[comp.sys.misc] Wierd bug in Interaction of Emacs with SGI 3130

mike@bucasb.bu.edu (Michael Cohen) (07/11/87)

We encountered a strange problem in running GNU on our 3130.
If certain users in arbitrary directory did a M-X compile,
followed by a make -k, or a M-X shell.  The entire computer
system hung.  We have 32MB swap space for our 170MB disk.
I tracked the problem down with the emacs-debugger to
a call to the function start_process.  The problem was
wierd because of its user specificity some users saw it
independent of logon time.  Our fix was to reload the operating
system from cartridge tape which reloaded the root file system.
FSCK detected no serious or other anomalies.  Any ideas how
to track such a problem down.