This item is for system problems.  If something on Grex isn't working 
right (line noise on a modem, weird behavior from a program, etc.), 
this is the place to announce it.  Except for security holes.  If you 
find a hole in system security, mail information about it to "staff".

215 responses total.

I keep getting a command to press return (enter) again after I've already done
it. Also the last response of any item I look at is usually cut off. this has
been happening since Thursday.  Thanks.

The terminal server took about a minute to connect me to Grex just now.

Grex running sssslllloooooooooowwww.......

It has been pretty slow today.

Seems to be better now.

(1) Will one of the appropriate people please link this to the helpers conf?

(2) This may relate to the problems Sindi frequently reports using kermit to
    transfer files.  Last night I was trying to download a fairly large text
    file.  First I used kermit.  It kept disconnecting the modem early on.
    So I gave up & tried just looking at it.  cat to the screen caused it
    to hang up, after just a couple of screens full, very consistently (though
    probably not at exactly the same place - not sure).  Even doing ls -l
    on a directory large enough to generate a couple of screens full
    disconnected the modem.  If I had to guess, my guess would be that the
    modem I was on is not doing flow control with the terminal server &
    hangs up when it gets buffer overruns - but what do I know?

Hi every one!...i wat to make frinnd.
forget

        Hey, I get that ls -l problem above also.  

Try dialing in to 761-5041 - it seems to have solved all my disconnect and
download problems.  I was hoping someone had found the time by now to remove
whatever modem is on 761-3000 or at least switch it with something at the end
of the queue.  I also used to get disconnected on occasions other than using
Kermit (I think when hitting keys too fast in Pine) and don't now.

Re #6:  Yes, that's exactly the behavior I see on one of the
modems.  (And despite YEARS of complaints, the staff has still
made no attempt to fix it, or even determine which modem.)

Russ, staff (me, actually) has done a number things over the years to try to
improve modem performance and reliability.  

nslookup is STILL not working.  It displays no messages and
simply sits until you break out of it.

Has anyone else been unable to print emails in Pine by typing Y?  It used to
work.  Printscreen works.  I am using Kermit, same as always.  I checked this
when my friend with the angels reported that her printer stopped working but
print screen still worked for her.  
        Russ, I don't think complaints are appropriate in a volunteer
organization.  Suggestions are acceptable, thanks are appropriate.  I thank
Scott in advance in case he finds the time to switch modems and in the
meantime have solved the problem by not dialing 761-3000.  Why don't you try
the same solution?
        I also thank Scott, again, for the time he came over to figure out why
I was having modem problems and explained something about flow control on my
end, and got things working correctly.  Way beyond the call of volunteer duty.

In Pine, Y defaults to "Attached-to-ansi"; if your terminal software does
not support an attached ANSI printer, you can't print.  So look at the
settings of your teminal program.

Re #13:  Until Scott piped up above (which was after I wrote #12,
albeit before I was able to post it) I had seen little or no
feedback.  Suggestions for debugging the modems appear to go into
a black hole even when the effort appears minimal, and has for
years.

} Respond, pass, forget, quit, or ? for more options? !nslookup \
        coll.staff.itd.umich.edu
} Server:  localhost
} Address:  127.0.0.1
} 
} Non-authoritative answer:
} Name:    coll.staff.itd.umich.edu
} Address:  141.213.231.101

What's the problem?

I have not changed my terminal settings (Kermit, mskermit.ini and
mscustom.ini) and I just checked and it is still set for use with an attached
printer ('uncomment this line if you do not have an attached printer' is not
uncommented).  The exact same software was working and now is not.  I have
a printer switch (I think it was working with that AB switch before) but my
friend does not even have that and her printer is a different model.
Are other people able to print with Y in Pine?

Russ, do you know how to 'debug' a modem?

I just tried printing with 'Y' in Pine and it worked.  I'm using TeraTerm
Pro version 2.3.

Thanks, I will give it another try with Kermit.  Did anyone change any
settings in Pine in the past couple of months?

You fixed it!  Today Pine prints with Y, not just PrtScn.  Maybe something
screwy was happening with the Printer AB switch box.  Jim had a file transfer
cable connect via it.  Thanks for checking.

*sigh*  I am having problems sending mail via Pine with 
HyperTerminal.  Is it because my Grex settings and HyperTerminal 
settings are not to the same terminal type?

i.e., how do I check preferences in Grex?

Re printing, my friend with the angels says Pine is printing on her printer
but choosing which lines to print, not all of them.  I suggesting trying a
different printer.  

Re #16:  Try typing in "nslookup <IP address>".  It gives me nothing.

} Respond, pass, forget, quit, or ? for more options? !nslookup 141.213.231.101
} Server:  localhost
} Address:  127.0.0.1
} 
} Name:    coll.staff.itd.umich.edu
} Address:  141.213.231.101

'which' nslookup  ?
Russ, try looking up the IP galenas did, and try entering the address
you are trying so galenas can try it.

Good idea; wish I'd thought of it:

} grex.cyberspace.org% whereis nslookup
} nslookup: /usr/lib/nslookup.help /usr/local/bin/nslookup \
}       /usr/etc/nslookup.FCS /usr/etc/nslookup
} grex.cyberspace.org% l /usr/local/bin/nslookup /usr/etc/nslookup
} -rwxr-xr-x   1 root     staff      113632 Dec  4  1998 /usr/etc/nslookup*
} -rwxr-xr-x   1 bin      bin         90112 Dec  8  1995 \
}       /usr/local/bin/nslookup*
} grex.cyberspace.org% which nslookup
} /usr/local/bin/nslookup
} grex.cyberspace.org%

But:

} grex.cyberspace.org% /usr/etc/nslookup 141.213.231.101
} Server:  localhost
} Address:  127.0.0.1
} 
} Name:    coll.staff.itd.umich.edu
} Address:  141.213.231.101
} 
} grex.cyberspace.org%

Re #21: I've had nothing but trouble with HyperTerminal's VT100 emulation. 
You might want to try a better terminal program, like TeraTerm Pro (which is
free).

Kermit is shareware and does excellent VT100 and VT320 etc.

yeh, look for  tterm23   on google ... five pages of returns.
   
it's the smartest, smoothest  telnet  AND serial/dialup  pgm that
mdw ever referenced. (i listen to mdw)
..
  

aside from teraterm, i have noticed a situation that may or
may not be a problem, but it's surely a nuisance.
  
when i    nroff   a file, the resultant file has 30 or more blank
lines appended to the text. (no, they weren't in the original, smartie)
  
this action has been consistant - is this a feature, bug, or user error?

I've noticed a problem with paging recently.  I think what may be happening
is that a clear screen sequence is being issued at the end of a file (or
standard input) being displayed.  What this results in is not being able to
see the last screenful of responses in an item (and the summary of a
conference as I enter the conference).  While I recently had to reinstall my
terminal software (TeraTerm SSH), I am fairly certain that the change in
behavior happened significantly after that reinstallation (as in it worked
for a few logins after reinstalling and then broke).
Any suggestions on how to fix it?

Re #30:  I don't use nroff much, but it sounds like the blank
lines might be filler to bring the document to a fixed number of
lines per page.  That is, a feature.

Except that the filler causes me to see nothing of the last page except the
prompt.  That seems buggy to me.

I've found the problem.  It's because I set a twit filter.  Something in the
options being passed to less caused it; changing "less -dE -P" to "more -d"
fixed it.

Another possibility is to not use the -d switch with less.  "man less" may
help you tweak your pager.  (I'm not willing to do without less. ;)

  less has some really obnoxious default behaviors..  You can make it
  behave properly (i.e. like "more") but then what's the point?  I rarely
  seem to use the less-dependant features..

nslookup is working again.

Re #33:  My #32 was in response to #30, not #31.

Re #36: I kind of like the ability to scroll backwards.

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