On Sat, 16 Mar 2002, Brian Tew wrote: > Well well, after years of mumbling about it I finally got > linux--hoo ray! It is old, rh5.2, but the 7.2 cd was scratched > or something. And debian wouldn't recognize my ethernet card. You should upgrade anyway, or at least get all the updates. I don't think RH is issuing security updates for 5.2 anymore: I haven't seen any announcements for that version for a long time. With the number of updates for old versions, usually upgrading is easier anyway (Red Hat automates the upgrades off a new install disk). Get your cheap distribution CDs from cheapbytes.com, lsl.com, Linux Central, or the like (about $2 per disk, plus shipping is approximately $5). Better yet, go to http://www.tummy.com/krud/ and get disks with with all the updates already included, for a bargain price. > I am using an old versabrailler for output. It does pretty > well, but it drops some characters. I have used versabraillers > for seven years, and I never got them working right any faster > than 2400 baud. I have played with the serial parameters ad > nauseum, but 2400 is it. So: > How can I slow linux down to 2400 baud? Is it the setserial Even 1200 should be plenty fast enough for interactive use: To set: rootprompt# stty 1200 < /dev/ttyS0 To read: rootprompt# stty speed < /dev/ttyS0 1200 rootprompt# echo "Can you hear this?" > /dev/ttyS0 > Can I use setserial on /dev/ttyS0, or must I use it on > cua[something}? The cua stuff is obsolete, probably even for rh5.2. Setserial is mostly for setting irqs and ioports for unusual multiport cards, and odd serial setting, shared IRQ 4, 8, and 16 port smart cards, etc. You don't need it for com1 (/dev/ttyS0), or com2 (/dev/ttyS1). But the above stuff is probably only useful early in the boot process (scripts), so you can see boot messages, or for testing. You want to add a something like: "console=ttyS0,1200 console=tty0" to your "append= " lines for your bootmanager image config (like lilo), and: serial = 0,9600n8 in the global options area. See /usr/doc/kernel-doc-2*/serial-console.txt for details. However, once booted, you are presented with a login prompt by the getty program, and the getty controls all terminal settings, and can configure them all, so you presumably have, or must add, a line in /etc/inittab something like (do: "man getty" for details): t0:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -r1 ttyS0 DT2400 or t0:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty -r1 ttyS0 DT1200 [maybe: vt100] The "DT1200" is really a label for a config line in /etc/gettydefs, and there is none for that speed. So you just take the DT9600 line and change all the instances of 9600 to the speed you want (just add these config lines to your gettydefs): # 2400 baud Dumb Terminal entry: DT2400# B2400 CS8 CLOCAL # B2400 SANE -ISTRIP CLOCAL #\07\n\07\n\07\n@S @B Enter your login name: #DT1200 # 1200 baud Dumb Terminal entry: DT1200# B1200 CS8 CLOCAL # B1200 SANE -ISTRIP CLOCAL #\07\n\07@S @B What's yer' name, Bub?: #DT300 # 300 baud Dumb Terminal entry: DT300# B300 CS8 CLOCAL # B300 SANE -ISTRIP CLOCAL #Slow terminal\n \07 @S @B login name: #DT2400 # Config end -- don't leave out the blank lines, and don't fold # them. With this closed set chain, you can shift buad rates (from the man page "man gettydefs", for the last field in the line): next-label This indicates the next label of the entry in the table that getty should use if the user types a <break> or the input cannot be read. Usually, a series of speeds are linked together in this fashion, into a closed set. For instance, 2400 linked to 1200, which in turn is linked to 300, which finally is linked back to 2400. Note that I have added some bel characters (\07) to the login prompt, in hopes your terminal will respond audibly (the VGA console won't, unless you use mgetty, with a very different config), and "@B" for the current baud rate to be printed. Note that modern versions of Red Hat log all the bootup stuff in files found in /var/log/, so you can examine it at your leisure. You only care about real time boot messages if the boot hangs somewhere, without completing (rare), and then you only probably care about the last line or two. All that junk during boot just clutters up the screen and confuses newbies, so much of it can be silenced with a proper config these days (logged anyway), and that is a good trend. Let us know how it goes. LCR -- L. C. Robinson reply to no_spam+munged_lcr@onewest.net.invalid People buy MicroShaft for compatibility, but get incompatibility and instability instead. This is award winning "innovation". Find out how MS holds your data hostage with "The *Lens*"; see "CyberSnare" at http://www.netaction.org/msoft/cybersnare.html