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Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!ames!newsfeed.gsfc.nasa.gov!jagubox!jim
From: jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov (Jim Jagielski)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aux,news.answers,comp.answers
Subject: Apple A/UX FAQ List (2/3)
Supersedes: <3021@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Followup-To: comp.unix.aux
Date: 12 Apr 94 13:27:43 GMT
Organization: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
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Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
Expires: 27 Apr 94 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <3065@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov>
References: <3064@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Reply-To: jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov (Jim Jagielski)
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Summary: Latest posting of FAQ for A/UX
Keywords: FAQ A/UX
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu comp.unix.aux:6812 news.answers:17960 comp.answers:4874
Archive-name: aux-faq/part2
Last-modified: Tue Apr 12 09:25:29 EDT 1994
This is the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) list for A/UX 3.x.x
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ START OF PART 2 OF 3 //////////////////////
==============
**** Q&A: ****
--------------
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::: GENERAL QUESTIONS :::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
===================================
G.01) What's A/UX? Is it any good?
-----------------------------------
A/UX is Apple's implementation of Unix (it's Apple's UNix) for various
Macintosh computers. A/UX merges two computing environments, Unix and the
Macintosh Finder OS, and provides the full functionality of both.
A/UX is based on AT&T Unix System V.2.2 with numerous extensions from V.3, V.4
(such as streams) and BSD 4.2/4.3 (such as networking, the Fast File System,
job control, lpr, NFS with Yellow Pages, SCCS and sendmail 5.64). It also
provides full POSIX compliance. A/UX provides SYSV, BSD and POSIX compatiblity
switches and libraries. A/UX is fully compiant with the System V Interface
Definition (SVID).
A/UX provides all three standard shells: sh, csh and ksh. X-Windows is also
provided standard.
A/UX 3.x.x incorporates System 7 for the Macintosh allowing for the use of
the vast majority of Macintosh applications under A/UX. System7 and Unix
and fully integrated under A/UX 3.x.x with the Unix file system being seen as
a disk drive by the Finder.
There are quite a few people who feel that A/UX is a near-perfect implemen-
tation of Unix. Of course, every operating system (even AIX!) has it's share
of devotees, so that's not a very valid scale of whether the system is any
good. A/UX _is_ Unix... it's not some form of pseudo-Unix. It insulates the
user from Unix, if required, but the System Administrator will need to become
Unix-aware. Furthermore, if you want straight Unix, you can get it... it's
not a chore to bypass all the "gingerbread." People may also complain that
A/UX is based on an "obsolete" version of AT&T Unix (V.2.2). In many ways,
Apple's extensions make A/UX very V.3-like (V.3 is in many ways an enhanced
V.2... it even uses the V.2 kernel)... The list of extensions to A/UX are
impressive. Compare what you get standard with other systems and you'll be
shocked! On some, 'cc', 'f77', NFS, etc... are costly options.
The main consideration (and opposition) to A/UX is the platform it runs on:
The Macintosh. Some consider this a boon, others a bust. At present, Apple's
top-level workstation is the Quadra 800, a 33MHz 68040 based system. Some
consider this obsolete; others consider it overkill; others consider it, like
Goldilocks, "just right."
If you need super-fast state-of-the-art number crunching capability then A/UX
may not be for you... the Q800 benchmarks at maybe 10-16 SPECmarks (depending
on compiler used, external cache size, etc...) and you can get lots faster
with other platforms. Of course, you'll have to "settle" for their operating
systems, but if you need it, then that's how you'll get it. Of course, this
doesn't mean that A/UX "crawls"...
There are very few people who need this type of performance though. If you
need (or just _want_ ) a Unix workstation with the speed and power of Unix
and the user interface and application selection of the Macintosh then A/UX
is the way to go. In many, many ways, A/UX is the Unix "for the rest of
us"... even if we are long-time Unix junkies. If you love the Mac, you'll
love A/UX; if you love Unix, you'll love A/UX... and if you want a near-
perfect marriage of the two, then you'll love A/UX.
Yes, A/UX is good... very, very good :)
========================================================================
G.02) What's the minimum system I need (CPU, disk and RAM) to run A/UX?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/UX 3.0 works on the MacII (with PMMU _or_ 68030 upgrade with FDHD ROM's
installed), IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx, SE/30, IIsi (with 68882 chip) and the
Quadra 700|900|950 computers. A/UX 3.0.1 adds support for the Q800 and Centris
Machines (the Centrises _must_ have the real 68040 w/FPU - See Q&A #G.03).
A/UX does not support the ClassicII, PowerBook, Duo or LC families. A/UX
does _not_ work on the new 840av and 660av machines but will run on the new
Quadra 610 and 650s (recall that A/UX requires the _real_ 68040 chip!) with
a little bit of work:
You should make a copy of the A/UX Install Boot floppy and then copy the
Enabler for the Q610|650 onto this copy. You then boot up from this floppy
and install A/UX as usual. Finally, you'll need to copy the Q610|650
Enabler onto the A/UX MacPartition (or whatever MacOS disk you will use
when starting up your Mac and booting A/UX); do this by first booting off
a boot floppy or boot CD and then copy the Enabler over. You do _not_ need
to make any changes to the A/UX System Folder (i.e. the System Folder used
under A/UX).
Recall that A/UX _is_ UNIX and thus contains some very hardware specific
drivers. It's for this reason (and not Apple not doing things correctly) that
A/UX won't work on newly released platforms. To support a new platform, at
least _some_ work (and possibly extensive work in some cases) must be done.
If you really want to cut it close, 8MB 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 :)
A much better system would be 16MB of RAM and about 200MB 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.
===================================
G.03) What's new about A/UX 3.x.x?
-----------------------------------
A/UX 3.0.x incorporates the full functionality of System7. It supports the
QuickTime multimedia extension and the new Mac Quadra computers (not the AV
machines, however). A/UX 3.0.x includes X11R4 in it's distribution, as well
as MacX. Installation of A/UX is much easier that it was before and can be
installed on any 3rd party hard disk using the "new and improved" HD Setup
application (see Q&A #A.16 though).
3.0.2 is a later version of A/UX. 3.0.1 added support for the Q800 and
the Centris machines (650 and 610) as long as they have the _real_ 68040 chip
(68RC040) installed (Support for the C650 is official; support for the C610,
which _requires_ the 040 be replaced since none have the required one
installed, is non-official but known and verified). A/UX 3.0.2 will also run
on the new Quadra 610 and 650; see G.02 to see how. To get 3.0.2, you'll need
to install 3.0.1 and then apply the AWS Tune-Up 1.0 to upgrade to 3.0.2. This
upgrade is free.
3.1 is the latest version of A/UX. 3.1 greatly improves performance and
reliability as well as fixes some bugs. It does not, however, add support for
any other Macs. 3.1 is "tweaked" for the AWS95, but can be run on other
non-AWS95 Macs as well (see Q&A G:09).
3.0.1, in addition to supporting newer Macs, provides performance boosts, bug
fixes, better Finder emulation and other enhancements over 3.0. 3.0.2 does
the same for 3.0.1. The upgrade from older versions of A/UX to 3.0.2 really
_is_ worth the pretty small amount of money required. 3.0.2 is a better and
more solid performer, both UNIX-wise and Finder-wise, than it's predecessors.
3.1 requires 3.0.1|3.0.2 and provides much better performance and should be
seriously considered!
====================================================
G.04) What's the diff between 3.0.2 and 3.0.2(wgs)?
----------------------------------------------------
3.0.2 is an exact binary-copy of 3.0.2(wgs) (which is the version of A/UX
for the WGS 95 server) except for some minor cosmetics and the exclusion of
the server-related applications. This includes RetroSpect for A/UX (see Q&A
#E.03). Some of the major differences between 3.0.2 and 3.0.2(wgs) include:
o Buffer cacher size (default kconfig parameters)
o Packages installed during Easy Install
o Swap space size on Easy Install
o Autologin enabled in 3.0.2(wgs)
o lpr daemon on in 3.0.2, off in 3.0.2(wgs)
o Partition choices in HDSC SetUp
As you can see, they are all related to how the system is setup...
============================
G.05) How can I order A/UX?
----------------------------
A/UX is available preinstalled on Mac systems or on CD-ROM. To find the
nearest A/UX reseller, call 1-800-538-9696. You'll need access to a compatible
CD-ROM drive to install A/UX (or a friendly dealer if you go that route).
Please note that at the present, you can only order 3.0.1; you'll then need
to apply the AWS Tune-Up 1.0 (available on jagubox and aux.support.apple.com)
to upgrade up to 3.0.2.
The part numbers (and suggested retail price) for 3.0.1 are (US and Canada):
M0598LL/C A/UX 3.0.1 CD-ROM product ($795)
(contains Essential Manuals)
M0597LL/B A/UX 3.0.1 Essential Manuals ($329)
M0430LL/B A/UX 3.0.1 Programmers Manuals ($329)
M0431LL/B A/UX 3.0.1 Administrators Manuals ($329)
M0599LL/C A/UX 3.0.1 Update (updates previous ($250)
versions to 3.0.1)
M0489LL/B A/UX 3.0.1 Programmers Manual Update ($285)
M0490LL/B A/UX 3.0.1 Admin. Manual Update ($285)
If you are interested in upgrading your Q950 to the Apple WGS-95 Server
(which uses A/UX 3.0.1) here are the part numbers (with SRP):
M6940Z/A WGS 95 PDS Upgrade Kit ($2499)
M6945Z/A WGS 95 PDS + DAT Upgrade Kit ($4399)
By the way, MacWarehouse is now selling the A/UX 3.0.1 CD-ROM package for
$619... Their phone number is 1-800-255-6227; ask for part#SYS0009.
To get 3.0.2, you need to snag the AWS Tune-Up 1.0 DiskCopy image files from
aux.support.apple.com or jagubox and apply the patches. Although the Tune-Up
is called AWS, it's really for _all_ A/UX users. Note that you need 3.0.1 to
upgrade to 3.0.2.
If you want to upgrade to 3.1, please see Q&A G.09.
==============================================
G.06) What's the upgrade path for A/UX 3.0.2?
----------------------------------------------
You can upgrade to 3.0.2 (from any other version of A/UX) by purchasing the
A/UX 3.0.1 CD-ROM Product Upgrade (Apple part # MO599LL/C). The suggested
price is $250. You then need to snag the AWS Tune-Up 1.0 disks to upgrade
3.0.1 to 3.0.2.
It's recommended that if you do upgrade, that you completely repartition
your disk via the Installer for two reasons:
1. The default (suggested) partition sizes have changed
2. You install 3.0.1 on a "clean" system.
If you want to upgrade to 3.1, please see Q&A G.09.
============================================================
G.07) What are Right-To-Copy and Right-To-Upgrade licenses?
------------------------------------------------------------
If you have bought at least one copy of A/UX 3.0.x and you have other Mac
CPUs that you would like to install A/UX on, you don't need to reorder the
entire product. You can order a Right-To-Copy license for each Mac you want
to install A/UX on and then copy your A/UX to that Mac. This is cheaper than
buying a whole new CD-ROM package. It's not right to copy unless you have a
Right-To-Copy.
If those other Macs are already running A/UX, but an older version, then you
need to order a Right-To-Upgrade license for each one you want to upgrade.
As above, you then copy your 3.0.x over to that Mac.
Note that in both cases, you must have purchased at least 1 copy of A/UX
3.0.x. The Right-To-* licenses just "authorize" you to then copy that over
to other Macs.
The A/UX Essential Manual Set (that comes with A/UX 3.0.x) is not provided
with either license. If you need more, you'll need to order them
=========================================
G.08) How can I report bugs that I find?
-----------------------------------------
The official E-mail address is reports@aux.support.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.
===================================
G.09) What's the word on A/UX 3.1?
-----------------------------------
The latest version of A/UX, 3.1, has signed been signed off on and is now
shipping. 3.1 offers better performance than 3.0.2, fixes for various bugs,
better MacOS emulation and some updated programs and applications. 3.1
requires 3.0.1|3.0.2 and costs $199 (+ $5 for shipping, $10 for FedEx). You
can order it directly by calling 1-800-769-2775, x7822. Ask for the A/UX 3.1
WGS Upgrade Kit. If that doesn't work, try asking for part # M2885Z/A.
3.1 has only been _fully_ tested on the AWS95 platform and not on all the
other platforms that A/UX runs on; however, nothing was done to it to prevent
it from working on other machines. 3.1 is "only" for the AWS95s in the same
way that 3.0.2 was "only" for them ;)
Anyway, here is a short and non-official list of some 3.1 features:
o sendmail 8.6.4 now included
o support for new Berkeley NDBM package
o Added support for "dynamic" use of removables, such as SyQuests
o NEC CD-ROMs now supported !!
o StyleWriter II supported
o Support for UNIX file systems up to 4GB
o Enhanced I/O performance (big improvement for fast machines and/or
disks!)
o Interupting a NFS server now works
o Solaris clients no longer crash A/UX
o Heavy UFS and NFS I/O no longer causes 'panic: freeing free inode'
errors and deadlocks
o I/O no longer causes excessive dropped kernel clock interupts
o The size of .fs_cache no longer limited to 32MB
o Death of 'catsearchd' now detected and responded to (used to crash
the MacOS)
o Desktop rebuilds no longer cause the Finder to terminate when the
rebuild is done.
o ThinkC runs under A/UX
o Much better MacOS compatibility
o 'Temporary Items' correctly handled
o Various "needed" programs (like /bin/sh) recompiled w/o shared
libs so that the system is still restorable after /shlib is munged
o Various bug fixes and improvements, including:
cpio (new option -L to follow sym-links)
df (handles longer bus names)
fsck (ignores 'noauto' and '-p'&'-y' now work correctly)
make (uses SHELL in makefile)
passwd (MAXUID now 65534)
restore (can now restore named pipes)
====================================================
G.10) What's the future of A/UX with the PowerMacs?
----------------------------------------------------
+Well, that's the $64,000 question. The quick and easy answer is "Nobody
+knows." There are a few known factoids: (1) A/UX in it's _present_ form
+will _not_ be ported to the PowerMac. (2) Apple will have some form of UNIX
+(most probably based on some form of AIX) running on it's future PowerMac
+servers. Other than those two items, the rest is up in the air.
+There are a few rumors going around:
+ o Apple will release some form of PowerOpen-A/UX. This will be based on AIX
+ but will have enuff changes to it that it will be much better than AIX is
+ (similar to how A/UX has improved on it's SysVR2 base). PowerOpen-A/UX
+ will be for both servers and non-servers as well (again, similar to
+ the present A/UX). PowerOpen-A/UX will have some form of the Macintosh
+ Application Environment (MAE) running on it, although it may be different
+ (better) than that available for Sun and HP unix-boxes. Needless to say,
+ this is what the vast majority if present A/UXers would like.
+ o Apple will release some form of PowerOpen-A/UX. This will be based on
+ AIX with minimal (or no) changes at all. PowerOpen-A/UX will be for
+ both servers and non-servers as well (again, similar to the present
+ A/UX). PowerOpen-A/UX will have some form of the Macintosh Application
+ Environment (MAE) running on it, although it may be different (better)
+ than that available for Sun and HP unix-boxes. Due to it's base of
+ "straight" AIX, this is not super attractive to present A/UXers...
+ o Apple will release some form of PowerOpen-A/UX but it will be only for
+ servers.
+ o Apple will release some form of PowerOpen-A/UX for servers, but it's
+ MacOS emulation will either be _very_ barebones or even non-existant.
+ o Apple will decide that UNIX on PowerMacs is a waste (thus removing the
+ "fact-ness" of factoid #2) and will "give" the market of UNIX on PowerPCs
+ to the other guys, such as IBM, Solaris, etc... Thus, Apple will not have
+ any form of UNIX for the PowerMacs. Sooo, if you want the MacOS on top
+ of UNIX, you'll need to buy a UNIX box that the MAE is available for.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::: ADMINISTRATION ISSUES :::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
==================================================
A.01) 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".
=================================================================
A.02) How come my Login ScreenSaver doesn't see both my monitors?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is also due to the fact (see Q&A #A.01) that the System file in
/mac/sys/Login System Folder lacks a 'scrn' resource. If you copy this
resource from a System to knows about your monitor setup into Login's System,
then the screensaver will knows about all your monitors.
================================
A.03) Swap space error messages
--------------------------------
A.03) 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's 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! There is an
old rule of thumb that the size of Swap should be about
2 to 3 times the amount of RAM, which would seem to contradict
the above. The thing is that if with the _present_ workload
you are swapping like crazy, then adding RAM will reduce
tha swapping. If, however, you start increasing the work-
load, then swapping will start again, and you better have
enough of it! This was the original intent of the Rule-Of-
Thumb. At the very least, Swap should always be at least
as big as the amount of RAM you have.
================================================
A.04) 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
If you have GNU find, then you can use it with it's '-xdev' option, which
prevents find from walking through other file systems:
$ cd /
$ find . -xdev -print | 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...
These are easy to creat though using 'mknod'. The only named pipes included
in the default A/UX distribution are:
/usr/lib/cron/FIFO
prw------- 1 root sys 0 Oct 18 16:08
/usr/spool/lpd/AppleTalk/pipe
prw-rw---- 1 daemon daemon 0 Oct 19 06:11
========================
A.05) What's with UUCP?
------------------------
UUCP under 3.x.x is very improved over it's previous "incarnation" under 2.0.1.
3.x.x uses HDB (for HoneyDanBer) UUCP instead of standard UUCP. Some nice
things are bidirectional getty (also known as uugetty in other Unixs) which
allows both incoming and outgoing communication over serial lines as well as
better performance and reliability. I hear that setting it up is _much_ easier
as well.
You may seriously consider getting Alexis Rosen's "sendmail.cf" file for use
under UUCP sendmail. This config file has been modified to allow UUCP and
sendmail to work beautifully together. You may also want to consider simply
installing smail to replace sendmail.
Under 3.0., be sure that you are running the latest version: 1.16. It can be
found on aux.support.apple.com in aux.patches/supported/3.0. Be sure that you
get the new dial.o on ftp.apple.com (pub/earlw/dial) to avoid breaking syslog.
Under 3.0.1 (and later) all is OK.
==============================================
A.06) 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. Also
available on jagubox is a port of the latest version of wuarchive's ftpd
server for A/UX. wu-ftpd is a super-nice ftp server with lots of extras
and neat features!
The real reason why '-l' doesn't work with in.ftpd is that there's no real
way to send this option to the daemon. A/UX 'inetd' doesn't allow you to add
options to '/etc/servers'. John Coolidge (coolidge@apple.com) has ported the
BSD-reno version of 'inetd' to overcome this limitation. Jim Jagielski has
since been updating and maintaining 'inetd'. This version of 'inetd' also
has some nice features, such as rereading /etc/servers when sent SIGHUP. It's
available via anon-ftp on jagubox. This version of 'inetd' has also been
modified to log whenever it spawns a background daemon as well as logging
which host requested the daemon.
%%% For more info, contact Jim %%%
============================================
A.07) 'df' shows different results for root
--------------------------------------------
A.07) 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
some amount of the available disk space (if the file system was created by
HD SC Setup, then %5 is set aside; if created by 'newfs' then 10% is set
aside... 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".
As mentioned above, if you used HD Setup to create the partitions (or your
A/UX came preinstalled), then the "set aside" value for these file systems
is 5%, not the "default" of 10%... This was simply to give users more space.
Reducing this value beyond 5% is Not A Good Idea.
======================================
A.08) Does A/UX LocalTalk support IP?
--------------------------------------
Nope... not at all.
==========================================================
A.09) How do I get MPW 3.1 to work? It hangs my system...
----------------------------------------------------------
MPW 3.1 doesn't work under A/UX 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&A #M.04 for info about entering MacsBug...
===============================================================
A.10) 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.
=================================================================
A.11) How can I adjust the amount of virtual memory Finder uses?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There are three ways to do this. The first is very easy: you simply use the
Memory cdev to adjust the "memory" size, logout and then log back in. You
must be 'root' to do it this way.
The 2nd way is to use the 'TBMEMORY' environment variable. You can set it's
"value" equal to the amount of memory you wish to use. 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.
Please note that under the 24-bit mode (mac24), you can only access a maximum
of 8MB of RAM. It won't complain if you try to setup more, it just won't do
it. Furthermore, if you actually have more than 8MB (say 12), the "About This
Macintosh" window will show "Built-in Memory: 12,288 K; Total Memory: 8,192K".
The default behavior of 3.0 (and earlier) was to allocate all the RAM to the
MacOS. Thus, if you had 20MB, A/UX would, unless told otherwise, allocate
20MB for the MacOS-emulation. Under 3.0.1 (and later), this is slightly
changed: A/UX will usually not allocate all RAM to the MacOS but will instead
impose a 16MB maximum (this can be changed via Memory or TBMEMORY). Whatever
version of A/UX you are running, it's a Good Idea not to allocate _all_ RAM
for the Finder. This is because A/UX allocates itself a chunk, so if you give
the Finder "all" of it, you can cause swapping and paging which can seriously
degrade performance at times.
If the value set in 'Memory' and TBMEMORY disagree, the value determined by
TBMEMORY is used.
================================================================
A.12) 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.
==========================================
A.13) How come I can't use color under X?
------------------------------------------
Apple's X (R4), and Thomas Eberhardt's 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. Make sure that ".X11" is executable for this to work
("chmod 755 .X11").
===========================================
A.14) Accessing MacOS filenames under A/UX
-------------------------------------------
A.14) Using the command shell interface, I'm trying to access some Mac files
(that have strange names) but I can't; the program returns an error and
I can't access 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
access the file. 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. Of course, another very
easy way is to use the MacOS interface and do the deletion|rename|whatever
the "Mac" way. Please note that if what you are MacOS deleting is a symbolic
link to a directory, what gets Trashed is actually the contents of the
directory as well as the link! This is due to the fact that to the Finder,
the link looks like a folder, and the entire thing gets deleted.
============================================
A.15) Installer problems on 3rd party disks
--------------------------------------------
A.15) I heard the the Installer for 3.x.x works on "any" 3rd party
hard disk. Well, it doesn't on mine!
Well, the Installer will work with any 3rd party disk but there are a few
wrinkles... The HD Setup application in the 3.x.x Installer is unique in that
not only does it create A/UX partitions but it also creates the actual file
systems in those partitions (basically it runs 'newfs'). Now if you have used
some other HD utility program (such as SilverLining or FWB HDT) to create
the partitions and then attempt to install A/UX on that disk, the Installer
sees that the partitions are there and then _assumes_ that they were created
by HD Setup and therefore have the file systems already created. Of course,
the file systems don't exist yet, just the partitions, so the installation
fails.
You have a few options:
a. Run the Installer on a newly formatted disk. This means that HD Setup
will do all the partitioning (etc...) and the installation will proceed.
Note that this means you will be "stuck" with the Apple drivers whenever
you are in the _real_ MacOS Finder.
b. If you want to use the drivers on your HD utility (for stuff like,
maybe, password protection of partitions) then you have two (maybe three)
additional options:
i. Use 'a' above to install A/UX. Then use your HD utility program to
"take over" the disk, disabling (or even removing) the Apple drivers
and installing it's own. Note that if there isn't enough space to
install it's drivers, most will attempt to "shrink" the MacOS partition
to make room. Most can do this with no problem, but why take the risk...
when you partition the disk, leave about 64K available as free space.
ii. Use your HD utility to create the partitions. Then, before you
run the Installer, run 'newfs' "by hand" to create the file systems so
that the installation can proceed.
iii. Use your HD utility to format (etc...) your disk and create
_only_ the MacOS partition. Now run the Installer. In most cases HD
Setup will work fine with the driver installed on the disk. You can
now use it to create the A/UX partitions.
<<ED: I _know_ this (iii) works with FWB HDT>>
Please note that HD SC Setup will only create the file systems if run under
A/UX. If you run it under the MacOS, it can only partition...
==========================
A.16) RetroSpect for A/UX
--------------------------
A.16) Since RetroSpect will no longer be bundled with A/UX 3.0.2,
how can I get it?
Very early reports indicated that RetroSpect for A/UX might be bundled with
A/UX 3.0.2 as it is with the AWS95 version of 3.0.2. This is no longer the
case (if it ever _was_ ). However, if you are a registered owner of RetroSpect
2.0, you can order an upgrade to RetroSpect A/UX. The cost is around $200
and to order (or more info) you can call 1-800-225-4880 (have your
registration number handy). International customers should call 510-849-0293.
Please note that if you have the Pisces card installed (with the WGS95), then
_only_ RetroSpect A/UX will work and _only_ under the A/UX environment. You
will not be able to access your DAT under the real MacOS!
==========================================
A.17) How can I configure CAP under A/UX?
------------------------------------------
For the answer, snag a copy of CAP.txt which is available via anon-ftp
on jagubox in /pub/aux.
===========================================
A.18) What are some good books about A/UX?
-------------------------------------------
Except for Apple's complete manual set, there are no books specifically about
A/UX. (Well, there's one but it's most probably out of print. It is most
definately out of date. It's called "The A/UX Handbook" by Jan Harrington
and it's written for A/UX 2.0).
There are some _very_ good books about UNIX in general however. The best of
the pack (IHMO) is "UNIX Administration Guide for System V" by Thomas and
Farrow. Another good book is the "UNIX System Administration Handbook" by
Nemeth, Snyder and Seebass. Since A/UX is a mix of SystemV and BSD both books
are worthwhile ("UNIX Sys. Ad. Handbook" deals "mostly" with BSD systems).
Another must-have is "UNIX Power Tools" from O'Reilly and Associates.
For general information about shells and programming there's no better book
than "The UNIX Programming Environment" by Kernighan and Pike. For the 'ksh'
shell, the best book I've encountered is "Learning the Korn Shell" by Bill
Rosenblatt.
O'Reilly and Associates has a wide selection of UNIX-based books. You're
bound to find what you're looking for from them. You can contact them either
via Email (nuts@ora.com) or Phone (1-800-998-9938).
There is also a list (with over 160 entries) of UNIX books (and mini-reviews)
located on ftp.rahul.net in 'pub/mitch/YABL/yabl'.
========================================
A.19) 'panic ialloc' error when booting
----------------------------------------
A.19) When booting up, I get a "panic ialloc, dup alloc" (or other)
error message and A/UX won't boot. What can I do?
This is due to the fact that some file system damage exists on the Root file
system. By default, A/UX Startup will only run 'fsck' on the root file system
if the system is marked as "dirty." So even if damage exists, as long as the
disk was cleanly 'umount'ed, 'fsck' won't check it out and fix it.
I recommend always having A/UX Startup fully check out the disk before booting
A/UX. It takes a while, but it's worth it. To do this, choose Booting from
the Preferences menu. Now change the command under "AutoRecovery" to "fsck
/dev/default" (it was "fsck -y -p /dev/default"). When you do this, you'll
notice that the radio button changes from "Check root file system" to "Custom
command"... that's OK. After that, A/UX will always run 'fsck' on Root. If
you are doing this, you might as well have A/UX run a full 'fsck' on all
file-systems too. Check out fsck(1m) and fstab(4) for how to do this... one
way is to just edit /etc/bcheckrc and remove the options to the "/etc/fsck"
command.
If you don't want to do this but you do have some damage that prevents A/UX
from booting, then you can cancel the boot-up process (either select "Exit"
or hit "Command-."). Then type "fsck /dev/default" and then, when 'fsck' is
done, type "boot" (or "launch"). Sometimes you must run 'fsck' a coupla times
to fully fix the file system if there was extensive damage.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::: MAC-EMULATION QUESTIONS :::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
======================================================
M.01) What Mac applications are compatible with A/UX?
------------------------------------------------------
It would be much easier to list the applications that aren't compatible.
The list is much, much shorter...
The _vast_ majority of applications that run under System 7 will run under
A/UX 3.x.x. In fact, before System 7 was released, A/UX 2.0.x was actually
a good litmus test whether the application was 32-bit clean and would run
under System 7. The only applications that are _sure_ to fail are those that
try to access hardware _directly_, such as HD utilities or backup
applications. A/UX 3.x.x provides both 24 and 32-bit modes, so if the
application doesn't run under 32-bit mode, try it under 24-bit.
One key note: if the program uses a "complex" installation procedure (like
for Canvas, Word, Stuffit, etc...) then you should not try to do a fresh
install under A/UX. See the above Hints and Words Of Wisdom.
===================================================
M.02) What screen-savers are compatible with A/UX?
---------------------------------------------------
AfterDark (2.0u and later) works well under A/UX but some displays may not
have enough memory under Login so the "low-memory" display will be used.
Moire and FMbackup seem a bit incompatible. They both function fine together
but the combination prevents FMbackup's "Finishing up..." window from
displaying, although FMbackup does, in fact, finish up. Furthermore, Moire
seems to screw-up Commando (both version 3.22 and 4.01 exhibit this problem)
so all in all, Moire can't be recommended if you desire using Commando (the
problem seems to be with all MacOS applications 'launch'ed from the
CommandShell window). Using Moire for the Login screen works well however,
since you can't access Commando or 'launch' applications from there.
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 4.0 and will _not_ work on Pre-System7
systems, so don't attempt to use this under A/UX 2.0.1 or later.
Moire is available via anon-ftp on jagubox.
==========================================
M.03) Mounting MacOS partition under A/UX
------------------------------------------
M.03) 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... 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.
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 application to boot A/UX and this application 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.
Sometimes, the partition map isn't correct for the MacOS partition; In
particular, the Logical size may be 0! You can use 'dp' to look at the
partition map to see if this is the case. Assuming that the disk us SCSI #2,
then:
$ dp /dev/dsk/c2d0s31
P
Will print out the partition map entries. You can then see if the "Apple_HFS"
partition type has the correct logical size.
=================================================
M.04|M.05) MacsBug, Interrupts and MacOS Freezes
-------------------------------------------------
M.04) I have MacsBug installed. How can I trigger it?
-- or --
M.05) 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.
To make sure that MacsBug installs correctly, it's name must be 'MacsBug'.
A munged Debugger Prefs file can also prevent MacsBug from installing. This
happened to me when upgrading to 3.0.1... To be safe, make a solid safe
copy before upgrading.
==================================
M.06) Phase 1 EtherTalk and A/UX?
----------------------------------
M.06) 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 :).
=========================================
M.07) A/UX and MacOS file transfer hints
-----------------------------------------
M.07) 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).
Please note that if you transfer Unix-type files (like tar archives or
compressed files) between the A/UX file system and a MacOS disk (esp. if
these files were "created" on a MacOS disk by a MacOS utility), the Unix
application may no longer work correctly with it. This is because the MacOS
resource information was attached to the file during the transfer (the file
is in Apple Single format). To "fix" this, use 'fcnvt' to change the file
to Apple Double format which will detach the resource fork and place it
into a "%..." file.
See "Hints and Words Of Wisdom" (above) for hints in using ftp file transfers
under A/UX.
============================================
M.08) Where to install CDEVs and Extensions
--------------------------------------------
M.08) Do I install CDEVs and Extensions in the System Folder on
MacPartition or on the "/" A/UX disk.
To install these additions to A/UX, you will need to drag-copy them over to
the A/UX System Folder. Usually, this is /mac/sys/System Folder on the "/"
disk but it will also "appear" in your "home folder" icon. If you have a
personal System Folder (i.e. $HOME/System Folder) then they should be dragged
there. To add a screensaver to the Login screen, it must be dragged into the
correct subfolder in /mac/sys/Login System Folder. That is, if it's an cdev,
drag it into /mac/sys/Login System Folder/Control Panels.
==================================
M.09) Booting A/UX under System 7
----------------------------------
M.09) I heard that A/UX requires a special version of System 7 to boot...
Is this true?
A lot of people believe this but this is not true. There is no difference
between the s/w on the MacPartition partition and the "real" System 7. The
only _real_ need for MacPartition is that the disk where A/UX Startup lives
is where A/UX Startup looks for the A/UX Root partition. When A/UX Startup
launches, it looks at "it's" disk and then looks for A/UX partitions on that
disk. This means that you _don't_ need to boot-up from the MacPartition disk
to boot A/UX. Start your Mac from your standard Startup disk and just
double-click on A/UX Startup on the MacPartition icon.
You can even do without the MacPartition disk but telling A/UX Startup the
exact SCSI number of the A/UX disk. You can do this a couple of ways:
1. create a ROOT variable in A/UX Startup that points to the
root partition in this form: (SCSI-ID, 0, 0)
2. Under the General Preferences menu, change the Root Directory
to (SCSI-ID, 0, 0).
The "device" file /dev/default points to the SCSI-ID of whatever disk is the
MacPartition disk, so if you don't have one, you need to tell A/UX Startup
it's "real" name. This is kinda messy since you'll need to preface a lot of
stuff with this value: e.g.
#startup cat (6,0,0)/etc/inittab
==================================================
M.10) Screwed up Desktop after crashes or MacsBug
--------------------------------------------------
M.10) After the Mac environment crashes (or when I use MacsBug), the
Desktop gets all screwed up... Argg!!
Ron Flax of Apple (ron@afsg.apple.com) has written a very useful System
Extension called FMbackup that creates backup copies of "valuable" Desktop
files. When the MacOS-mode is entered, FMbackup restores these files. Thus,
when your MacOS "crashes", you no longer need to rebuild the Desktop or reset
all your Icons, window "types", etc... Please note that there seems to be
some incompatibilty between FMbackup and Moire and QuickMail 2.5.1.
FMbackup (1.0.4) is available via anon-ftp on afsg.apple.com as well as
aux.support.apple.com (in "unsupported").
%%% For more information about "FMbackup", please contact Ron via E-mail %%%
===============================================
M.11) MacOS partitions on desktop only as root
-----------------------------------------------
M.11) My MacOS partition(s) only show up on the Desktop when I login
as root. Why?
Under the Preferences/General Menu of A/UX Startup, there is a radio-box
called "Password checking". This is intended to provide some security for
the A/UX Startup application. When enabled, two (default) things happen:
1. A/UX Startup requires a password to open.
2. MacOS partition(s) are only mounted for root login.
Thus, to enable MacOS partition(s) to be available for all users, you must
disable "Password checking". See auxstartuprc(4) for more info.
==========================================
M.12) CommandShell ignoring 1st key press
------------------------------------------
M.12) For some reason, my CommandShell only responds to a keyboard
event after it receives a second event. For example, typing "a"
won't show until I type something else or click the mouse.
What gives?
This is caused almost 99% of the time by an Extension|CDEV conflict. The way
around this is to selectively disable each one at a time and see which one
causes the problem... then delete it. "Wild Magic" is prone to do this as
are older versions of CEToolbox.
=====================================
M.13) Can A/UX 3.x.x run System 7.1?
-------------------------------------
A/UX 3.x.x's MacOS interface is based on System 7.0.1. You cannot install
Sys 7.1 on A/UX (meaning you can't make A/UX run Sys 7.1) since there are a
few system files that are fine-tuned and modified to work under A/UX. These
would get overwritten if you tried to install 7.1 and you'd be out of luck.
Please recall that this doesn't mean that you can't have 7.1 installed on
your MacPartition, to be used when in MacOS-only mode. It just means that
you can't have A/UX run 7.1.
Just to let you all know, if you really want to, you _can_ install 7.1 on
A/UX 3.x.x and the MacOS-stuff will work pretty well. However, all hybrids,
such as CommandShell or Commando, will die... not too useful...
===============================================
M.14) What version of AppleTalk does A/UX run?
-----------------------------------------------
This one is tricky. First of all, the version of AppleTalk under A/UX was
designed specifically for A/UX... Don't try installing the Network Software
Installer (NSI) disk. Bad Things will happen.
With that out of the way, when polled by InterPol, A/UX will respond that
AppleTalk v56 is running. However, A/UX's version is really compatible with
version 58. This will cause trouble with those applications that rely on
version numbers rather than capability.
===================================
M.15) Version of MacTCP under A/UX
-----------------------------------
M.15) I've just installed MacTCP 2.0.2|4 on A/UX and nothing works!
What's going on?
The copy of MacTCP that ships with A/UX is specifically written for A/UX. You
should _not_ replace it with any MacOS version of MacTCP! Doing so will cause
mucho problems for A/UX. This is because A/UX's MacTCP simply offloads all
networking functions down to A/UX itself which handles them.
Although it's true that some MacOS programs, such as Mosiac, "require" MacTCP
2.0.2|2.0.4, the vast majority work just fine with A/UX's version. In extreme
cases, with programs that actually _check_ the version number, a little
ResEdit hacking will fix things up. Basically, all you need to do is COPY the
'vers' resource of MacTCP 2.0.2|2.0.4 and PASTE it into MacTCP in your active
A/UX System Folder (you want to 'Replace' the previous 'vers' resource). This
will cause MacTCP to appear (via 'Get Info' and similar ways) to be version
2.0.4.
////////////////////// END OF PART 2 OF 3 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
--
#include <std/disclaimer.h>
Jim Jagielski | "Is this something you can share with
jim@jagubox.gsfc.nasa.gov | the rest of us Amazing Larry!!??"
NASA/GSFC, Code 734.4 | Pee Wee
Greenbelt, MD 20771 |