[comp.unix.sysv386] Console running ISC setcolor goes bizarro after CU disconnect

shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake) (04/22/91)

	Running ISC 2.2. Console virtual terminals typically run
"setcolor -f hi_white,blue". Every so often, after disconnecting from a
cu session, the console becomes unreadable with graphic characters taking
the place of the former ascii. If I type "setcolor", color rows one and
three appear OK, two and four are illegible. At that point, I can run
"setcolor -f white,blue", and continue working, but attempts to run the
colors on lines two and four still don't work. Some time later, those
other colors *can* be invoked. Is this a known bug?

	Just so no one thinks only ISC's setcolor has problems, while
posting this note from an ISC console to a remote ODT 1.0 box, I ran 
setcolor from within a vi screen, and my colors were reset to white-on-
black. Curiouser and curiouser...

-----------  
uunet!media!ka3ovk!raysnec!shwake				shwake@rsxtech

jackv@turnkey.tcc.com (Jack F. Vogel) (05/02/91)

In article <298@raysnec.UUCP> shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake) writes:
 
>	Running ISC 2.2. Console virtual terminals typically run
>"setcolor -f hi_white,blue". Every so often, after disconnecting from a
>cu session, the console becomes unreadable with graphic characters taking
>the place of the former ascii. If I type "setcolor", color rows one and
>three appear OK, two and four are illegible. At that point, I can run
>"setcolor -f white,blue", and continue working, but attempts to run the
>colors on lines two and four still don't work. Some time later, those
>other colors *can* be invoked. Is this a known bug?
 
I have this happen to me every once and a while as well. As best as I can
tell what is happening is some serial line noise is zapping the VGA
hardware in a way that makes it turn off highlighting, therefore any of
the colors that use it are no longer displayable. I have also seen certain
rare cases where another spurt of noise turns it back on! More often, however
I need to reboot to get highlighting back.

This is real bothersome for me, since I work remotely fairly frequently,
and for whatever reason on a 370 VM TCP/IP wants to draw its logon screen
highlighted, so once the VGA gets zapped I cannot log directly onto any
of the mainframes :-{.

What I have been trying to find on the system (ISC 2.2) is code in any of
the header files to support writing a simple program to do a reset of the
card. I haven't been able to find anything. I suspect the X server would
have some useful code but I don't have filesystem space to load the code.
Does anyone out there have some sample source to do such a thing??

Any clues appreciated!

-- 
Jack F. Vogel			jackv@locus.com
AIX370 Technical Support	       - or -
Locus Computing Corp.		jackv@turnkey.TCC.COM

john@jwt.UUCP (John Temples) (05/03/91)

In article <298@raysnec.UUCP> shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake) writes:
>Every so often, after disconnecting from a
>cu session, the console becomes unreadable with graphic characters taking
>the place of the former ascii.

I can't speak for the color anomalies, but I've seen the console go into
ASCII graphics mode on a monochrome system after a cu disconnect.  I
imagine it's just the random line noise containing the right escape
sequence to kick the console driver into its alternate character set.
A "tput sgr0" always clears the problem up for me.
-- 
John W. Temples -- john@jwt.UUCP (uunet!jwt!john)