Efficiently using more than 8 consoles (v1.1 15.09.96) ------------------------------------------------------ Are you tired of typing in password and username whenever you want to access a unused text-console? Then this mini-HOWTO is for you! All the functionallity for using a new text-console without logging in is concentrated in the program `open'. Just issue open -sl and you will be teleported to a fresh console with your favourite shell prompting at you. Possibly this program is not part of your distribution, but read on. Most distributions provide only 8 console-devices. You can easily exceed this number while playing around with `open' so it's better to create a little stock of console-devices. Create the nesassary device-files --------------------------------- Log in as root. Then execute the following commands -----8<----- cut here -----8<----- cd /dev ./MAKEDEV tty9 for i in 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 do ./MAKEDEV tty1$i done -----8<----- cut here -----8<----- `/dev/MAKEDEV' is a shell-script. You can use `more' (or `less') to view the contents of this script to get more information about what happens. Of course running more than 2 login-prompts on your system is luxuriantly when using `open'. Get rid of all login-prompts but 2 ---------------------------------- Load the file `/etc/inittab' into your favorite editor and comment out all lines containing "getty" like shown below (hint: leave the rest of the file unchanged!). As you may have guessed, the char to make comments is `#'. -----8<----- cut here -----8<----- # /sbin/getty invocations for the runlevels. # # The "id" field MUST be the same as the last # characters of the device (after "tty"). # # Format: # ::: 1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty1 2:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty2 #3:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty3 #4:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty4 #5:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty5 #6:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty6 #7:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 9600 tty7 -----8<----- cut here -----8<----- Re-load the above configuration-file via the command `/sbin/telinit q' (as root ) and wipe out all running login-prompts with `killall getty' (or whatever sort of getty you're running; you can see them with `ps -aux'). If you have your X-Session on vt8 (thats the console you change to when you press Ctrl-Alt-F8 ), you may wish to add the option `vt8' to the options for X in `/etc/X11/xdm/Xservers': -----8<----- cut here -----8<----- :0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X vt8 -----8<----- cut here -----8<----- (Leave the rest of the file unchanged.) Voila, X is still on vt8 next time you boot Linux. Otherwise you would have found it on vt3. Install the program `open' -------------------------- If the program `open' is not part of you distribution (Debian and RedHat provide it) then get the packet "dynamic-vt-1.1.tar.gz" from sunsite or it's mirrors. It contains `open' and a few other useful utilities; the installation is straightforward. You don't know how what "sunsite and it's mirrors" means? You don't know how to install a program? Sorry, that's beyond the scope of this mini-howto. It really makes me sick to see every HOWTO explaining this again and again (making it long and very boring). Ask an expert and write an `Software-Installation HOWTO' afterwards. Thank you. Test it out ----------- You're done. Log into one console. Now, if you want to start a command-prompt (`bash', `tcsh') on an empty console just type open -sl No login-id, no password is required (because you have already authenticated yourself by logging in to one console). Alternativly, you can try the commands open -sl -- top open -l -- tail -f /var/log/messages open -sl -- pine If the screen is still messed up, try the command `reset' or reboot the computer once. The consoles no. 13-24 can be accessed with till . Programs like `tty', `ps' and `chvt' help you to navigate through the new bunch of consoles. Note: your sessions don't show up under `w' or `finger'. Winfried Trümper