Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 18:29:01 +0100 (MET) From: j@uriah.sax.de (J Wunsch) To: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org (FreeBSD hackers) Subject: Re: serial consoles and keyboard probes Message-ID: <199501181729.SAA19318@bonnie.tcd-dresden.de> In-Reply-To: <9501181615.AA01711@cs.weber.edu> from "Terry Lambert" at Jan 18, 95 09:15:07 am
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As Terry Lambert wrote:
|
| > I really like this serial console stuff! Being able to actually
| > install off a terminal should make the process control weenies very
| > happy! :-)
|
| In a previos message in this thread, it was noted that the AMI BIOS
| was the only one *known* to not throw up without a video card. Also,
| there was a discussion of bypassing the keyboard probe by adjusting
| a CMOS setting to "uninstalled".
Yes, AMI is unfortunately the only BIOS vendor known to ship an option
to run without a graphics board. (They used to have a fancy
collection of beep codes to inform about POST failures, while other
vendors have been too l*zy and only fall back to the screen.)
No, the keyboard probe is not *bypassed*, kbd probing & attaching is
still done, but the BIOS *does not complain* about the missing
keyboard. I will yet have to see a BIOS where you cannot tell this.
| The documentation accompanying the changes ought to note this information,
| as well as noting how the heck one would put the CMOS back to an installed
| keyboard without an installed keyboard, should it become necessary.
See my paragraph above, since the probe & attach still happens, you
can plug in & use a keyboard should you want it. (Read this: it is
always save to tell the BIOS there were no keyboard at all.)
I'm currently operating four machines with comconsole and serial boot.
Two of them are kinda network servers. One of them runs in a
university and provides our private network access. They have a
19"-rack with one VT320 for a dozen of machines. The other server is
here in the company and uses kermit on my ``Xterminal'' should i need
a true console for it. Another box simply uses serial boot & console
since the Sony GDM-1935 monitor is unable to display the VGA picture
the S3 board is using at start up, so you won't see very much until
X11 is up & running. -- To make it short: all of them run very well.
--
cheers, J"org work: --- no longer ---
private: joerg_wunsch@uriah.sax.de
Never trust an operating system you don't have sources for. ;-)
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