[9fans] vmware

[vic <zandy@cs.wisc.edu>]

More on vmware: I cannot get any plan 9 kernel to boot reliably under
vmware except for the one in 9disk.9fd from the distribution webpage.
This includes the kernel installed with the current distribution and
every kernel I build on my other plan 9 machine (sources are several
months old, no updates).

The boot hangs after these lines:
x free pages
y bytes
z swap

I've had no luck with suggestions made in previous 9fans reports of
similar behavior, including:

- disabling hardware specs (ether, vgasize, monitor, audio) in
  plan9.ini
- extra printing in /sys/src/9/pc/main.c before it calls the
  scheduler.  (north_'s recent solution to similar 486 hangs.)

Sometimes the boot is successful if I press keys while it is booting.
I have not mastered this monkey business.  Sometimes it makes vmware
crash.

I am slowly tracing the boot to the hang.  Processes with pids 1 and 2
are scheduled a couple times each (I think), and then nothing is
scheduled.  I think I have sysexec() rigged to print something on
entry, but I never see it -- is that not inconsistent with the
existence of pid 2?  (The sysexec printing appears when I boot these
kernels on actual computers, though I'm not sure when.)

Anyhoo, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Vic