System Troubleshooting and Diagnostics
5.1 Basic Troubleshooting Flow
4. Incorrect bus node ID plugs
In addition, check the following:
• If you have received error notification using VAXsimPLUS, check the mail
messages and error logs as described in Section 5.2.
• If the operating system fails to boot (or appears to fail), check the console
terminal screen for an error message. If the terminal displays an error
message, see Section 5.3.
• Check the LEDs on the device you suspect is bad. If no errors are indicated
by the device LEDs, run the ROM-based diagnostics described in this
chapter.
• If the system boots successfully, but a device seems to fail or an
intermittent failure occurs, check the error log ([SYSERR]ERRLOG.SYS)
as described in Section 5.2.
• For fatal errors, check that the crash dump file exists for further analysis
([SYSEXE]SYSDUMP.DMP).
• Check other log files, such as OPERATOR.LOG, OPCOM.LOG,
SETHOST.LOG, etc. Many of these can be found in the [SYSMGR]
account. SETHOST.LOG is useful in comparing the console output with
event logs and crash dumps in order to see what the system was doing at
the time of the error.
Use the following command to create SETHOST.LOG files, then log into
the system account.
$ SET HOST/LOG 0
After you log out, this file will reside in the [SYSMGR] account.
If the system is failing in the boot or start-up phase, it may be useful to
include the command SET VERIFY in the front of various start-up .COM
files to obtain a trace of the start-up commands and procedures.
When troubleshooting, note the status of cables and connectors before you
perform each step. Label cables before you disconnect them. This step saves
you time and prevents you from introducing new problems.
Most communications modules use floating CSR addresses and interrupt
vectors. If you remove a module from the system, you may have to change the
addresses and vectors of other modules.
5–2 System Troubleshooting and Diagnostics
