>>> [machines freezes at]
>>> root on bitsy:/usr/NetBSD/icarus/root
>>> WARNING: bad date in battery clock -- CHECK AND RESET THE DATE!
>>> swap on bitsy:/usr/NetBSD/icarus/swap

>> Does /dev/console exist?

> [I do this repeatedly]

> Why oh why doen't init spit out a simple little error message the
> first time this fails?

How?  With nothing in /dev/, how can init print anything?

One could make a case that the kernel should check for /dev/console
just before it execs init, and print a warning if it's not there (the
_kernel_, on the other hand, _can_ print a warning at this point).
This might save more people than it bothers, even if it does mean
hardwiring a user-land pathname into the kernel.  (As long as the
message is just a warning, I don't see this as a serious problem.)

In fact...expect a PR that does exactly this, soon.  Probably today.

					der Mouse

			    mouse@collatz.mcrcim.mcgill.edu