NAME

autoconf − diagnostics from the autoconfiguration code

DESCRIPTION

When UNIX bootstraps it probes the innards of the machine it is running on and locates controllers, drives, and other devices, printing out what it finds on the console.  This procedure is driven by a system configuration table which is processed by config(8) and compiled into each kernel.

MULTIBUS devices are located by probing to see if their control-status registers respond.  If not, then the autoconfigure code will print out a message of the form “xx not installed”.  If the control status register responds but the device cannot be correctly initialized, a diagnostic warning will be printed on the console and the device will not be available to the system. 

The variables rootdev and swapdev are used as prototypes in the kernel to specify where the system will find the root and swap devices, respectively.  As each disk drive is attached to its controller, the systems checks for a match agains the rootdev and swapdev variables. 

If the given drive has a root partition on it (specified in the boot label) and the same unit number as stored in rootdev then it is chosen as the potential root drive.  The last such drive found is used as the rootdev (thus ordering of the config file is important). 

If the given drive has a swap partition on it (specified in the boot label) and the same unit number as stored in swapdev then it is chosen as the potential swap drive.  The last such drive found is used as the swapdev (thus ordering of the config file is important). 

SEE ALSO

intro(7), dklabel(7) config(8),

DIAGNOSTICS

%s%d at mbio 0x%04x ipl %d.  This message is printed when probing a simple device or a controller.  It means that the device successfully initialized itself (or lied about it anyway); is running at the printed multibus I/O address (“mbio”) and will interrupt at priority level “ipl”. 

%s%d slave %d.  The slave given drive (tape or disk) is attached as the printed slave to the previous controller printed. 

%s%d not installed. The given device was not found on the multibus. 

%s%d dead.  The given device responded to its multibus address, but did not behave correctly.  This might mean something is broken, or that two boards are wired with the same multibus i/o address.  Typically, however, if two boards are mis address they won’t probe at all, or the machine will hang trying to access them. 

stray interrupt level %d.  An interrupt occured for which there is no interrupt service routine.  A related message, panic: default_intr, will follow this message. 

root on %s%d%c.  Once all the controllers and devices have been probed, the autoconfigure routines will print out the chosen root device. 

swap on %s%d%c [%dK].  Once all the controllers and devices have been probed, the autoconfigure routines will print out the chosen swap device as well as it size. 

Version 2.3  —  July 04, 1985