SCO OpenServer Release 5.0.6, 5.0.7 
          SCO OpenServer Enterprise System Release 5.0.0, 5.0.2, 5.0.4, 5.0.5 
          SCO OpenServer Desktop System Release 5.0.0, 5.0.2, 5.0.4, 5.0.5 
          SCO OpenServer Host System Release 5.0.0, 5.0.2, 5.0.4, 5.0.5 

          My machine panics during startup with the error message:

                PANIC: exit cannot exec /etc/init (PID 1) status 9
                Trying to dump pages
 
          or gives:

                WARNING: /etc/init (PID 1) died status 0x0000008b

          after the hardware listing and memory sizing has been displayed.

          The kernel has unsuccessfully attempted to exec the /etc/init
          process.  One of the most predominant reasons for this is the
          inability to execute the ELF loader required by init to load
          and link the shared objects (DLLs) which it needs during
          execution.  The name of the ELF loader is embedded within
          /etc/init and is /usr/lib/libc.so.1.  This file is hard-linked
          to /usr/lib/ld.so.1.  This link also needs to exist for the
          exec to complete.

          The panic actually occurs because of a requirement in the kernel's
          exit() code which stipulates that if the init process is forced
          to exit before it is marked by exec() as a "successful exec",
          the response is to panic the system.  The displayed error
          message also reveals the signal number sent to the init process
          which caused the exit.  In this case, SIGKILL is sent to the
          process; a particularly likely set of reasons for issuing SIGKILL
          in this situation is related to either the non-existence,
          corruption, or lack of suitable execute permission of the
          ELF loader /usr/lib/libc.so.1.

          The panic can also occur if /etc/init itself is missing or
          corrupted.

          Consider, for instance, the case where /usr/lib/libc.so.l does
          not exist on the system.  When exec() of /etc/init begins, the
          kernel sets the process flag SNEXEC in the process table entry
          for the new init process.  The value SNEXEC indicates that the
          exec() has not yet completed successfully; normally, the flag
          is cleared when exec() completes.  However, one of the requirements
          for completing the exec(), namely the existence of the ELF loader,
          cannot be met.  Therefore, the kernel posts SIGKILL to init.  
          
          When the signal is dispatched and handled by the kernel, the exit()
          function explicitly checks for the setting of the SNEXEC flag and
          the identity of the affected process.  If this process happens to
          be init, the kernel causes the system to halt with a panic,
          displaying the essential circumstances, for instance, that
          PID 1 (init) had been killed with signal 9.

          The following solution is specific to OpenServer 5.0.5, but can
          be applied to OpenServer 5.0.4, 5.0.2, or 5.0.0 with the following
          change; depending on the release you are running, you should
          make the following substitution to the Unix component version
          number appearing in pathnames beginning with /opt/K/SCO/Unix:

     OpenServer    Unix       Pathname example
     version       component
                   version
     ----------    ---------  ----------------
     5.0.4         5.0.4Eb    /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.4Eb/usr/lib/libc.so.1
     5.0.2         5.0.2Dp    /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.2Dp/usr/lib/libc.so.1
     5.0.0         5.0.0Cl    /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.0Cl/usr/lib/libc.so.1

          Failure to exec /etc/init can also be the result of other types 
          of corruption not covered here.  Therefore, if the following 
          diagnosis and corrective steps do not resolve the problem, 
          running the fsck(ADM) utility might be a reasonable action to 
          take, as noted below.

          Boot the machine from a set of boot/root floppies.  Bring the
          system into System Maintenance mode.  Once at a shell prompt,
          mount the hard disk root filesystem:

               /etc/mount /dev/hd0root /mnt

          WARNING: When copying these files it is highly recommended to make a
          copy of the original file to init.orig or libc.so.1.orig before 
          overwriting it from the /mnt/opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/... directories 
          so you can always go back to the original file and not the linked 
          file.

          Examine the following items:

          1. Check that the following files exist; if one or both do not,
             proceed to step 2.

               /mnt/usr/lib/libc.so.1
               /mnt/etc/init

          2. Check that both of the following files exist:

               /mnt/opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/usr/lib/libc.so.1
               /mnt/opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/etc/init

          If so, create the following symbolic links:

               ln -s /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/usr/lib/libc.so.1
               /mnt/usr/lib/libc.so.1
               ln -s /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/etc/init /mnt/etc/init

          3. If one or both of the files listed in 2. above do not exist,
             copy the file(s) from the root diskette and create the symbolic
             link(s) as above;

               cd /mnt/opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/usr/lib
               cp /usr/lib/libc.so.1 .
               ln -s /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/usr/lib/libc.so.1
               /mnt/usr/lib/libc.so.1

               cd /mnt/opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/etc
               cp /etc/init .
               ln -s /opt/K/SCO/Unix/5.0.5Eb/etc/init /mnt/etc/init

          4. Check that the hard link of the files /mnt/usr/lib/libc.so.1
             and /mnt/usr/lib/ld.so.1 exists; if not, create the link:

               cd /mnt/usr/lib
               ln libc.so.1 ld.so.1

          5. Check that both /mnt/usr/lib/libc.so.1 and /mnt/etc/init are
             executable and owned by bin; if not, make the necessary changes:

               cd /mnt/usr/lib
               chmod 555 libc.so.1
               chown 2:2 libc.so.1

               cd /mnt/etc
               chmod 100 init
               chown 2:2 init

          6. Unmount the hard disk and reboot.  If this does not resolve
             the issue, some other unforeseen corruption might be the cause,
             and it is possible that running fsck(ADM) on the root filesystem
             will resolve the problem.  After rebooting into single user mode,
             run the fsck utility as follows:

               fsck -ofull /dev/root

          Reboot the system again to find out if the issue is finally resolved.

          TROUBLESHOOTING
          ---------------
          - If on a reboot you get a "can't find source hdfs" followed by a 
            blue screen indicates you have copied the /etc/init 
            and /usr/lib/libc/so.1 from the installation media and, therefore, 
            you server believes it's an installation floppy/cd.  

            Here, you would need to put back the original init and libc.so.1. 

            In which case you can use the following TA to produce your own 
            tailored Emergency Floppies.

            TA#109501 - "Installing or updating a driver on an installed 
            OpenServer 5.0.x system from a Boot Time Loadable Device diskette. 

            You need to:

            a)  Ensure the btld is installed on your server you wish to make
                the floppies from.

            b)  Take a backup of the kernel with:

                # btmnt -w
                # cp /stand/unix /stand/unix.sco
                # btmnt -r

            c)  Using the TA, change your sdevice.d and mscsi files accordingly.

                It is recommended you take a copy of mscsi first with:

                # cp /etc/conf/cf.d/mscsi /etc/conf/cf.d/mscsi.orig

            d)  Re-Link the Kernel which will now have the btld of your choice.

                Using:

                # /etc/conf/cf.d/link_unix -y

                You can check with:

                # strings /stand/unix | grep <btld driver>

                BUT DO NOT REBOOT!!

             e) Now use "mkdev fd" to generate your Emergency Floppy disks.

             f) Once completed, put back the mscsi file and change your 
                sdevice.d files back and relink the kernel to it's original
                correct form with btld drivers you need for this server.

          - Errors such as "cannot exec /etc/init pid 1 0x00000200" indicate a
            motherboard swap out which is too powerful for OpenServer 5.0.5.