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VAX restart control settings

 
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Jude_7
New Member

Re: VAX restart control settings

Thanks. I have checked and the date and time are still ok upon boot-up. I originally thought that the problem was with the battery but it does look as though that isn't the case in this instance.

One of the clusters does seem to have a console password set and so the ill command or illegal instruction error appears but the cluster I was most concerned with is now auto booting which is great.
Hoff
Honored Contributor

Re: VAX restart control settings

All of what you're reporting here can be what is seen when the TOY battery is marginal, and failing. Or failed.

The usual preferred console HALT setting is RESTART-REBOOT, if and when that's available in a VAX console. This causes the execution of a HALT instruction in OpenVMS VAX to trigger a restart, and which then (due to the HALT setting) a crash and REBOOT, which means you get a crashdump on a kernel-mode HALT. And the RESTART-REBOOT otherwise acts as a BOOT during a cold start.

http://h71000.www7.hp.com/wizard/wiz_5927.html

The manuals for VAX boxes with similar model names (there are a number of very different VAX boxes with very similar model numbers around) are available at:

http://vt100.net/manx

and elsewhere.

How far along is your plan to replace the disks with newer bricks (and there are new-retrofit disks around) and the wholesale replacement of this VAX gear? Either through emulation, or through migration to OpenVMS on Integrity, or to migration to HP-UX or another platform. (VAX/VMS V5.3 - as it was then known - is twenty years old this year, after all.)

Jude_7
New Member

Re: VAX restart control settings

Hello Hoff

Unfortunately emulators won't do it for the organisation and I have to continue to support the existing hardware for the forseeable future. Moving to a more supportable platform is not an option either. I wish it were, my main responsibilities lie within UNIX system administration.

The older 5.3 operating system is used just to transfer files to/from other systems.

A colleague implemented a RAID solution a few years back after a bind set of disks failed on a couple of occasions.

We have hardware support, every so often I get a new disk sent out when one in the RAID set fails. Its not ideal but previously the answer was to restore from tape!. It was a lengthy process hours trawling through to find a saveset let alone retrieve any data.