%STDRV-F-FATALERR, fatal error reading startup database

[Willem Grooters]

[quote]
Also why is the default directory
DSA10:[SYSEXE]?
$ dir
%DIRECT-E-OPENIN, error opening DSA10:[SYSEXE]*.*;* as input
-RMS-E-DNF, directory not found
-SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHFILE, no such file
$ sho def
DSA10:[SYSEXE]
%DCL-I-INVDEF, DSA10:[SYSEXE] does not exist
[/quote]

This is wrong.
DSA10: should normally be a device (here: shadowset) OR a (concealed) logical.
$ SHO LOG/FULL DSA10 would tell. It should refer to a physical disk.

If DSA10 is a device, your SYSUAF data for SYSTEM is probably broken and all references of logical could be wrong. It should read "SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR]" - and logical SYS$SYSROOT would need to be ":[SYSn.], SYS$COMMON:" ans SYS$COMMON would be referring to ":
[SYSn.SYSCOMMON.]"
All with attributes EXEC and (concealed, terminal).

Second:
Since this is DSA - meaning: shadowset. That reminds me: have you specified the system should boot from a shadowset? There are sos SYSGEN parameters involved here - that you could set booting MINimal.

[quote]
disk is ODS2
Volume Status: ODS-2, subject to mount verification, write-through caching
enabled.
[/quote]
Ok, so no problem here.

[quote]
$ show log sys$system:
%SYSTEM-W-IVLOGTAB, invalid logical name table
%SHOW-S-NOTRAN, no translation for logical name SYS$SYSTEM
[/quote]

That means something more trouble. The logical may have been set but the logical name table is either not accessable, or not in the searchpatch. Check:

$ sho log/table=lnm$system_directory
$ sho log/table=lnm$process_directory

in either one of them table lnm$startup_table should be mentioned.

The table would contain all the logicals you're missing. IIRC, this is the table that is heavily used during startup - it's defines (and connected) pretty early in the boot process.

[Clark Powell]

I have confirmation that the missing files were deleted by a PCSI installation of a beta test Hp product. Developers have been notified and will fix this problem. Since it is not a released version I will not name the product to protect the innocent. The really insidious thing about this problem is that the files deleted were only needed for boot so if this happened, one would not know until one had rebooted the system. So I guess this indicates two rules of installing software:
1.) Always reboot before and after, if you can.
2.) Always make a shadow copy of the system disk and the target disk.

I think we can close this now.

[Willem Grooters]

Backup BEFORE installation, that is ;).