This is a common problem, especially on the console. Start by identifying the terminal you are using:
Is it a real terminal, you know, the kind with a keyboard and no disk or mouse or soundcard or USB or LAN...you get the picture--a 'real' terminal. If so, is it an HP terminal? If yes, then the value for TERM should be a minimum of "hp". This is handled automatically by /etc/profile with the ttytype program (more about that later). If it is a modern HP smart terminal, the value will be more specific such as TERM=hp70094.
If it is a non-HP terminal (or a cheap imitation of the real thing called a terminal emulator), then things get complicated. The terminal must match the capabilities listed for that terminal's model. To see the capabilities, use untic
as in:
$ untic vt100
and you'll see some cryptic information. You can decode these details with the terminfo man page (big manpage warning!). So if the terminal is truly a vt100 or proper subset, then TERM=vt100 will get things going.
Note that there is NO guarenteed way to accurately identify every terminal! Dumb terminals are just that--too stupid to answerback anything useful. Smart terminals do a better job, but emulators are quite random in features.
HOWEVER: The proper behavior of a terminal is very dependent on the application program (you mentioned menu program) using the curses library or a script using tput. If the program is not using curses, then most likely there are hardcoded escape sequences (bad design) which will have to be handled with a rewrite.
Now for the LKFAQs (Little-Known FAQs): The A,N and L-class computers have a separate processor called the GSP and it runs independently of the main CPU(s) and HP-UX. It can be reached via the console, the remote support modem and/or the LAN console if equipped. The designers of the GSP made changes to communication drivers such that regardless of the terminal actually connected to the console port (and only the console port), the value for TERM would be overridden by the GSP code.
This means that by default, an HP terminal such as an HP 700/94 connected to an A-,N-, or L-class machine will have TERM=vt100 when /etc/profile runs, and this causes the cursor to jump around and mess up other programs such as sam and swinstall. The fix is usually stated: change the 700/9x emulation to EM100 (emulate vt100) which is not a good workaround. vt100 emulation performs very poorly for tools like sam, swinstall and glance as there are no such things as function keys.
Instead, the fix is (on the console) to type CTLR-B so you can get the GSP prompt. You will be asked to login but is never setup before, just press Return a couple of times. Then type the command CA (UPPERCASE or lowercase OK) to configure the serial port. Answer Y then Return for the next couple of questions, then Y to modify the Current Terminal Type. Change from vt100 to hpterm, and press Return. Answer N to change the Remote Console and you are done.
BTW: if you want to turn off that blinking ATTN light, type the command: SL then E, then read what you like, and finally, type Q to exit back to GSP.
Finally, return the GSP back to console mode by typing CO. Now, when you login at the console using an HP smart terminal, the TERM value will be set correctly (assuming you have configured the HP terminal to HP mode and not EM100 mode).
Bill Hassell, sysadmin
