[Info-vax] 8.4 and DECwindows CDE login box not coming up

[johnwallace4 at yahoo.co.uk]

On Sunday, 7 June 2015 11:56:03 UTC+1, Paul Sture  wrote:
> On 2015-06-07, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply)
> <helbig at asclothestro.multivax.de> wrote:
> > In article <YKCdnYYhW7pC4e7InZ2dnUU7-Q9i4p2d at supernews.com>, David
> > Turner <islandcomputersuscorp at gmail.com> writes: 
> >
> >> The system DOES need a 15 unit base, 1050 motif or 1050 unit NAS150
> >> Otherwise X will not come up
> >
> > Yes, but I'm sure that's in the hobbyist PAKs.
> 
> From the latest Hobbyist PAKs I received on 19-APR-2015 (Thanks John):
> 
> $ LICENSE REGISTER DW-MOTIF - 
> 
> ...
> 
> /UNITS=0 - 
> /TERMINATION_DATE=19-MAY-2016 - 
> /ACTIVITY=CONSTANT=100 - 
> 
> It's probably worth noting this comment from the PAK file:
> 
> $!  Note: A change has been made so that if an existing license exists with
> $!        no termination/release date or a termination/release date greater
> $!        than (or equal to) the termination/release in this file, the PAK 
> $!        in this file will not be loaded.
> $!        %X107880D3  %SHOW-I-NOLICMATCH, no licenses match search criteria
> $!        %X107880CB  %SHOW-I-NOLICENSE, no licenses exist
> 
> I.e. if you have a non-expiring PAK already on the system, the
> corresponding Hobbyist PAK will not be applied.  One situation where
> this could cause problems is where you bought a system which came with
> workstation PAKs but the graphics controller died so the system thinks
> it's now a server.  Removing the original workstation PAKs and
> re-applying the Hobbyist PAKs would resolve this situation.  Vice versa
> for a server system to which you added a graphics controller from your
> stock of goodies.
> 
> I'm pretty sure that this isn't your problem Phillip, since inadequate
> licenses make themselves known pretty emphatically at startup, but feel
> it's worth pointing out in case it's baffling someone out there.
> 
> 
> -- 
> I don't know what the language of the year 2000 will look like, but I
> know it will be called Fortran.                    -- Tony Hoare 1982

Cheers for that.

"inadequate licenses make themselves known pretty emphatically at startup"

Usually, but not always. For example, suppose (say) DECW$startup is
being run in batch (entirely reasonably). In the absence of a licence,
the command procedure will fail, and there should be a batch logfile
with the error message in it. That one's invisible unless someone looks
for it. But in many cases that's OK because...

There will probably also be an OPCOM message. In a cluster, where the
workstation in question is a satellite, where will that message be
visible, without explicitly looking for it?

Obviously the answer is "it depends". If OPCOM is running and there
is a logfile, which is a good idea when troubleshooting even if for
some reason it's normally disabled, it should (?) be in there. But
you have to look for it. It might also be on a physical console
somewhere. Or in a hobbyist environment, it might not.

It's VMS. The evidence we're looking for is usually there, somewhere,
unless it's deliberately been turned off.