problem with the console
 

hi, ppl, firstly, i gotta say that this is one kick ass forum, i've got myself a redhat box workin on the net, thanks to a lot of the threads in here (I see there were loads of problem with the installation of a usb modem.... i got mine goin first time), anyways, my problem is this:

when I open a console, it keeps coming up with:

usb-uhci.c: interrupt, status 3, frame# ***
(*** is the frame number, it changes every few seconds)

the login prompt comes up, but as i'm sure you could tell, it's a pain in the butt trying to do anything in the console with all this gibberish coming up all the time, so could someone please explain what that is and could you possibly help me with any way to stop it from happening, as i'm a complete newbie to linux (i did have a go at suse a few years ago, but, boy, that is one complicated O/S lol)

Thanks for the help.

Look into your /etc/syslog.conf and remove all '/dev/console' entries (just /dev/console, nothing more). Should help.

thanx mara, i'll have a go at that :)
if it works, i'll let you know

ok, i'm gonna look very stupid, but how do you edit the syslog.conf file?

oops, sorry for being stupid.... i log in as root to modify it, don't it? doh!

ok, i've done that modification in syslog.conf, but it don't seem to work :(
I logged in as root, changed it and nothing :(

you've changed the configuration for the logger, but typically the conf is only read at start time. you need to restart the log daemon (or tell it to reread the conf)

it depends some on the distribution, but try (as root) /etc/init.d/sysklogd reload (or restart).
the other option is to manually signal the logger:
> ps aux
look for something like /sbin/syslogd, and identify the PID
> kill SIGHUP PID
this will send the hangup signal to the process telling it to close all files and reopen them

it all else fails, resarting the machine should do it

ok, the distrib is red hat 8 (i think that's what you mean by the distribution)
i've done a ps aux, that's to check the processes currently running and the cpu uses and such, isn't it?
well, i've found syslogd in there, but it doesn't show it as being in the /sbin/ directory, but when i look manually with gnome, it's in that directory.... so basically, i'm a little confuddled as how to fix this problem.... i'm a real newbie, eh? lol
anyways, if you can think of an easier way of explaining some of these things to me, let me know, your help is really appreciated :)

oh, by the way, i've restarted the machine a few times.... still no joy

hmm. when you say "open a console", you're not refering to a terminal in xwindows right? does this come up on all of the consoles, i.e. if you press Ctl-Alt-F<some number> and login at another console, does it still appear?
you can check the configuration file for references to /dev/tty<some number> too, these are the various consoles (virtual terminals). /dev/console and /dev/tty0 both refer to the current console, while /dev/tty1-63 are specific

it comes up on all of the consoles even if i don't log in, it's definitely something to do with a usb device (my cable modem).
ok, in /dev/ what's the tty1-63 all about?
yeah, the 'console' i'm refering to is when i press the combo of keys CTL+ALT+F1 (to F7).
hope i'm not driving your patience :)

in /dev/ there is a node (everything is represented as a file) for each possible virtual terminal you might use (i.e. tty1 - tty63). there are also two entries (tty0 and console) which represent the current console.
something to try would be to stop the logger alltogether and see if that fixes things (just as a sanity check). it could be that something else is generating the messages (like a strange version of the usb driver). also as a sanity check, make sure that you saved the changes to the configuration file

oh, well, the driver i'm using is the CDC usb driver, cos i couldn't find the proper drivers for linux (my modem is a terayon, not sure of the model tho, it came with the broadband service i got), it's not the correct driver, but it works with no problems other than that stuff popping up all the time in the consoles...
ok, so how can i do these checks? you couldn't tell me the commands to do them, cos i haven't a clue where to start... but then again, i'm sure you've already sussed that out by now :( lol

To stop syslog use (from a terminal, when you're root):
service syslog stop
And see if it's better. If it is, please post /etc/syslog.conf, it'll allow someone to find all places you need to modify.

>>>>> POST OF SYSLOG.CONF<<<<<

# Log all kernel messages to the console.
# Logging much else clutters up the screen.
#kern.*

# Log anything (except mail) of level info or higher.
# Don't log private authentication messages!
*.info;mail.none;authpriv.none;cron.none /var/log/messages

# The authpriv file has restricted access.
authpriv.* /var/log/secure

# Log all the mail messages in one place.
mail.* /var/log/maillog


# Log cron stuff
cron.* /var/log/cron

# Everybody gets emergency messages
*.emerg *

# Save news errors of level crit and higher in a special file.
uucp,news.crit /var/log/spooler

# Save boot messages also to boot.log
local7.* /var/log/boot.log