Re: Reboot on Startup (2.0 and 2.1)

Pavel Machek (pavel@Elf.mj.gts.cz)
Wed, 5 Nov 1997 22:40:32 +0100


> Hello,
>
> I recently bought a new computer, a K6-233, really nice. Unfortunately,
> somewhere in the kernel startup phase, it reboots. So far as I know, it
> never makes it into user space. Unfortunately, the messages go by so
> fast that I am not able to read them.

Turn on serial console - that will slow bootmessages down. Put this
into FAQ (or you can even use serial terminal and read bootmessages on
it ;-). Then you'll see where it died, and with few debugging printks,
you can hunt the place by dividing of the interval, which is pretty
fast (and then comment out offending code).

Pavel

PS: Alternatively you can:
a) somehow slow machine down so messages are readable
b) Turn contrast so high / get so slow phosphor that messages are
visible even after they disappear (human eye is pretty fast and you
only need last line) [I had monitor, where messages were perfectly
readable ~5 seconds after its powerdown ;-) ]
c) get compile udelay( 1000000 ) into many places of kernel init (but
serial console is easyer and nearly as effective.

-- 
I'm really pavel@atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz. 	   Pavel
Look at http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/ ;-).