dmesg(ADM)                    06 January 1993                     dmesg(ADM)


 Name

    dmesg - display the system messages on the console

 Syntax

    dmesg [ - ]

 Description

    The dmesg command displays the most recent system message.  If the option
    - (dash) is specified, it displays only those messages generated since
    the last time the dmesg command was used.

    dmesg can be invoked periodically by placing instructions in the file
    /usr/lib/crontab.  It can also be invoked automatically by the /etc/rc2
    scripts whenever the system is booted.  See ``Notes'', below.

 Files

    /etc/dmesg
    /usr/adm/messages
    /usr/adm/msgbuf

 Notes

    dmesg is included in this release for backwards compatibility only.  The
    device /dev/error provides a more flexible means of logging error mes-
    sages, and is recommended over dmesg. See error(M) for more information.

    dmesg logs all error messages it prints in /usr/adm/messages. If dmesg is
    invoked automatically, the messages file continues to grow and can become
    very large.  The system administrator should occasionally erase its con-
    tents.

 See also

    cron(C) and error(M).

 Credit

    dmesg was developed at the University of California, Berkeley, and is
    used with permission.