how to force a dump?

[Carl S. Gutekunst]

>Take this for what it's worth.  These are some very, _very_ old instructions
>I once got from RTOC which were supposed to cause a pyramid machine (hung or 
>otherwise) to panic.

I remember going through this nonsense. I can't vouch for the exact procedure
any more, but it did work. It was quite enough of a hassle that some kind soul
added the `pa' command to the kernel debugger in OSx 4.0, as Steve described.
True, you do need do need to build OSx with the kernel debugger in, and then
wait for the *next* time the problem happens. I always build my kernels that
way anyway; partly because I'm usually booting weird and fragile things in my
kernels, and partly because I'm nosy. :-) The 'flags' field from COS Frame 1
can be set to control automatic entry into the debugger; see your System Admin
Guide for details. Or call RTOC, if what you want isn't documented to your
satisfaction.

As far as the NCAR problem, by all means, if you're getting quiet lockups,
build with the kernel debugger and take a core sample next time it happens.

<csg>