# lp0 on fire?

## guest

my kernels telling me that lp0 is on fire, what does this mean, i've gone over and checked but the printer isnt on fire.

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## pjp

Can you tell us the exact message?

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## rac

I just grepped the kernel source, and believe it or not, kanuslupus, that is the exact error message.  I love it.  :Razz:   It appears to be signifying that the printer is reporting an error, but it is not a known error, like "out of paper" or "off-line".  Is the printer reporting any error condition?  What model of printer is it, and how is it connected?

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## Guest

well after carefully examining the printer, i've found that the black ink was gone.  nice error message.

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## pjp

 :Laughing:   I was assuming 'fire' as actually mentioned in the error.  I guess it at least got you to look at the printer  :Wink: 

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## simcop2387

i'd like to know what joker thought of this when they were writing the code, i mean it does help, but that is incredibly funny  :Laughing: 

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## rac

 *simcop2387 wrote:*   

> i'd like to know what joker thought of this when they were writing the code, i mean it does help, but that is incredibly funny 

 

FWIW, the other mentions I found of "on fire" in the kernel sources were the Intel EtherExpress 16 driver and the USB printer driver.

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## simcop2387

hmm, not surprising about the USB printer driver, but the Intel EtherExpress 16? oh and btw, how do you do them fancy lookin quotes?

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## pjp

 *simcop2387 wrote:*   

> oh and btw, how do you do them fancy lookin quotes?

 Response to this question was split off here.

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## Regor

 *simcop2387 wrote:*   

> i'd like to know what joker thought of this when they were writing the code, i mean it does help, but that is incredibly funny 

 

FWIW, this is an ancient printer error that significantly pre-dates Linux.

I couldn't find a reference to when in Unix history it got thrown in, but it's old   :Smile: 

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## Guest

 *Regor wrote:*   

>  *simcop2387 wrote:*   i'd like to know what joker thought of this when they were writing the code, i mean it does help, but that is incredibly funny  
> 
> FWIW, this is an ancient printer error that significantly pre-dates Linux.
> 
> I couldn't find a reference to when in Unix history it got thrown in, but it's old  

 

I'm pretty sure this was in BSD code back in prehistory.  I noticed it had been ported to Linux several years ago.  

I am not (quite) old enough to remember when it first appeared.  

There was a list of alleged opcodes, including "HCF: Halt and Catch Fire" taped to the glass where visitors watched a 7094 in operation in the mid 1960's.  

It used a 1401 for input/output.  Spooling involved human beings switching tape drives between machines.

For a 1403 printer a bad jam *might* lead to fire, and I don't think anything else there was likely to catch fire, but I would bet this was an old joke even then.  

Transistors generated much less heat than tubes.  The 709 was a tube machine, and the printer electronics used tubes.  

I'll ask an *old* friend, who worked inside his first computer, where he hot-swapped tubes.  (Whirlwind I)

---

Question for emacs enthusiasts:  Is there still a chord of keys that will tell you the status of the coke machine at MIT?

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## pilla

I first thought that somebody was trying to print to a Firewire print....   :Rolling Eyes: 

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## lotas

i read someware that linus put that in for the laff. check slashdot for the article on linux anicdotes (Spell check needed!!!). there are a few of them and all quite funny!!! Not just things coded into the kernel, but things he did while coding and stuff. good read

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## Yak

This got me to looking for how to grep the kernel source.. no wonder I never get any sleep!

Anyway I found it, and did

```

grep -r "on fire" /usr/src/linux/

```

and mine has:

```

/usr/src/linux/include/asm-sparc/solerrno.h:#define   SOL_ENETDOWN       127   /* Your subnet is on fire           */

```

There is also a bluesmoke.o file that matches, funny name for an object file.

That is awesome, I wish my subnet could be on fire just once! I have actually read about 'lp0 on fire' in some FAQ (but can't find it now). 

I thought it was old and had been taken out by now, but I'm glad its not. Maybe when I go to set up my printer mine will say it's on fire, that would be cool. I hope they never get rid of these kinds of error messages, it would spoil all the fun.

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## MarioCorleone

when printers first came out, they could actually "catch on fire" and thats why the kernel says that, the printer is sending the computer an error message which the computer could not interpret, so the code was written to say "its on fire" to get you or another to go check on the printer.  its still in the kernel today to let you know that there is something wrong with the printer

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