble transfering files between A/UX and my MacOS disk...
Also, sometimes things get transfered fine, othertimes not. What's
going on?
If a file on the A/UX system has Type "TEXT", then when it is copied over to
a MacOS disk, all 'newline' characters will be replaced by 'carriage
returns'. Sometimes this is what you want (that is when the file is, in fact,
a TEXT file). Othertimes it's not. Say for example you download a GIF file
onto your A/UX disk. A/UX _might_ think it's a TEXT file. If you then copy
it over to your MacOS disk and try to use Giffer on it, it won't work. That's
because the 'nl's where changed, which is _not_ what you want. The way to
stop this is to convince A/UX that the file is of non-TEXT type. There are
many applications out there (including the A/UX included "setfile" program)
that lets you modify this. Do this before you copy the file over to your Mac OS
disk and all will be Okay. If you aren't sure what the Type and Creator
should be, you can just specify "BIN " and "A/UX" (note space in BIN) and
the file won't be massaged during the copy|transfer. You'll still need
to eventually change them to the correct ones for their particular
application, but this way they'll be on your MacOS disk "uncorrupted."
Of course, you could also use "setfile" to set the Type|Creator fields _before_
you copy the file to the MacOS disk and avoid an additional step.
Please note that if you downloaded a BINHEX file, you _do_ want to keep
it as a TEXT file if you transfer it over to the MacOS. Once there, you
can de-BINHEX it and unStuffIt (if it was a binhexed stuffit archive).
See "Hints and Words of Wisdom" (above) for hints in using ftp file transfers
under A/UX.
===
41) Using the command shell interface, I'm trying to delete some Mac files
(that have strange names) but I can't; "rm" returns an error and I can't
remove the file. What's going on?
The problem is that sh and csh don't understand the Mac "special" characters
that are in the filenames. They don't expect filenames with characters that
are represented by 8-bits. ksh is "8-bit clean" and thus would be able to do
the deletion. For example, to remove Moire, just type:
$ ksh #this creates a Korn shell child
% rm M?ire #match the weird 'o'
% exit #get back in your old shell
You could also use emacs' DIRED or the Gnu File utilities to do this, but ksh
is right here on the system so it's a bit easier.
===
42) How can I reports bugs that I find?
The official E-mail address is reports.aux@applelink.apple.com. If you
subscribe to the A/UX Technical AnswerLine, you can also use that method. The
former isn't acknowledged although the latter is.
For completeness, also post the report to comp.unix.aux.
There is also a HyperCard stack called "Apple Bug Reporter" that Apple
recommends using. I have a copy and can make it available via anon-ftp if
there is a demand.
===
43) Which serial cards work under A/UX?
<<ED: the following is a posting by Alexis Rosen (alexis@panix.com) on c.u.a>>
There are three cards that "work" with A/UX. The Apple serial card is NOT one
of them.
The first is Paul Campell's Taniwha CommCard. This card does indeed work with
all versions of A/UX including 3.0. It has special support for UUCP. It has
a few mysterious and not very important problems. It's an excellent buy. The
only problem is, it's not on the market anymore. If you can get one used,
though, it's worth getting. The one downside is that, like Apple's ports, it
won't SIMULTANEOUSLY support modem and hardware flow control. It is immune to
many of the nasty bugs which affect the built-in serial ports, including the
two (at least) which can crash the kernel.
The second is the Digiboard Nu/whatever, which comes in 4 and 8 port versions.
This card does not currently work well with A/UX, and has not since 2.0. It
is susceptible to a variety of problems which crash the kernel, although if
you use only one port, you can go for many days without dying. It can also
bring down streams without crashing the kernel. A separate problem with
throughput causes UUCP to fail at high (9600 or above) speeds. HOWEVER- the
story is not over. The author of the drivers has been working hard to correct
these problems, and I hope that they will be corrected sometime in the next
two months. If so, I will post about it. Note that this information
SUPERSEDES the posting which stated that development work had stopped on this
board. (But- this work is going to be done on the Author's time, and not his
company's, so they will not be accountable.)
The third is the Applied Engineering 4-port serial card. I have the drivers
but have never had the chance to test them. However, I'm not too comfortable
with the idea of using them, for two reasons. First, the author of the drivers
knows fairly little about A/UX or unix in general. Second, the driver code is
based on Apple code. Apple has been (at least until 3.0 comes out) completely
incapable of writing serial drivers for their own hardware, so I'm not too
confident in usig their code as a base for someone else's drivers. BUT!!! -
as I said, I haven't used them. And at least one person who has, has not
reported trouble. So they're OK, at least for light use (which is sort of true
for the Apple ports as well). I just wouldn't bet a commercial project on
it.
The Applied Engineering card, like the CommCard and the Apple ports, can't do
both hardware handshaking and modem control at the same time. However, the
engineer there is thinking of making a hardware patch kit available that will
change this. If you're interested, call them and talk to them about it. They
are also working on a more sophisticated card which may well support this
without any modifications.
In short, there are no good serial-port solutions for A/UX. For a serious
project, buy a terminal server or buy a Sun. :-(
<<ED: the following is a followup to Alexis's posting. It's from Paul Sander>>
Actually, there are four.
The fourth is the MaraThon MultiComm card from Dove. It comes with three
serial ports and a parallel port. The first serial port is a DB-25, the
second is a DB-9 (AT compatible), and the third is configurable DB-25 or
RS-422. The parallel port is also AT-compatible. I haven't had trouble
with the serial ports, though I have had only terminals connected to them.
The parallel driver has an infuriating bug in which occasionally the end
of a printout is lost. (The workaround is to print a short dummy file after
anything important.) A/UX drivers come separately from the card, but they
are free.
Dove's technical support is pretty poor. When I got the card, I had them
send the A/UX drivers. When I discovered the bug, I reported it, and got
an "update," which contained the exact same software (proven using cmp to
compare the cpio archives on their media). Repeated calls were either
unanswered, or were not returned. I finally gave up after some 6 months
of frustration. To make the story complete, they used to have an 800
number for technical support, but it was discontinued 3 months into this
saga.
==
44) I have a IIfx and a 800K floppy disk drive. On boot-up, A/UX 2.0.1 claims
it's a 400K drive. What gives?
This is a bug in the IOP floppy software which, of course, is only used in the
IIfx's. Despite what A/UX says, the drive _is_ usable as a 800K floppy under
normal I/O. If you try to format a floppy in this drive while in the Finder
mode (mac32 or mac24) then it will only format as a 400K floppy, however.
==
45) I'm using a LaserWriter IIg with A/UX 2.0.1 and whenever I print some-
thing to it through "lpr", the first line of the page is cut off. Why?
This only shows up on versions of the IIg (and IIf) with over 4 MB of RAM.
The reason is because this makes the LW default to PhotoGrade-mode. You can do
2 things to fix this:
1. Using the LaserWriter Utility program, disable PhotoGrade.
Since one of the main advantages of these LW's is PhotoGrade,
this option is kinda unpalatable.
2. If you are _only_ using "Letter" mode under "lpr", then you
can edit /usr/lib/ps/pstext.pro to include the following line
between "% RCSID:..." and "/StartPage...":
%!PS-Adobe-1.0
% Z%Copyright Apple Computer 1987\tVersion 1.1 of pstext.pro on\
87/05/04 19:02:25
%%Creator: pstext
%%DocumentFonts: Courier
% RCSID: $Header: pstext.pro,v 2.1 85/11/24 12:19:55 shore Rel $
=====>>>>> letter
/StartPage{/sv save def 48 760 moveto}def
This will fix the problem and make it usable again.
==
46) Whenever I try to run xinit (or startx) from the CommandShell I get
a fatal server error. Why?
The reason why is because both X and the CommandShell want _complete_ control
over your Mac (display, keyboard and mouse). So, when you try to start one
while running the other, you'll get into trouble. You need to start X either
from the Console Emulator Mode or by choosing it as your "session type" from
the Login screen (This session type will be available only if your installed
Apple's X or have installed John Coolidge's 'sessiontypes' for X11R5).
==
47) Can I use my scanner under A/UX 2.0.1?
Unfortunately not. A/UX (2.0.1) doesn't support the SCSI Manager so all Mac
applications that attempt to _directly_ access SCSI devices will not work.
This includes scanners, HD utilities and various backup software.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
A/UX 3.0 will fully support the Apple OneScanner as well as providing better
support for the SCSI Manager and SCSI devices. It will still use its own
SCSI driver.
## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ## ## 3.0 INFO ##
--