[SGVLUG] An Interactive Boot in Debian?

[Nathan Haines via SGVLUG]

On 06/04/2018 03:22 PM, Dima Kogan via SGVLUG wrote:
> Chime Hart via SGVLUG <sgvlug at sgvlug.net> writes:
> 
>> Hi All: Well, trying to hunt down an item with my speech, as Speakup is loading
>> the DecTalk drivers while booting? Can some1 please inform how can we switch to
>> an interactive boot, where we can better watch-and-listen to what is happening?
>> Also, at that point, it would be nice to send to a log. I am running Buster/Sid
>> with at least a 4.16 kernel. Running Grub, but I prefer LILO, as it allows a
>> defined letter for separate images. Thanks so much in advance
> 
> The normal boot sequence in a normal Debian install pops up an
> interactive grub menu for a few seconds, and if there's no input, it
> proceeds with the default boot. What are you seeing instead?
> 

Interactive boot was a feature in MS-DOS that allowed the user to step 
through CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT where the OS echoed each line to the 
screen and prompted the user to press Y or N to decide whether to 
process that line (to load a driver or execute a command) or to ignore 
it and prompt a decision on the next line.  It was very useful for 
debugging configuration issues or conflicts.

Microsoft Windows no longer has this possibility, and I'm not sure that 
Linux ever did.

-- 
Nathan Haines
Ubuntu - https://www.ubuntu.com/