Bookstore Manager Software
Technical Support: UNIX Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I copy a file from the UNIX hard drive to a DOS formatted floppy disk?

• How do I copy a file from a DOS formatted floppy disk to the UNIX hard drive?

• How can I view my backup tapes to be sure my backups are good?

• How do I restore a file from my backup tape?

• How do I format a tape in Unix?

• What is the proper way of shutting down UNIX?

• Should I ever turn the power off on the main computer?

• How do I format a floppy disk in a DOS format?

• How do I read and delete my UNIX mail? After the mail has been read and deleted, how do I get out of mail?

• Sometimes BSMGR errors out with a messages such as file error 37,07

• How do I "evict" a user?

• How do I delete a print job?

• When I try to access my modem, I get a message "All modems locked". I am sure that no one else is using the modem. Why do I get this message?

• When I try to access my modem, I get a message "modem is unavailable". I tried to remove the lock files, but this did not help. What do I do now?

• I get the message "Keyboard error on Sunriver channel 1". What do I do?

• When I log in, my screen seems to freeze before starting BSMGR. What is wrong, and how do I fix it?

• How do I determine how much RAM I have?

• How do I determine how much free space I have on my hard drive?

1. How do I copy a file from the UNIX hard drive to a DOS formatted floppy disk?

These instructions assume a 3.5" high density floppy for drive A:. Type in:

doscp /<path>/<filename> a:/ <Press Enter>

The most likely use is copying the ASCII mail file to a disk for a mail-out. Exit BSMGR to the $ prompt and type in:

doscp /bsmgr/book/OUTPUT.001 a:/ <Press Enter>

2. How do I copy a file from a DOS formatted floppy disk to the UNIX hard drive?

These instructions assume a 3.5" high density floppy for drive A:. Type in:

doscp a:/<filename> /<path>/<filename> <Press Enter>

3. How can I view my backup tapes to be sure my backups are good?

Insert a backup tape to view and exit to the $ prompt.

For DC2120 tapes, type in: tar tv9 <Press Enter>

For DC6525 tapes, type in: tar tv8 <Press Enter>

The tape should begin to spin and file names will begin appearing on your monitor. There should be no error messages or warnings.

4. How do I restore a file from my backup tape?

Insert the correct backup tape and exit to the $ prompt.

For DC2120 tapes, type in: tar xqv9 /bsmgr/<dir>/<filename> <Press Enter>

For DC6525 tapes, type in: tar xqv8 /bsmgr/<dir>/<filename> <Press Enter>

For example, to restore the IVMAST file in the book directory using a DC6525 tape, type in:

tar xqv8 /bsmgr/book/IVMAST <Press Enter>

The tape should begin to spin and the file name(s) should appear once it is/they are restored. There should be no error messages or warnings. NOTE: The file cannot be in use when trying to restore it.

5. How do I format a tape in Unix?

Note: only the DC2120 tapes need to be formatted.

Login as user00 and choose Format Tape from the menu.

or

Login as root and type:

tape -a 28 format

6. What is the proper way of shutting down UNIX?

Begin by making sure all other users are off the system. Then, log in as root. At the root # prompt, type in: menu <Press Enter>.
Choose option #1, Shutdown UNIX. The shutdown process takes about 45-60 seconds. When UNIX has shutdown you will see a message on your monitor "Safe to Power off or Press Any Key to Reboot".

7. Should I ever turn the power off on the main computer?

Yes. Powering off the system once a month is probably a good idea. Many system "hangups" are due to hardware malfunctions. These type malfunctions can only be fixed by powering off and on the main computer. If you do encounter a situation where you need to power off the main computer, we recommend that you turn off all the peripherals as well, to get the benefit of a complete system power reset. If you are experiencing problems with one specific piece of hardware, try powering off and back on the offending equipment before you resort to powering off the entire system. Be sure to shut down UNIX according to question #3 above.

8. How do I format a floppy disk in a DOS format?

BSMGR sends out Unix updates on floppy disks with a UNIX format. If you want to use these disks to give to another person (like a mailer), you will have to format them in a DOS format. To format a floppy in DOS format, get to the $ prompt and type in:

dosformat /dev/fd0135ds18 <Press Enter>.

9. How do I read and delete my UNIX mail? After the mail has been read and deleted, how do I get out of mail?

If you are in the mail system your monitor will have a & prompt. Press <Enter> to read each message in order.
After you have read all your messages, you can type in: d * <Press Enter>.
This will delete all the mail messages. To exit the mail viewer, type in: q <Press Enter>.

10. Sometimes BSMGR errors out with a messages such as "File Error 37,07 at 000056 in "BAR" called from MENU". What do these errors mean? What should I do?

* File Error 30’s are time-out errors. This is generally caused by a piece of hardware being disconnected while BSMGR is still trying to use it. The most common examples are receipt printers, report printers, and price poles. To remedy simply turn the piece of hardware on and make sure it is on-line if it is a printer. If it is already on and still not working try recycling the offending hardware by powering it off and then back on.

* File Error 37’s are permission errors. To remedy, log in as root. At the root # prompt, type in: set.priv <Enter>. You will see various messages about the system resetting permissions for Bookstore Manager and restarting the printer spooler. When you get your cursor back, type in exit <Press Enter> and log in as normal.

* File Error 93’s are caused by another user or task locking the file or device in question. This error is most often caused by a user logging in at POS station #2 as USER01 or a point of sale station logging in a second time (<Alt><F2>) and trying to go into POS again.
Whichever the case, each user can only access POS once, because their is only one receipt printer per POS workstation.
To remedy, exit BSMGR to the $ prompt and type in: who <Press Enter>. You will see a list of all the users logged in. There should not be a user listed more than once. If there is, you need to log out (or evict) the extra logins.

11. How do I "evict" a user?

Sometimes a user’s process can get "hung" and it seems that a terminal becomes unusable. You can kill the user’s process and that normally frees the terminal. BSMGR has a script file to kill the process called "evict".
For example, if the user on POS #1 (user01) is locked up, log in as root on a working terminal (or main computer), get to the # prompt, and type in: evict user01 <Press Enter>.
If you get an error, you can kill the process manually. Log in as root and get to the # prompt. Next, type in: who -u <Press Enter>.
This will give you a list of all the users in the system with their process identification number (PID). Now, note the PID of the user that is locked up and type in: kill -1 ### <Press Enter> (where ### is the PID number). The terminal should now have a login prompt. You can log back in and use the terminal as before.

12. How do I delete a print job?

BSMGR prefers to use the print spooler for all non-dedicated printers. POS receipt printers is the most obvious dedicated printer and the spooler is not used for it. Once BSMGR has sent a print job to the spooler, UNIX has control of it.
To check on the status of the print spooler, exit BSMGR to the $ prompt and type in: lpstat -t <Press Enter>. This will give you a list of all the print spoolers, their devices, and any print jobs currently in the spooler, whether printing or waiting to print. Each print job has a number assigned to it.
To delete a print job, you need to cancel the request. For example, if lpstat shows you Report-211, type in: cancel Report-211 <Press Enter>.

13. When I try to access my modem, I get a message "All modems locked". I am sure that no one else is using the modem. Why do I get this message?

Whenever BSMGR uses the modem, BSMGR creates a file in the /bsmgr/book directory call "lock???" (where ??? is a number or device name).
When BSMGR exits the program it should automatically delete the file. If for any reason BSMGR doesn’t exit properly, the lock file may not get deleted. Therefore, the "All modems locked" message is false.
Remedy this situation by deleting all lock files.
To do this, exit BSMGR to the $ prompt and type in:

rm /bsmgr/book/lock* <Press Enter>

If you are consistently having problems with lock files not being removed, try this.

14. When I try to access my modem, I get a message "modem is unavailable". I tried to remove the lock files, but this did not help. What do I do now?

If the modem is not available, this is usually caused by one of two permission problems. Both are fixed with the same built in script files.
From BSMGR, use View on the menu bar to look at the file "modems". This contains a list of the locations where BSMGR will look for an outgoing modem. Make note of the device(s), exit BSMGR and log in as root and get to the # prompt.
If you are using /dev/tty1A, type in: outmodem <Press Enter>.
If you are using /dev/tty2A, type in: outmodem2 <Press Enter>.
If you are using another device, BSMGR Tech Support can add those devices to the outmodem script file.

15. I get the message "Keyboard error on Sunriver channel 1". What do I do?

This message usually comes up when either the system is rebooted, or a Sunriver station is powered off and back on. According to Sunriver’s documentation, this is not a serious problem. During the initial handshake between the computer and the offending base station, an error occurred that was corrected in a subsequent handshake.
To determine if your system does have a problem with a specific channel or base station, exit BSMGR to the $ prompt and type in: srstat <Press Enter>.

16. When I log in, my screen seems to freeze before starting BSMGR. What is wrong, and how do I fix it?

When you first log in, each login checks for Unix mail. If a serious error is encountered while in the mail program, UNIX will create a lock file that must be removed. The "frozen" screen is waiting for the lock to be removed. To fix the problem, log in as root and exit to the # prompt. Type in:

cd /usr/spool/mail <Press Enter>

l <Enter> (lowercase L)

You should see files for your users and at least one that ends with lock, e.g. user00.lock. To remove the lock file(s), type in:

rm *.lock <Press Enter>

17. How do I determine how much RAM I have?

At the root # prompt type:

memsize <Press Enter>

32 MB would be represented as 32108544

18. How do I determine how much free space I have on my hard drive?

At the root # prompt type:

dfspace <Press Enter>

It will display the free space on each device as well as total free space.