kernel messages / syslog

/etc/syslog.conf tells us where the kernel messages will be stored.

by default, the kernel messages will be written to /var/log/messages, but again, one should consult the syslog.conf file. The messages may be written to /var/log/syslog, or /var/log/dmesg etc.

syslogd and klogd should be running for the messages to be logged. syslogd writes the kernel messages to one of the files synchronously.