BSD 4_2 development
[unix-history] / usr / man / man8 / savecore.8
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1.TH SAVECORE 8 "28 April 1981"
2.UC 4
3.SH NAME
4savecore \- save a core dump of the operating system
5.SH SYNOPSIS
6.B /etc/savecore
7.I dirname
8[
9.I system
10]
11.SH DESCRIPTION
12.I Savecore
13is meant to be called near the end of the /etc/rc file. Its function
14is to save the core dump of the system (assuming one was made) and to
15write a reboot message in the shutdown log.
16.PP
17Savecore checks the core dump to be certain it corresponds with the
18current running unix. If it does it saves the core image in the file
19.IR dirname /vmcore.n
20and it's brother, the namelist,
21.IR dirname /vmunix.n
22The trailing ".n" in the pathnames is replaced by a number which grows
23every time
24.I savecore
25is run in that directory.
26.PP
27Before savecore writes out a core image, it reads a number from the file
28.IR dirname /minfree.
29If there are fewer free blocks on the filesystem
30which contains
31.I dirname
32than the number obtained from the minfree file, the core dump is not done.
33If the minfree file does not exist, savecore always writes out the core
34file (assuming that a core dump was taken).
35.PP
36.I Savecore
37also writes a reboot message in the shut down log. If the system crashed
38as a result of a panic,
39.I savecore
40records the panic string in the shut down log too.
41.PP
42If the core dump was from a system other than /vmunix, the name
43of that system must be supplied as
44.IR sysname .
45.SH FILES
46.DT
47/usr/adm/shutdownlog shut down log
48.br
49/vmunix current UNIX
50.SH BUGS
51Can be fooled into thinking a core dump is the wrong size.