Unoffical empeg BBS

Quick Links: Empeg FAQ | RioCar.Org | Hijack | BigDisk Builder | jEmplode | emphatic
Repairs: Repairs

Topic Options
#20688 - 18/10/2000 07:36 more bootup infos on VFD
smu
old hand

Registered: 30/07/2000
Posts: 879
Loc: Germany (Ruhrgebiet)
Hi.

Just like in the subject: I would really like seeing a bit more info during boot up, at least a little progress indicator (with a numeric indicator like 1/51 up to 51/51) would be great. Like reported to [email protected], I occasionally get system hangs during bootup, usually (but not always) during the part of boot, where only the logo is displayed, w/o the single line that gives some info like "rebuilding database".
So basically, I would like to see just a little more info during that phase where currently only a logo can be seen.

cu,
sven
_________________________
proud owner of MkII 40GB & MkIIa 60GB both lit by God and HiJacked by Lord

Top
#20689 - 18/10/2000 09:19 Re: more bootup infos on VFD [Re: smu]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
You should never get hangs during boot unless there's a problem with your hardware.

To debug hangs during boot, progress displays on the VFD aren't necessary. It's much better (and much more useful to the support person) to see the detailed output of the boot sequence from the serial port. For instructions on how to do this, check out this FAQ entry.

___________
Tony Fabris
_________________________
Tony Fabris

Top
#20690 - 20/10/2000 07:57 Re: more bootup infos on VFD [Re: tfabris]
smu
old hand

Registered: 30/07/2000
Posts: 879
Loc: Germany (Ruhrgebiet)
Hi Tony.

I really know how to get the serial console to be logged on my notebook, however, as I said, these are seemingly random hangs, and since it is _not_ possible to get the serial to output its last 25 line or so, and I am not willing and not able to always connect the empeg to my notebook, wether it was in car or at home/work, that doesnīt help much. Post-mortem debugging is what would be needed here, but as that will probably never be available on the empeg, better status reports on the VFD should help a bit.
However, as I never read any reports on such system hangs, I suspect my empeg has a hardware problem (I guess a memory problem, which would explain my decoding errors as well, see my bug reports posting that you already answered to). The snippets I am sometimes able to grab from the serial during such a system hang seem to indicate this as well.

cu,
sven
_________________________
proud owner of MkII 40GB & MkIIa 60GB both lit by God and HiJacked by Lord

Top
#20691 - 20/10/2000 09:14 Re: more bootup infos on VFD [Re: smu]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
Post-mortem debugging is what would be needed here, but as that will probably never be available on the empeg

Actually, I thought this capability did exist. Isn't there something you can do on the developer image to get the thing to output some logging data to the empeg's hard disk?

In any case, as you've said, it's probably a hardware problem of some kind, and software debugging logs are usually only useful for finding software faults. You've been in touch with support over these issues, right?

___________
Tony Fabris
_________________________
Tony Fabris

Top
#20692 - 20/10/2000 16:08 Re: more bootup infos on VFD [Re: tfabris]
smu
old hand

Registered: 30/07/2000
Posts: 879
Loc: Germany (Ruhrgebiet)
Hi Tony.

I didnīt find a way to dump some debugging info to the hard drive with the developer image.
And yes, I contacted empeg (bugs@empeg only so far, I guess they are capable of forwarding it internally as needed). However I have a little bit of trouble contacting my mailserver, so I donīt know wether they answered already or not.

Geez, I would really hate living without my empeg for even a few days, should the hardware problem be confirmed (resulting in a repair/exchange of the empeg to become necessary).

cu,
sven
_________________________
proud owner of MkII 40GB & MkIIa 60GB both lit by God and HiJacked by Lord

Top
#20693 - 20/10/2000 16:29 Re: more bootup infos on VFD [Re: smu]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31594
Loc: Seattle, WA
I contacted empeg (bugs@empeg only so far, I guess they are capable of forwarding it internally as needed).

[email protected] is goes to the internal list of programmers at empeg and is meant for software bugs. You need to e-mail [email protected] since this is a faulty hardware issue, not a bug.

Odds are that Rob knows about it since we've been discussing it here on the BBS. But it wouldn't hurt to send a message to support just in case.

___________
Tony Fabris
_________________________
Tony Fabris

Top