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Warning:unable to open initial console

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root

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Nov 17, 2009, 7:32:55 AM11/17/09
to
After upgrading to Slack 13 I have been tweaking my
system. Somewhere along the line I started getting
the initial console warning, but I ignored it. Now
my system won't boot if I have anything in rc.local
that tries to print to the console. I am booting
into a vesa 773 console and I see all the kernel
messages during the boot process, but nothing
in rc.local shows up. For instance:
fsck -y /dev/sda4
runs but I don't see the output. However,
if I try to echo something:
/usr/bin/echo starting rc.local
the system hangs without showing anything.

I can only guess that the problem is the initial
console message. What can I do to get rid of it?

Thanks again.

Helmut Hullen

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Nov 17, 2009, 12:17:00 PM11/17/09
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Hallo, root,

Du meintest am 17.11.09:

> After upgrading to Slack 13 I have been tweaking my
> system. Somewhere along the line I started getting
> the initial console warning, but I ignored it. Now
> my system won't boot if I have anything in rc.local
> that tries to print to the console.

Maybe at that time "/dev" is empty. Maybe it's empty because "udev" hasn't
filled in the necessary entries.

Add at least "console" into "/lib/udev/devices".

Viele Gruesse!
Helmut

root

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Nov 17, 2009, 12:44:29 PM11/17/09
to

After I have been running here is what I have lin /lib/udev/devices:
X0R@ core@ fd@ initctl| null ppp shm/ stderr@ stdin@ stdout@ zero

Should console be a symbolic link to something?

Lew Pitcher

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Nov 17, 2009, 12:56:10 PM11/17/09
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On November 17, 2009 12:17, in alt.os.linux.slackware, Helmut Hullen
(hel...@hullen.de) wrote:

> Hallo, root,
>
> Du meintest am 17.11.09:
>
>> After upgrading to Slack 13 I have been tweaking my
>> system. Somewhere along the line I started getting
>> the initial console warning, but I ignored it. Now
>> my system won't boot if I have anything in rc.local
>> that tries to print to the console.
>
> Maybe at that time "/dev" is empty. Maybe it's empty because "udev" hasn't
> filled in the necessary entries.

In Slackware 13, the devs-2.3.1-noarch-25.txz package installs a core set of
static /dev entries, including the /dev/console node. When the devs package
is installed, udev doesn't need to fill in the necessary entry because it
is already there.

To the OP: did you install the devs package?

--
Lew Pitcher
Master Codewright & JOAT-in-training | Registered Linux User #112576
Me: http://pitcher.digitalfreehold.ca/ | Just Linux: http://justlinux.ca/
---------- Slackware - Because I know what I'm doing. ------


Mikhail Zotov

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Nov 17, 2009, 1:07:13 PM11/17/09
to
On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:44:29 +0000 (UTC)
root <NoE...@home.org> wrote:
...

> After I have been running here is what I have lin /lib/udev/devices:
> X0R@ core@ fd@ initctl| null ppp shm/ stderr@ stdin@ stdout@ zero
>
> Should console be a symbolic link to something?

No, console is a character special:

crw------- 1 root root 5, 1 Nov 17 20:10 /dev/console


--
Mikhail


root

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Nov 17, 2009, 9:54:11 PM11/17/09
to
Lew Pitcher <lpit...@teksavvy.com> wrote:
>
> In Slackware 13, the devs-2.3.1-noarch-25.txz package installs a core set of
> static /dev entries, including the /dev/console node. When the devs package
> is installed, udev doesn't need to fill in the necessary entry because it
> is already there.
>
> To the OP: did you install the devs package?
>

From /var/log/packages:
devs-2.3.1-noarch-25

I did try adding a symbolic link to /dev/console in
/lib/udev/devices but that didn't change the
situation.

Helmut Hullen

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Nov 18, 2009, 1:18:00 AM11/18/09
to
Hallo, root,

Du meintest am 18.11.09:

> I did try adding a symbolic link to /dev/console in
> /lib/udev/devices but that didn't change the
> situation.

Who has told you to use a symbolic link? That's crap. The entry in "/
lib/udev/devices" has to be an original entry.

Viele Gruesse
Helmut

"Ubuntu" - an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".

root

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Nov 18, 2009, 2:13:36 AM11/18/09
to

Everything else was a symbolic link. Why don't you just tell
me what the entry should be? Show me an ls -l of your
/lib/udev/devices directory please.

Here is what mine looks like:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 2009-11-15 03:45 X0R -> null
I created this:lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 2009-11-17 10:01 console -> /dev/console
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 11 2009-11-15 04:10 core -> /proc/kcore
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 2009-11-15 04:10 fd -> /proc/self/fd/
prw------- 1 root root 0 2008-08-30 17:19 initctl|
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 3 2008-08-30 14:18 null
crw-rw---- 1 root root 108, 0 2008-10-09 05:37 ppp
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-09-22 17:39 shm/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-11-15 04:10 stderr -> /proc/self/fd/2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-11-15 04:10 stdin -> /proc/self/fd/0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-11-15 04:10 stdout -> /proc/self/fd/1
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 5 2008-08-30 14:18 zero


There is already a /dev/console,
or specifically, in the /dev/ directory there is an entry console.

root

unread,
Nov 18, 2009, 2:22:11 AM11/18/09
to
root <NoE...@home.org> wrote:

> Helmut Hullen <hel...@hullen.de> wrote:
>>
>> Who has told you to use a symbolic link? That's crap. The entry in "/
>> lib/udev/devices" has to be an original entry.
>>

OK, instead of a symbolic link I copied the /dev/console
entry to the lib/udev/devices directory. Now the
directory looks like this:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 2009-11-15 03:45 X0R -> null

crw------- 1 root root 5, 1 2009-11-17 14:00 console


lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 11 2009-11-15 04:10 core -> /proc/kcore
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 2009-11-15 04:10 fd -> /proc/self/fd/
prw------- 1 root root 0 2008-08-30 17:19 initctl|
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 3 2008-08-30 14:18 null
crw-rw---- 1 root root 108, 0 2008-10-09 05:37 ppp
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-09-22 17:39 shm/
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-11-15 04:10 stderr -> /proc/self/fd/2
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-11-15 04:10 stdin -> /proc/self/fd/0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 15 2009-11-15 04:10 stdout -> /proc/self/fd/1
crw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1, 5 2008-08-30 14:18 zero

I still get the Warning:unable to open initial console
message.

Glyn Millington

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Nov 18, 2009, 2:53:59 AM11/18/09
to
root <NoE...@home.org> writes:

> After upgrading to Slack 13 I have been tweaking my
> system. Somewhere along the line I started getting
> the initial console warning,

There's your problem. "Somewhere along the line...." Tweaking is fine
BUT keep a record of anything you do as root that isn't utterly
routine. Then going back and repairing the damage should be relatively
simple.


> I can only guess that the problem is the initial
> console message. What can I do to get rid of it?

Re-install and buy yourself a notebook and pencil!


atb

Glyn
--
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STFW http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&group=alt.os.linux.slackware
JFGI http://jfgi.us/

Dan C

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Nov 18, 2009, 8:39:09 AM11/18/09
to
On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:53:59 +0000, Glyn Millington wrote:

> root <NoE...@home.org> writes:
>
>> After upgrading to Slack 13 I have been tweaking my system. Somewhere
>> along the line I started getting the initial console warning,
>
> There's your problem. "Somewhere along the line...." Tweaking is fine
> BUT keep a record of anything you do as root that isn't utterly routine.
> Then going back and repairing the damage should be relatively simple.
>
>
>
>
>> I can only guess that the problem is the initial console message. What
>> can I do to get rid of it?
>
> Re-install and buy yourself a notebook and pencil!

I've found that a pencil will get smudgy after a bit, especially if you
have pizza-grease or chinese-food on your hands (not to mention spilled
Mountain Dew). Since I switched to an ink pen, no further problems.


--
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"Bother!" said Pooh, as he garotted another passing Liberal.
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Lew Pitcher

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Nov 18, 2009, 3:19:15 PM11/18/09
to
Dan C <youmust...@lan.invalid> trolled:


> I've found that a pencil will get smudgy after a bit, especially if you
> have pizza-grease or chinese-food on your hands (not to mention spilled
> Mountain Dew). Since I switched to an ink pen, no further problems.

You must be at a progressive school. We weren't allowed to use ink
pens until the fourth grade.


LewPi...@LewPitcher.ca

--
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