getty keeps dying

[Roger Knopf 5502]

In article <1990Jul6.130423.16461 at msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> jhl at frith.msu.edu (John Lawitzke) writes:
>Randomly, about once or twice a week on different machines they will 
>get the message from /etc/init:
>
>/dev/tty01: getty keeps dying - there may be a problem

This message comes when getty is forked rapidly many times in a short
period of time. Since the usual reason for this behavior is that 
bogus input is coming in the port, init stops forking getty for a
while in the hope that the guy sitting on the keyboard will get up....
Since this isn't a serial port, it isn't junk coming in the modem
or anything like that.
 
>ANd then tty01 is locked up. They've also seen it happen on tty2c. Now
>the strange thing, someone is looged in and working on the line when it
>occurs. There is no getty running on the line and nothing should be
>starting one on it. They are developing a custom application written
>in DBL on the machines it is occuring on. 

The thing with tty2c blows my mind, this is not normal at all. Did
you somehow get a getty running on the tty while the application
was running? (Use "ps -lt tty2c" and see if there is a getty).

Something seems not right here - it may be hardware, I seriously 
doubt it is the application but in any case you will have to be
quite rigorous in documenting everything that is happening on
the system that might affect console logins. Also, just as a
longshot, try reseating your video card or trying a spare if
you have one.

-- 
Roger Knopf                                      <standard disclaimer applies>
SCO Consulting Services			  "The True Believers will...formulate
uunet!sco!rogerk  or  rogerk at sco.com       a message that even a monkey could
408-425-7222 (voice) 408-458-4227 (fax)    understand."             --Jeff Tye