Convergent Technologies MightyFrame: Customizing inittab and rc files for boot diagnostics

January 12, 2015

Customizing inittab and rc files for boot diagnostics

The following files are customized to diagnose how the MightyFrame is executing my customized /etc/inittab and /etc/rc files while attempting to boot a version of CTIX5.11onb modified by Sasa Todorovic and renamed to CTIX5.11dbg.

Click each link above to download the source file and examine.

Click Here to see the text output from the terminal

The concept in my modified /etc/inittab file is to display on the screen each line of the file just prior to its execution of that line. Thus the eXXX::bootwait:echo " in front of the exact text string that the line below it will execute. Same exact concept with the modified /etc/rc file.

So, what is it going to take to get this thing to give me a user prompt? How about just a login that will take "root" as user?

Well, I did get that, but only that, using this very different (tiny, as we call it) /etc/inittab file:

The whole file consists of only:

is:1:initdefault:

000:123456:respawn:/etc/getty tty000 9600
001:123456:respawn:/etc/getty tty001 9600

It produced this, the most significant part bolded by me:

MightyFrame loader version 11

Do you want to boot anything other than the default? y

Select device to load from (0-2=Onboard disks, T=Tape): t

booting from tape

RLS5.11

MightyFrame CTIX (tm: Convergent Technologies) User Mode

login:

However, no matter what login I type in, nothing works. root, install, anything, nothing, it just keeps repeating itself on <enter>

RLS5.11