[unix-pc.bugs] problems with UUCP and SETGETTY

rhg@cpsolv.UUCP (Richard H. Gumpertz) (10/18/89)

I have recently been having problems with UUCICO getting wedged after a session:
a program named setgetty is running and eating cycles and getty is not getting
started.

1) Has anyone else had this problem?

2) What does setgetty do?

3) What are its arguments?

4) After I kill the hung setgetty, do I have to edit /etc/inittab and then run
   telinit q or is that what setgetty was supposed to do?  If so, how do I
   retry?

5) Any ideas that might lead me to eliminating the setgetty problem?  Any ideas
   what causes it?

6) I am using 3.51 standard AT&T uucp.  Is there anything in the 3.51a update
   that will help?  Will HDB uucp do better?

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| Richard H. Gumpertz    rhg@cpsolv.UUCP -or- ...uunet!amgraf!cpsolv!rhg |
| Computer Problem Solving, 8905 Mohawk Lane, Leawood, Kansas 66206-1749 |
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-- 
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| Richard H. Gumpertz    rhg@cpsolv.UUCP -or- ...uunet!amgraf!cpsolv!rhg |
| Computer Problem Solving, 8905 Mohawk Lane, Leawood, Kansas 66206-1749 |
==========================================================================

lenny@icus.islp.ny.us (Lenny Tropiano) (10/19/89)

In article <417@cpsolv.UUCP> rhg@cpsolv.uucp (Richard H. Gumpertz) writes:
|>I have recently been having problems with UUCICO getting wedged after a 
|>session: 
|>a program named setgetty is running and eating cycles and getty is not getting
|>started.
|>
|>1) Has anyone else had this problem?
..
Yes, those problems are pretty old.  I can't remember the specifics, although
I believe they were fixed.  If they weren't fixed there were public domain
version of setgetty (John Milton wrote) that did the same thing.
|>
|>2) What does setgetty do?
|>
Basically it puts a :, and removes a : from the /etc/inittab file for
a specific port.  It will call init q, to tell init that it changed that
file.  Putting a : in front of a line will basically disable that port
(turn off the getty) and removing the : (assuming respawn is there) will
turn that port back on.

|>3) What are its arguments?
|>
Usage:  setgetty devname state
		 ^^ device (ph0 = ph0, tty000 = 000, tty001 = 001, etc.. )
			 ^^^ state = 0 off, 1 on

|>4) After I kill the hung setgetty, do I have to edit /etc/inittab and then run
|>   telinit q or is that what setgetty was supposed to do?  If so, how do I
|>   retry?
|>
Probably because "setgetty devname 1" hung...


|>5) Any ideas that might lead me to eliminating the setgetty problem?  Any 
|>   ideas what causes it?

A malformed /etc/inittab file may hang setgetty.  Basically if there is no
space in front of a [uu]getty line it *might* lock up uugetty.

|>6) I am using 3.51 standard AT&T uucp.  Is there anything in the 3.51a update
|>   that will help?  Will HDB uucp do better?
|>
I don't think the 3.51a fixdisk did anything for this?!  Don't remember, it
was *ages* ago...  I've been running HDB without any problems, and it does
use the scripts /usr/bin/geton.sh, /usr/bin/getoff.sh which indirectly call
setgetty, without any problems.

-Lenny
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bamford@cbnewsd.ATT.COM (harold.e.bamford) (10/19/89)

In article <417@cpsolv.UUCP> rhg@cpsolv.uucp (Richard H. Gumpertz) writes:
>I have recently been having problems with UUCICO getting wedged after a session:
>a program named setgetty is running and eating cycles and getty is not getting
>started.

This has happened to me, but only when /etc/inittab is not in the
standard format.  In particular, if you edit the file yourself, and
try to enable a line by removing the leading ":", then you are
screwed (to use the technical term).  Instead, REPLACE the ":" with
a space.

Works for me.

-- Harold

rhg@cpsolv.UUCP (Richard H. Gumpertz) (10/21/89)

In article <988@icus.islp.ny.us> lenny@icus.islp.ny.us (Lenny Tropiano) writes:
>Yes, those problems are pretty old.  I can't remember the specifics, although
>I believe they were fixed.  If they weren't fixed there were public domain
>version of setgetty (John Milton wrote) that did the same thing.

Anybody out there know anything about the "fixed" setgetty?  John Milton maybe?


>|>5) Any ideas that might lead me to eliminating the setgetty problem?  Any 
>|>   ideas what causes it?
>
>A malformed /etc/inittab file may hang setgetty.  Basically if there is no
>space in front of a [uu]getty line it *might* lock up uugetty.

My /etc/inittab looks fine: it has a ":" at the beginning of the line in
question.  Killing the looping setgetty and then running "setgetty 001 1"
manually works just fine.

I am still curious what is causing the original setgetty to sometimes loop,
usually when the system is unattended.  Anybody know?
-- 
==========================================================================
| Richard H. Gumpertz   rhg@cpsolv.UUCP -or- ...!uunet!amgraf!cpsolv!rhg |
| Computer Problem Solving, 8905 Mohawk Lane, Leawood, Kansas 66206-1749 |
==========================================================================