Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:24:23 -0400 From: Lowell Gilbert <freebsd-questions-local@be-well.ilk.org> To: Doug Lee <dgl@dlee.org> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: USB console or other alternatives Message-ID: <44r6q6khoo.fsf@be-well.ilk.org> In-Reply-To: <20070426154156.GD10261@kirk.dlee.org> (Doug Lee's message of "Thu\, 26 Apr 2007 11\:41\:56 -0400") References: <20070425141804.GC911@kirk.dlee.org> <44ps5rmalp.fsf@Lowell-Desk.lan> <20070426154156.GD10261@kirk.dlee.org>
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Doug Lee <dgl@dlee.org> writes: > On Thu, Apr 26, 2007 at 11:14:26AM -0400, Lowell Gilbert wrote: >> Doug Lee <dgl@dlee.org> writes: >> >> > Can modern hardware and a modern FreeBSD version provide console >> > access before the kernel loads via USB or via anything other than an >> > actual on-board or PCI serial port? > >> I am not sure, but I would expect that you would need BIOS support for >> something like that. Personally, I would stick with serial ports as >> long as possible, because they are much more simple than any >> alternatives. > > More simple once found at least. :-) More simple electrically, I was thinking. >> What do you hook up to that serial port, anyway? > > A desktop Windows machine with a serial port, until said machine > suddenly ceased to function entirely. Now it would be a laptop > with a USB-to-serial adapter except the one I bought also seems > unwilling to function. I tend to run short of PCMCIA slots for > such things on my laptop, my one-and-only PCMCIA slot being occupied > pretty permanently by an EVDO card. So the problem is a lack of serial ports on your laptop "terminal", not on the FreeBSD machine? That sounds easier to work around than the other way around. There are some other possibilities, but I don't think they will work as early in the boot process. I *think* you can use a USB serial port as a console, but the loader doesn't seem to understand it. There's also dcons(4), but that needs firewire, and I don't know if that knows how to talk to anything on a Windows machine. Good luck; sorry I can't be more help.
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