topic Booting alpha in Operating System - OpenVMS

Booting alpha

Joewee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:37:05 GMT

Hi All,

Im trying to boot one of Alpha servers via console. and what im getting is,

P00>>>boot
Initializing...
SROM V3.0 on cpu0
SROM V3.0 on cpu1
XSROM V6.0 on cpu0
XSROM V6.0 on cpu1
BCache testing complete on cpu0
BCache testing complete on cpu1
mem_pair0 - 1024 MB
20..20..21..21..23..
please wait 24 seconds for T24 to complete
24..24..
Memory testing complete on cpu1
Memory testing complete on cpu0
starting console on CPU 0
sizing memory
0 1024 MB EDO
starting console on CPU 1
probing IOD1 hose 1
bus 0 slot 1 - NCR 53C810
bus 0 slot 2 - QLogic ISP10X0
bus 0 slot 4 - DECchip 21140-AA
probing IOD0 hose 0
bus 0 slot 1 - PCEB
probing EISA Bridge, bus 1
bus 0 slot 2 - QLogic ISP10X0
bus 0 slot 3 - QLogic ISP10X0
bus 0 slot 4 - QLogic ISP10X0
bus 0 slot 5 - QLogic ISP10X0
configuring I/O adapters...
ncr0, hose 1, bus 0, slot 1
isp0, hose 1, bus 0, slot 2
tulip0, hose 1, bus 0, slot 4
floppy0, hose 0, bus 1, slot 0
isp1, hose 0, bus 0, slot 2
isp2, hose 0, bus 0, slot 3
isp3, hose 0, bus 0, slot 4
isp4, hose 0, bus 0, slot 5
System temperature is 23 degrees C
AlphaServer 4100 Console V6.0-4, 10-MAY-2001 10:11:42

Halt assertion detected
NVRAM power-up script not executed
AUTO_ACTION=BOOT/RESTART and OS_TYPE=NT ignored, if applicable

Re: Booting alpha

Hoff — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:17:15 GMT

What's the history of the system?

Release the halt button? The halt button is usually the middle of the three buttons on the operator control panel, usually indicated by a triangle inside a circle icon, and that button can usually be latched on and that latched state is indicated by the LED lighting. If the LED is lit, press the button and try booting again.

If you're working with OpenVMS, fix the OS_TYPE, too.

Here's a detailed manual:

http://vt100.net/mirror/mds-199909/cd1/alpha/4100asvb.pdf

Re: Booting alpha

Joewee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:50:36 GMT

Actually the CPU fan failed. and when we tried to boot yesterday it said CPU FAN failed and it came back to SRM prompt.

today i checked the fan status it shows its good... but no one came to fix it... we are expecting HP guys to come in...

In the mean time i tried to boot it... and i got this...

so this Halt button assertion is done automatically?? what parameter controls it?? and as of now no one is available near the server.. can i do some thing from remote??

Re: Booting alpha

Hoff — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:30:09 GMT

>Actually the CPU fan failed.

A recent known fan failure? That would be a rather significant omission from most any problem statement.

Has anything else happened here recently that you'd like to tell us about?

Has this box been in use with OpenVMS for a while now?

Has the box been unplugged or stored for some time?

>and when we tried to boot yesterday it said CPU FAN failed and it came back to SRM prompt.

Old box, bad or weak or failing fan.

Certainly not a surprise.

>today i checked the fan status it shows its good... but no one came to fix it... we are expecting HP guys to come in...

Ok. That's between your organization and HP; with whomever you choose to have service your gear.

>In the mean time i tried to boot it... and i got this...

I would not tend to risk running any critical hardware with a fan that's throwing faults. Not until I knew better what was causing the faults. Bad fan or bad sensor, or some other trigger. In most cases, running a server with insufficient cooling is comparatively unwise.

>so this Halt button assertion is done automatically??

This "halt button" is a physical switch button located on the operator control panel.

If you are not familiar with the switches or the operator control panel, please read the cited manual.

>what parameter controls it??

There is no parameter and no environment variable.

>and as of now no one is available near the server.. can i do some thing from remote??

Um, go skim through the manual while you're waiting for somebody to be available on-site?

If the box was originally running OpenVMS, then it's also possible that the box has lost its settings. That OS_TYPE setting is incorrect for OpenVMS, and should be changed. There are various triggers for that (beyond simply having the incorrect value), and this gets back to the history of this box.

I repeat this question as I'm wondering if there's a fault elsewhere here; there's another path and another case and another trigger here that can arise with hardware of this vintage and that can cause console settings to be lost.

I'd wait for the service organization to test and repair and clear the box.

Re: Booting alpha

Joewee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:11:37 GMT

Hi Hoff,

Thanks a lot for your time to answer all my questions...

The good news is. the engineer came in and replaced the fan and he jus booted the system came up perfectly fine.

Yes, I will change the OS_TYPE ASAP. I was jus going through the manual will all these parameters.

Thanks again.. thanks a lot..

Joe