🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <aD5ow17w163w@mantis.co.uk> mathew@mantis.co.uk (mathew) writes:
>lwallace@javelin.es.com (Lynn Wallace) writes:
>> Several of the Microsoft SDK sample programs, as well as Notepad and others,
>> cause my system to hang for about a minute, then display an "error writing
>> to device AUX/cancel/retry" message. ...
>> 
>> I conjecture this:  The AUX is supposed to be my auxillary monitor, which I
>> don't have...
>
>Correct.

Sort of correct.  AUX is a synonym for the output side of COM1.  If you were
to connect a terminal, serial printer or another computer running a
communication program to your COM1 port (with the appropriate cable),
windows would give you information about the FATAL EXIT it is making.
This includes the type of error and a stack dump.  Of course if you don't
have the symbolic stack information what you mostly get is a bunch of hex
addresses that don't mean much to you.

You can get fatal exit messages from the non-debugging version of windows,
though because of the additional error checking built into the debug version
you are more likely to get a fatal exit from it.

>
>Note that even if you have a second monitor, your problems are not over.
>You'll need the OX.SYS driver which redirects AUX: to the second screen.
>

OX.SYS (notice how it sounds like AUX) is a driver that redirects the AUX
device to output on a monochrome montitor in a system that has both color
and monochrome displays.  It will not work on a PS/2 with both VGA and 8514
display adaptors.
-- 
Bob Goodearl -- goodearl@world.std.com