Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site daemen.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!sunybcs!daemen!boyce From: boyce@daemen.UUCP (Doug Boyce) Newsgroups: net.bizarre Subject: Re: Re: Please help! Message-ID: <817@daemen.UUCP> Date: Wed, 7-Aug-85 13:58:37 EDT Article-I.D.: daemen.817 Posted: Wed Aug 7 13:58:37 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 8-Aug-85 00:00:40 EDT References: <489@utastro.UUCP> <660@cybvax0.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Daemen College, Buffalo, NY Lines: 27 > In article <489@utastro.UUCP> nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) writes: > >We have been running Unix 4.2bsd for a *long* time now, with very high > >load averages every day. I guess it was inevitable, but strange effects > >on many working programs have been traced to a common cause: > > > > /dev/null is full, and is overflowing! > > > >Anybody seen this problem before? Can anyone help? > > > > What if you remove /dev/null will all of that data explode > the machine if suddenly released ? I just finished speaking to a friend at Berkeley and he tells me that 4.2 has a booby-trap in it. They forsaw (sp?) that /dev/null might overflow and that some stupid SA might think to remove it, they added some code in the kernal that will make a vax (only vax mind you) impode. Think about it....... -- Doug Boyce Daemen College, Amherst NY UUCP : {decvax,dual,rocksanne,watmath,rocksvax}!sunybcs!daemen!boyce ARPA : boyce%buffalo@csnet-relay or boyce%daemen.uucp%buffalo@csnet-relay "If my calculations are correct, when the car hits eighty-eight miles an hour, you're gonna see some serious shit!"