Re: Linux Boot-up Screens

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 21:56:57 GMT, Robert M. Riches Jr. wrote:
> On 2005-12-30, Edward S. Baiz Jr. <edbaizjr@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> I was wondering. You know all the data that is displayed on the screen when
>> Linux boots up? After I have logged in, what would I type to bring up that
>> data so I can get a closer look at it. It scrolls so fast I really cannot read
>> it. Thanks for any help.
>
> In my experience, such things are found in /var/log. On the
> HatRed and MandrX systems I have used, I find the following
> to be the most interesting:
>
> /var/log/secure (except, always empty on MandrX)
> /var/log/dmesg (output of 'dmesg' after the last boot)
> /var/log/boot.log (mostly booting-related stuff)
> /var/log/messages (a whole bunch of stuff)
>
> The 'dmesg' command is also interesting. Right after boot,
> it usually contains the stuff that happened while booting.
> Later on, it contains the most recent kernel messages.
> Well, it's always the most recent kernel messages, but right
> after boot, the only thing there is what happened while
> booting.
>
> It is commonly considered a good idea to check these log
> files frequently to observe anything problematic, such as
> hardware going bad (dma timeouts, I/O errors, etc.),
> unauthorized logins (by crackers), malware installation
> (also by crackers, etc.), ...

My complaint about all these logs is that there is no universal
'eyecatcher' used for error messages. Using the mind-numbing technique
of reading all of a log to - potentially - spot any problems has a high
failure rate. How-some-ever, if a eyecatcher was adopted for such
messages, a simple set of scripts could do the mind-numbing
drudge-work and produce meaningful reports.

What a concept! Using a computer for productivity. :-)

HNY
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
Pueblo, Colorado | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** I killfile X-Trace: posting.google.com followups in this ng
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