Kickstart virtual console: No 'Shell prompt' at Alt-F2

Posted by Stefan Lasiewski on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Stefan Lasiewski
Published on 2011-10-17T22:48:03Z Indexed on 2014/06/07 21:27 UTC
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Filed under:

redhat

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kickstart

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rhel6

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scientific-linux

I am installing Scientific Linux 6.1 via kickstart, and I am trying to debug a problem.

According to Tips and tricks for anaconda and kickstart, I should have several virtual consoles available:

What the different terminals display

Alt-F1    The installation dialog when using text or cmdline
Alt-F2    A shell prompt
Alt-F3    The install log displaying messages from install program
Alt-F4    The system log displaying messages from kernel, etc.
Alt-F5    All other messages
Alt-F7    The installation dialog when using the graphical installer

The Virtual Consoles Alt-F1, F3, F4 & F5 all work and show various logging information. However, the Virtual Console at Alt-F2 does not do anything.

I could really use access to the shell prompt (Alt-F2), however there is no Shell prompt available at the second virtual console (Alt-F2). All I have is a blinking '_'.

Can I forge Alt-F2 to show me a shell prompt?

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