Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!hplabs!sdcrdcf!ucla-cs!korfhage
From: korfhage@CS.UCLA.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Problems modifying the kernel - creates nonbootable system.
Message-ID: <12189@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 10 May 88 23:54:03 GMT
Sender: news@CS.UCLA.EDU
Reply-To: korfhage@CS.UCLA.EDU (Willard Korfhage)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 18


   As part of a class I am teaching, the students are modifying the
MINIX kernel. However, quite a number of have found that at some point,
trivial changes to the kernel create a system that will not boot. After you
hit =, it hangs.  I, myself, had this problem when I implemented their
assignment.  Adding a for statement to a new routine in dmp.c, code that
would not possibly be run while booting, would create an unbootable
system. Comment out the for statement, but leave its body in the code, and
the system boots just fine.
   They report similar circumstances. One possible cure seems to be removing
printf statements in the kernel, but even this doesn't always work.

   Does anyone have an answer for this problem? It's driving them nuts, and
they are driving me nuts. Help!

   Willard Korfhage

   ARPA : korfhage@cs.ucla.edu
   UUCP : {ucbvax,ihnp4,randvax,trwrb!trwspp,ism780}!ucla-cs!korfhage