home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
- Path: sparky!uunet!spool.mu.edu!caen!hellgate.utah.edu!csn!teal.csn.org!wizard
- From: wizard@teal.csn.org (Michael Willett)
- Subject: FAQ, Technical Tips for Coherent Rev 3.2
- Message-ID: <C0C6xJ.EnB@csn.org>
- Sender: news@csn.org (news)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: teal.csn.org
- Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.
- Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 15:56:03 GMT
- Lines: 531
-
-
-
-
- T E C H N I C A L T I P S F O R C O H E R E N T 3.2
-
-
- Comp.os.coherent (Usenet) / Coherent list on ListServ@IndyCMS
-
- Rev. 2.2
-
-
- C O N T E N T S :
-
- T E C H N I C A L T I P S
- Modem devices:
- Remote logins:
- Fast modems:
- Simultaneous users:
- Usenet news software:
- Email packages:
- The 64K question:
- Compiler hints:
- Hardware configurations:
- Termio hints:
- Curses:
- More uucp:
- How to create a bootable >>>R/W<<< floppy from Coherent:
- Master Boot Reinstallation:
- Line Printer Help:
- Moving data from a Sun to Coherent:
- Multi-Volume Archive:
- SCSI MKFS Notes:
- DOS to Coherent:
- Uuinstall Bug Help:
- Xwindows:
- Tar Help:
- Setting Boot Partition: DOS or Coherent?
- A Backup Script:
-
- MISC:
- Disclaimer:
- Trademarks:
-
- T E C H N I C A L T I P S :
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- MODEM DEVICES:
- Q: What devices should I use with a modem for dialing in / dialing out
-
- A: For dialing in you should use a device with modem control. For example
- com1r or com2r. That is important to ensure that when the calling site
- dropped carrier, that also at your site SIGHUP is sent to already running
- processes, to ensure that the modem hangs up (dropping DTR) and a new
- getty is opened on that port to enable further logins.
-
- For dialing out or local terminals you do not need modem control
- Also you do not have to worry about cabling problems, just use some
- of those null modem cables available in most computer stores.
-
- REMOTE LOGINS:
- Q: How do I enable logins via modem to my machine:
-
- A: I assume that modem is set to AUTO-ANSWER (ATS0=1) and the cabling
- is ok.
- Edit the file /etc/ttys. Here an example for com2:
- 0rPcom2r
- 0 = not yet enabled (enable = allow login, run getty)
- r = remote access (will enable asking of a password
- for remote-access (see /etc/passwd)
- Why ? System security, additional password
-
- P = speed (your modem is connected to the computer)
- P = 9600 Baud, I use this for my Telebit Modem
- com2r = device with modem control, when CARRIER is lost it
- will sent SIGHUP to all processes running on that
- line and will also drop DTR so a modem hangup or
- a modern modem does a hardware reset.
-
- Now type the following:
- enable com2r (for Coherent 3.2 that's enough)
- kill -1 1 (Coherent 3.0.0 or 3.1.0, Process INIT will start
- a getty on com2r)
-
- FAST MODEMS:
- Q: Can I use fast modems with Coherent 3.2?
-
- A: Yes you can. But you must think about the following:
-
- a) maximum Baud rate between modem - machine is 9600 Baud
- (Coherent as a multiuser/multitasking environment is
- not fast enough for 19200 Baud)
-
- b) cps-rates in transfer depend on modem/method
-
- calling into my machine (T2500) with a USR, using sz for transfer:
- 480 cps to 600 cps (compressed, uncompressed files)
-
- calling out with uucp (T2500):
- 860 cps
-
- The rate may differ if you use a slow 286 or 386. The above results
- were yielded with a 386/33.
-
- SIMULTANEOUS USERS:
- Q: I want to use Coherent 3.2 as a multiuser operating system. How many
- users can work with it at the same time ?
-
- A: Now 11 User:
- console : 1
- com1 : 1
- com2 : 1
- Multiport : 8
- --------------
- 11
-
- USENET NEWS SOFTWARE:
- Q: Is there any Net-News Software for Coherent ?
-
- A: Yes, there are several packages available:
-
- CNEWS - the famous package
- difficult to install (although there is a nice installation
- script in the Coherent version). Only for advanced users !
- Has no reader !
-
- WNEWS 3.0 - News for MINIX, ported to Coherent
- based on BNEWS - small, not bad
- Has no reader
-
- rn
- the well known newsreader
-
- tass
- curses based newsreader. Nice, but you should not have
- too much groups or articles in /usr/spool/news.
-
- bsnews
- small news package for receiving news via email
-
- and others...
-
- EMAIL PACKAGES:
- Q: I do not like Coherent's mailer. What can I use instead of it ?
-
- A: WMAIL 3.63 - a minix port, MAILX-clone
-
- comb 1.29 - curses based mailer, nice interface
-
- You should ensure that in both cases you have smail 2.5 as
- a smart-mailer that understands domain addresses.
- smail 2.5 is already in Coherent 3.2
-
- THE 64K QUESTION:
- Q: Does Coherent really have a 64 kb limitation ? I want to port
- the GNU-C-Compiler and compile big programs.
-
- A: Coherent programs are limited to 64 K for code and 64 k for data
- and stack. The limit is not in the compiler, it's in the kernel
- or at least in the actual system design. No process can exceed this
- limitation.
- But Binaries in Coherent are about 40 % smaller so big programs
- for "Real-UNIXES" may also be portable
-
- COMPILER HINTS:
- Q: I write a C-program that seems to be ok but it still core dumped.
- Is this a compiler error ? Is my program wrong ?
-
- A: If a program needs a lot of space for local data (resided on the
- stack in most cases) then the maximum size for the stack may be
- exceeded and your return addresses or other important things were
- overwritten.
- With the program fixstack you can increase the size for the stack
- (and also cut the space for data)
- Try size my_prog before and after fixstacking to see the difference.
-
- HARDWARE CONFIGURATIONS:
- Q: What hardware (Motherboard, hard disk) do I need for Coherent ?
-
- A: Difficult question. Minimum is a AT 286 with 640 KB RAM and a
- hard disk (MFM,RLL,ESDI,SCSI (some), IDE (some)) with at least
- 10 MB free disk space.
-
- Nevertheless Coherent is not the fastest operating system, so
- a 386 with at least 25 MHZ and 4 MB RAM and a fast hard disk
- (a hard disk is always too small !!!!) is the minimum config-
- uration for a usable multi-user-operating.
-
- TERMIO HINTS:
- Q: I compiled a program that uses termio but it did not work.
-
- A: The termio in Coherent (at least 3.1.0 and the first 3.2.0) did
- not work in all cases. So try the sgtty, that works fine.
- When porting programs try to find the -DBSD-parts. There you will
- find in most cases the sgtty-parts you need for porting.
-
- CURSES:
- Q: I compiled a program that uses curses but the screen sometimes get
- garbled or the machine seems to hang
-
- A: Maybe you still have an old libcurses.a. Replace it with a newer
- copy.
-
- MORE UUCP:
- Q: I often loose email or files after receiving them with UUCP.
-
- A: Try to get the newest UUCP-update from MWCBBS. The old packages
- still have some problems. Check the permissions, at least for example
- with comparing them with those on your original diskettes.
- Check also the permissions of the needed directories.
- In /usr/spool/uucp/Logs./uucp-program you will find the "hints" of the
- "uucp-program" (uucico, uucp, uux,uuxqt) what goes wrong.
- In Coherent 3.2. you have the program uucheck that will check your
- uucp-installation and is also able to "fix" problems. But you have to
- run it twice if you run it as root because the first time it creates
- the needed directories and the second run sets the correct permission.
-
- Q: I am having a problem connecting to uucp sites not running Coherent
- after updating to Coherent 3.2. The error looks like a parity
- problem, with an {expect} / {actually got} output like:
- uu315323t 342og310n: (With backslashes before the numbers)
-
- Again, get the latest UUCP package from MWCBBS. The 3.2 Coherent
- release may exhibit a parity problem which is cured with the latest
- uucp release.
-
- HOW TO CREATE A BOOTABLE >>>R/W<<< FLOPPY from Coherent
- From: Peter Fillingham fillingham@att.com
- The COHERENT Operating System Release Notes (Release 3.1.0)
- along with the main manual suggest ways of creating a
- bootable floppy. One difficulty of this procedure is that,
- after producing a bootable floppy, one can't write to it !
- The following shell programs are suggested as a way making a
- bootable floppy, and below is the fix recommended by mwc for
- making the bootable floppy system read-write.
-
- (0) first boot your system from your hard disk, login in as root, use
- mkdir to make a convenient subdirectory [e.g., /bin/temp ].
- cd to /bin/temp. Place disk #1 of your mwc original floppies
- in drive A:, then enter
-
- dd if=/dev/fha0 of=cohboot count=80 bs=30b
-
- Run it in the background if you wish [follow the above line
- with an &; use ps -axfl if you are curious]. This will
- take just over three minutes depending on the speed of your
- system. What is going on is that dd is creating an image of
- your boot floppy in you default directory with the file name
- cohboot. When it finishes, remove the mwc original floppy,
- and insert a blank disk.
-
- (1) Next run the following shell program:
-
- echo "/etc/fdformat -v /dev/fha0"
- /etc/fdformat -v /dev/fha0
- echo "/etc/badscan -o proto /dev/fha0 2400"
- /etc/badscan -o proto /dev/fha0 2400
-
- Run it in the background if you wish; it takes time. The echo lines
- simply display each command line just before it is carried out to tell
- you what is going on. The second and fourth lines format the floppy and
- check for bad blocks, respectively. In addition, a file (proto) is
- being built in your default subdirectory. This file will contain a
- list of the bad blocks: look for a line with %b in it. Probably it is
- best to use only a floppy with NO bad blocks: so try until you find
- one.
-
- (2) make sure you have a subdirectory /f0 on your hard disk;
- if not, use mkdir /f0.
-
- (3) Next run the following shell program:
-
- echo "/etc/mkfs /dev/fha0 proto"
- /etc/mkfs /dev/fha0 proto
- echo "cp /conf/boot.fha /dev/fha0"
- cp /conf/boot.fha /dev/fha0
- echo "dd if=cohboot of=/dev/fha0 count=80 bs=30b"
- dd if=cohboot of=/dev/fha0 count=80 bs=30b
- echo "/etc/mount /dev/fha0 /f0"
- /etc/mount /dev/fha0 /f0
- echo "cd /f0 "
- cd /f0
- echo " DONE but f0 still mounted !"
-
- The second line produces the file system on the floppy using the
- information from file proto. The fourth line copies boot.fha to the
- floppy. The sixth line transfers the image of your system boot floppy
- to your newly formatted disk (note all these things take time).
- Finally, the floppy is mounted so that while you have booted from the
- hard disk and have root permissions you can write to the floppy. The
- last line simply rings the bell and tells you it is done.
-
- (4) next (noting that your default directory is /f0, i.e. the
- floppy disk) enter:
- mv begin autoboot
- then enter
- db coherent
- then enter
- ronflag
- the response is
- ronflag=001
- then enter
- .=0
- then a response appears
- ronflag=000
- then enter
- :q
- and you should get back your prompt.
-
- (5) Finally while the floppy is still mounted, cp over your most useful
- programs to the appropriate directories (e.g., vi or me, du, df
- ...) Lastly umount f0, shutdown, sync and boot your writable
- floppy.
-
- MASTER BOOT REINSTALLATION:
- From: doug@mwc.com (Doug Peterson)
- I want to upgrade the DOS partition from MS-DOS 3.3 to 5.0, and the
- installation program refuses to work with the Coherent master bootstrap
- program. It no longer asks for the ability to boot Coherent!
-
- The problem specifically is caused be Microsoft's faulty update install
- procedure. They assume you have no other operating system on the
- computer.
-
- When the 5.0 update install is run, the procedure archives the original
- master boot block of the hard drive and rewrites a brand new one.
- Problem is, it takes Coherent's master boot along with it. To restore
- the master boot is very simple:
-
- Use dos 5.0 fdisk to change the active partition to COHERENT. Reboot.
-
- Use COHERENT's fdisk utility with the -b option to rewrite a new master
- boot. Specifically; fdisk -b /conf/mboot /dev/at0x <ENTER>
-
- Once completed, you can now boot either system no matter which one is
- active or inactive.
-
-
- LINE PRINTER HELP: From: dave@uvm-gen!pete (Dave Peterson)
- I have my printer hooked up to lpt1 and cannot get any output. I have
- checked my files, but, no luck. What's the problem?
-
- 1) ls -li ( The i will list the inode number, this will tell you where
- you have linked /dev/lp to. )
-
- 2) ln -f /dev/lpt2 /dev/lp ( link to lpt2 IBM and MWC number the ports
- differently thus lpt2 is the first printer )
- [ you need to be root or bin to do the link ]
- This is a partial listing of my /dev directory note the first number is
- the inode number. I have linked lp to lpt2.
- 174 c-w--w--w- 2 bin bin 3 1 Mon Nov 25 17:36 /dev/lp
- 101 c-w--w--w- 1 bin bin 3 0 Fri Apr 27 1990 /dev/lpt1
- 174 c-w--w--w- 2 bin bin 3 1 Mon Nov 25 17:36 /dev/lpt2
- 173 c-w--w--w- 1 bin bin 3 2 Fri Apr 27 1990 /dev/lpt3
-
- As a final point when you send data to /dev/lpt2 use pipes not redirection.
- Try cat (file) | /dev/lpt2 it works for me.
-
- MOVING DATA FROM A SUN TO COHERENT:
- (From: PINEAU@uqac.uquebec.ca (Louis Pineau))
- First, the floppy have to be formatted whether on the sun or on the
- Coherent system (with fdformat /dev/rfd0c on the sun). Once the floppy
- is formatted, there is no need to reformat or mkfs it for the life of
- the floppy or until something unusual happens.
-
- To write and read the floppy, on both system (sun and coherent), I use
- the command "ustar" since it can handle multi-volume files (files that
- are too large to fit on a single floppy).
-
- Thus, on the sun, I do:
- /usr/5bin/ustar -cvf /dev/rfd0c file [files ...] to write on the floppy
- /usr/5bin/ustar -tvf /dev/rfd0c to list the floppy
- /usr/5bin/ustar -xvf /dev/rfd0c [file ...] to read the floppy
-
- On my coherent system, I use the same commands without the /usr/5bin
- prefix and with the proper floppy device (/dev/fva1 on my system).
-
- I know that there is a way to read or write ms-dos formatted floppy but
- in order to mount or unmount the floppy, you must become superuser.
-
- MULTI-VOLUME ARCHIVE: (From: jr@connie.de.convex.com (Joachim Riedel))
- I'm trying to archive a 5 mb file (which is itself a compressed cpio
- file) from hard disk onto floppy disk (fva1). I've tried cpio and tar
- and even pax directly but cannot get past one volume.
-
- Use the raw device (i.e. /dev/rfva1 ) instead of the device fva1.
-
- SCSI MKFS NOTES: Answer From: stephen@mwc.com (Stephen Davis)
- I am trying to add a second scsi drive to my system. mkfs will not
- accept a proto file. What do I do?
-
- You do not badscan a SCSI drive. Instead of giving mkfs a proto file,
- you give it the total number of blocks in the partition. The number of
- blocks is listed in the partition table under f-disk.
-
- DOS TO COHERENT:
- Q: The question is, is it possible to read DOS-format 360KB-diskettes?
-
- A: yes it is :-) From: lvds@tfpbbs.uucp (Laurent Cas)
-
- Here is the device type reference table:
- Device name Sectors/track Heads Sectors Bytes Format
- /dev/f9a0 9 2 720 360 KB 5.25"
- /dev/fqa0 9 2 1440 720 KB 3.5"
- /dev/fha0 15 2 2400 1.2 MB 5.25"
- /dev/fva0 18 2 2880 1.44 MB 3.5"
-
- If your 360KB drive is 'A:' (MSDOS reference) you can do dos t
- /dev/f9a0 to list your disk, or if your 360KB is 'B:' you will have to
- do dos t /dev/f9a1
-
- drive A is number 0 and drive B is number 1 ; same for partitions on
- your hard disk...
-
- Cheers, Laurent.
-
- UUINSTALL BUG HELP: (From norm@mwc.com)
- Using Coherent 3.2, I run UUINSTALL, upon exiting, I am back at my
- prompt, but, the system hangs. the only way to restart via a reboot.
- Is this problem specific to 3.2 or is it something I have possibly
- done?
-
- This is a bug in the 3.2.0 release of uuinstall. Occasionally, upon
- exiting, it leaves your terminal in "raw" mode. The Errata sheet which
- is included with 3.2 releases mentions this, as far as I know. To fix
- your terminal after exiting uuinstall, enter the following (note that
- <ctrl-J> is the control key plus the letter J):
-
- <ctrl-J> stty sane <ctrl-J>
-
- XWINDOWS: (From doug@mwc:)
- From time to time, we get people asking about X windows on Coherent.
- Many new entrants into the field of UNIX have probably heard of the
- popular UNIX graphics interface called X-WINDOWS.
-
- X-WINDOWS was developed by MIT. To the best of our knowledge they still
- hold the rights to the source code and it is in the public domain.
-
- To the best of our knowledge, the source code takes up 110mb of disk
- space! The binaries, an additional 12 - 20mb's of disk space. It
- requires TCP or Streams support, neither of which is in COHERENT.
-
- X-windows it seems, has become somewhat of a popular GUI for UNIX in a
- very short time. Various hardware firms have developed and are
- marketing X-workstations, servers and cards.
-
- On page 14 of the November 1991 issue of UNIX REVIEW, is an ad for X11
- Release 5 for System V/386. The price advertised is $495 with printed
- manuals, $395 without. So, X is not cheap via the commercial route.
-
- Given COHERENT 3.2's small model compiler, it is obviously impossible
- at this time for COHERENT to even compile the code, let alone run it.
-
- Tar Help:
- The Coherent version of tar has been known to create problems for
- users. It is believed that the latest version of tar has alleviated
- most of these problems. Some of the original problems include inability
- to read a tar archive to tar creating recursive inode/file loops that
- can only be removed by "clri". The more recent Coherent releases also
- includes ustar, which appears to be much more robust. It has been
- suggested to use the ustar command instead of the Coherent native tar
- command in most cases.
-
- Setting Boot Partition: DOS or Coherent?
- Occasionally, a user may want to boot to Coherent for the most part,
- rather than come up in DOS by default. You can leave the DOS partition
- in tact, and switch between the preferred operating systems on as "as
- needed" basis. To do this, simply use the fdisk program in either
- operating system and make the partition active for the operating
- system that resides there. Reboot the system, (AMI Bios system owners
- require a hard reset) and the system will now boot to the partition
- made active with fdisk. For example, if you wish to boot DOS by
- default, make the first partition active. If you want to boot Coherent
- by default, make the partition active that Coherent resides on.
-
- DISCLAIMER:
- ANY REFERENCE TO THIS ARTICLE, IN ANY FORM, IS PURELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
- All opinions, tips, and instructions in this article are those of the
- contributors, and not of any company associated with the individual
- contributor, or any company mentioned in this article. The information
- contained within is not guaranteed to be free of errors in any way.
-
- The intention of this note is only to inform curious usenet readers
- about some aspects of the operating system of Coherent, and those
- companies mentioned are encouraged to add corrections, additions, or
- suggest deletions to this note to as per their policy or willingness to
- provide positive criticism.
-
- TRADEMARKS
- Unix is the trademark of AT&T / Unix System Laboratories, Inc.
- Coherent is the trademark of the Mark Williams Company.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- --
- Michael Willett, mike@array.com uupsi!monarch!mike uunet!csn!monarch!mike
- So much fun, so little time to enjoy it...
-
-