MDK 10.1 Bash History hangs system -- SOLVED

[Guest andsc]

I am running MDK 10.1 updated using urpmi w/in the last 2 weeks. I am using kernel 2.4.24-geode-1-0-6 (geode patches to 2.4.24) using the VGA outputs (not the geode panel). I am running at level 3, and using initx to run a custom GTK program (although it is not running at this time). There does not appear to be any problems w/ the level 5 GTK program.

 

Bash 2.05B-22mdk does not have any other problems that I have seen, other than this one which I believe cropped up after I upgraded using urpmi. The problem is that when I try to select a previous command using the bash command history via the cursor up key, the system just freezes w/ the display cursor either invisible, or located on one of the rows in an apparently consistent column position of ~65 (e.g., never in the left side of the screen, always on the right). I downloaded the bash-2.05b-22mdk sources and compiled them (thinking that it might be a library incompatibility), but the same freeze problem happened again with cursor up.

 

Any suggestions or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

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2007-09-20 Solution:

It appears that the problem lies within the Geode SC2200 Video and driver. By adding to linux 2.4.24-geode-1-0-6 kernel configuration the following:

Console Drivers:

[*] VGA Text Console

[*] Video Mode Selection

Frame Buffer Support

[*] Support for Frame Buffer

[*] VESA VGA Graphics Console

[*] National Geode Display Support

then doing the "make dep & make bzImage modules modules_install install"

 

Since making this modification, the in-line editing feature of Bash has not hung my system.

Also, note that I added a specific "vga=791" to the kernel load specification.

 

I hope that this helps.

Edited September 20, 2007 by andsc

[Steve Scrimpshire]

Does it happen with only one user? If so, you may try emptying your ~/.bash_history

[Guest andsc]

Does it happen with only one user? If so, you may try emptying your ~/.bash_history

Thanks for the suggestion. However, after deleting ~/.bash_history (which was ~14.5K), the problem still occurs either as a single user (root), or as a non-priveledged user in another console session.

 

I should add that the problem does not occur with each cursor-up history command change, but it does/will happen pretty quickly (e.g., maybe the first cursor-up usage and typically before the tenth usage of cursor-up).