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Main Menu
Start operating system
Backup/Restore system programs
Backup the System Diskettes
Backup the System Partition
Restore the system partition
Update system programs
Set configuration
Set and View SCSI Device Configuration
H09805 Non-Fixed Disk SCSI Devices not removed during Auto-Configuration
Set features
Set Startup Sequence
Copy an options diskette (The CORRECT way to add an ADF!)
Test the computer (Runs ALL tests! Use Ctrl-A to bring up Adv Diags instead!)
Advanced Diagnostics (Individual tests, LLF Hard Drives)
Run System checkout Runs individual tests
Device Test List This shows after you choose Run Tests Once
Hard Disk>Select the SCSI hard disk to test brings up SCSI hard disk tests
Device Inquiry, Unit ready, Device Capacity, Self, Seek, W/R/Compare, Data integrity
Format the hard drive This will LLF the SCSI drive you select.
More utilities
Running SP from Floppy Drive
Running from the refdisk is the easiest way to run System
Programs. However, it takes quite a bit longer to load the programs into
memory off a floppy.
Starting SP from the Hard Drive
On the flash BIOS based systems, when the SurePath BIOS
splash screen pops up, press F1. On IML 95 systems, at CP 62 the cursor
*should* jump to the top / right position on the screen. Press the keys
CTRL + ALT + INS. The interval for this is pretty short though - only a
few seconds.- all other models show the CP Codes
in the bottom line of the screen. However: some are not shown logically,
during the time the screen is blanked and the video subsystem is disabled.
On other IML systems, the cursor *should* jump to the
top / right position on the screen on all IML-machines. Press the keys
CTRL + ALT + INS. The interval for this is pretty short though - only a
few seconds.
Is Auto-config Right For You?
If you have installed an adapter and haven't added the ADF by
choosing Copy An Options Diskette, the system
will brightly ask if you want to automatically configure the system .I
tell it NO, insert the floppy with the ADF into the drive, pray that the
system programs accepts the ADF on the first try, and then use Set and
View Configuration>Change Configuration.
CP Codes Sent to LPT1
On PS/2 Models the CP Codes
are also sent to the LPT port! If you can handle a solder iron you could
create a little adapter to enable you reading the CP codes - either with
a separate hardware logic or another PS/2 machine.
For details see here!
Menu Manuevers
Most screens use F1=Help, F3=Exit, F5=Previous setting,
F6=Next setting, F10=Save changes. To move from field to field, use the
up arrow or down arrow.
Start operating system
Exits from system programs and loads the operating system.
You can use this if you are having minor problems with your setup. Example:
You want to try a different complex type, but don't want to go through
the drag of restoring the system partition and wiping the drive in the
process...
Backup/Restore system partition
Backup the
System Diskettes Makes a backup copy of the reference and diagnostics
diskettes off of the refdisk and diags disk. Obviously, you need the reference
AND diagnostics diskette...
Backup the
System Partition Copies the information in the system partition
onto two 1.44MB floppies. It will create a reference and a diags disk.
Restore
the system partition Installs the system programs and other
critical startup files from diskette to the system partition.
Note:
This does NOT wipe out the system partition. Old files that are not on
the refdisk and diags disk will remain. This sometimes leads to bizarre
problems that defy logic. The most trouble free method when creating or
restoring a system partition is to LLF the drive, then restoring the system
partition.
Some people claim they can restore a system partition without
destroying the other data on the drive. I personally don't share their
optimism.
Spooky says:
Boot with a fake refdisk, QBMCA works fine, start fdisk
and you see the partition table of the System partition, you can safely
erase it and create a new one without LLFing the whole disk.
System partitions created for Type 1 through Type 3 systems
are invisible to the OS (some special cases prove the rule). Type 4 systems
use a "convenience" partition which IS visible to FDISK.
Update system programs
Copies a new version of the system programs to the system partition
Set Configuration
View configuration Displays current
configuration. Display only, no changes possible.
Change configuration Lets you change
configuration information. Only information enclosed in brackets ([....])
can be changed.
Note: Leave Unauthorized Access
Monitor DISABLED. This requires an administrator password which CANNOT
be erased! If you set it and forget it, you will NEVER be able to change
configuration with that planar again. This uses LogicLock
to detect attempts to open the system without a key.
Backup configuration Copies configuration
information from NVRAM to the hard drive.
Restore configuration Retrieves
configuration information from hard drive or diskette (if you booted with
them) to NVRAM.
Run automatic configuration Restores
the settings of the installed options to their default values. If you have
manually set configuration settings, write them down before running Auto-config.
You can then change the settings back to your manual configuration if you
experience problems with the auto-config settings.
Set
and view SCSI device configuration Only information in brackets
([....]) can be changed.
SCSI configuration verification
If, during POST, the SCSI configuration has changed (devices not present
or not operational), you can either have the system respond to the changed
SCSI information, or ignore it Enable / Disable
(Note: Possibly flash BIOS systems only)
SCSI adapter ID Can't
change ID from this screen, go to Change configuration.
SCSI Device
Device Type
Device address (ID, LUN)
Device size MB, ???? if device removed
and Not present set to "Keep" Also ???? if 1GB or larger drive is on downlevel
complex BIOS/SCSI BIOS.
Presence error
reporting (Enabled/Disabled) If device is not present or not powered
on, Disabled keeps system from running auto-configure. Use
with external devices (scanners, etc). If you are
having problems with a system which has been stripped or reassembled, check
this!
Not present
(Keep/remove) Use Keep for external devices which may be powered off separate
or removed. Example- a scanner. This can be a problem IF you had a device
marked "Keep" that is now removed. Example- a CD-ROM drive was marked as
"Keep" and you change the ID. The setup program will still maintain that
there is a CD-ROM at the old address, PLUS a new CD-ROM at the new ID.
Cool, huh? If you are having problems with
a system which has been stripped or reassembled, check this!
Display Memory Map Displays memory
addresses assigned to adapters. It does NOT show upper memory usage by
drivers!
Operational Error reporting If devices
are not present or not operational, you can either have the system respond
to the changed SCSI information, or ignore it Enable / Disable
(Note: Possibly flash BIOS systems only)
H09805 Non-Fixed Disk SCSI Devices not removed during Auto-Configuration
Auto Configuration will not remove SCSI non-fixed disk
devices from the configuration table, even when the
device has been physically disconnected. A 162 or 174
POST error results if Auto Configuration is used to
de-configure a disconnected, non-fixed disk device, such
as a tape drive or CD-ROM.
SCSI Auto Configuration Rules:
A. SCSI Auto Configuration configures any attached SCSI
device.
B. SCSI Auto Configuration ONLY de-configures
>fixed< disk drives.
C. Non-fixed disk SCSI devices must be manually removed
from the configuration table when the device is
disconnected.
Remove Non-Fixed Disk SCSI Device
A. Boot reference diskette or IML the System Partition.
B. At Main Menu select Option #3, "Set Configuration."
C. Select Option #6, "Set And View SCSI Device Confg."
D. Find appropriate SCSI device on the list and select
the "Presence Error Reporting" line.
E. Using F5/F6 keys, toggle to "Remove."
F. Save configuration with F10 key.
G. Follow instructions on screen and re-boot system.
The disconnected SCSI device should now be gone from
configuration table and normal operation should occur.
Set Features
Set date and time Date (MM-DD-YYYY)
Time (HH:MM:SS 24Hr!)
Set password and unattended start mode
Set power-on password
Change power-on password
Remove power-on password
Set unattended start mode
Power-On password must be set first. The use of the unattended start mode
( Also called "Network Server Mode") on PS/2 systems will disable the mouse
port. This is normal system operation and should not be considered a defect.
Disabling the mouse port is required to maintain security of the system
when using unattended start mode. IBM's explanation HERE
Remove Power-On password when you know password
Turn on system
Wait for password prompt (key symbol)
Type current password followed by a space
then hit Enter.
Remove Power-On
Password w/out Password
Set keyboard speed Speed that a
character repeats when a key is held down. Normal / Fast
Set console Display and keyboard
or Display only
Set startup
sequence Select the sequence of drives that the computer will
read from when you turn it on. For more detail. go to
Select Drive.
Note: If you remove the floppy drive
from this list, there is a "safety" feature. The system will still boot
with a reference disk regardless if the floppy drive is on the startup
list or not. A normal boot disk will not work.
Note: Sometimes auto-config will
slip RPL into the startup sequence. Remove RPL from this list if you do
not want to RPL. If the system has RPL in the sequence and you do not see
a SCSI hard drive, you had better check Set
Configuration to see if the SCSI adapter is installed, and then Set
and View SCSI Device Configuration to see if the SCSI hard drive
is installed.
Note: Some systems let you choose
a CD-ROM as a startable device. You can try it, but I haven't heard of
anyone being able to boot from a CD. I couldn't.
Example: Default Startup Sequence
This example
shows the default startup sequence when one hard disk is installed.
Startup
Number Device
1............[2.88MB
3.5-inch diskette drive 0]
2............[SCSI
ROM Device slot 1 Bus 0 (ID,LUN)..:6,0]
3............[Not
selected]
4............[Not
selected]
Set power-on features Type 4 or
flash systems only!
Serial port power-on mode
System powers up if ring detected on serial 1. Enable/Disable
Real time clock power-on mode
Enable / Disable If you use a asterisk "*" in a field, that means you don't
care. So you could set the date to "**" and the system will power on every
day whatever the power on time is. Or you could set the day to "*5" and
it will power up on the 5th, 15th, and the 25th. Note:
You CANNOT leave all fields for date and time as "*"s. The system will not
enable Power-on if you do.
Power-on day of
month valid values are 0-31
Power-on time
HH:MM:SS
Note: This is for flash BIOS systems
only!
System error restart System
won't check for errors in error log. If the error log is full, the system
will put new errors into the error log, and remove the oldest ones to keep
the total of errors at four. Note:
Flash BIOS systems only!
Set ignore error log System will
not report errors upon startup Enable / Disable
Note:
Only systems that support error logs will have this option.
Set fast startup mode Quick
POST check, instead of full POST routine. Enable / Disable
Note: Flash BIOS systems only.
For home users, this is fine, but if I was running a business off this
system, I would WANT the system to do it's full POST testing routine. The extra
two minutes may mean the difference between a system running 24/7 for months,
or one that has a memory module just waiting to dump your system into
never-never land when the program tries to use it.
Copy an options diskette
This is the CORRECT way to copy a new ADF to the hard drive or to the
refdisk. More information HERE.
Test the computer
Not my preferred way of running diagnostics. Use Ctrl-A
to run Advanced Diagnostics. Advanced diags lets you test one component
at a time, while Test the computer does ALL
the damn tests. Non stop.
Advanced Diagnostics
Doing a Ctrl-A from the main menu will bring up the advanced
diagnostics.
Run System checkout
Run system checkout Allows you to run diags on single components. For a
device to be shown, there has to be a DGS file for it. FAIK, IBM was the only
one to make DGS files for their adapters / devices. Other makers just made
stand-alone diagnostic programs. SCSI drives are covered by the IBM DGS, and so
is memory.
First screen is a list of installed devices. Only devices with a *.dgs file
will be shown!
Second screen:
Run tests once
Run tests continuously
Log or display
errors
Send error log (EL)
to the default disk, Send EL to printer, stop the EL, View the EL
Display device
list
Device Test
List This shows after you choose Run Tests
Once
This is it! The big kahuna! The list
may show:
Complex Will
show Type 1 L2 cache if installed.
System board (planar)
Memory Location, MMK
ID, Size (MB), Speed (nS), Type 1 or 0 (1 is parity, 0 ECC)
Full test, up to an hour with 128MB,
quick test about 13 minutes with 128MB.
Keyboard
Needs KB attached! You WILL press every key before it's done!
System board parallel port
It just does an internal loopback unless you have a
wrap plug
Diskette drive asks for a
blank floppy for read/write tests
System board async port It
just does an internal loopback unless you have a
wrap plug
Mouse port Need mouse attached!
Information panel 95s
only. It lights up EVERY individual LED by the time it's done.
SCSI I/O adapter
Hard disks Here goes the big one!
Select the SCSI hard
disk to test Size in MB, Slot#, SCSI ID of device, LUN, and
BUS
SCSI hard disk
tests
Device
Inquiry Sends Device Inquiry to HD. Tests ability to recognize
HD.
Unit
ready test Resets HD and sends "Test unit ready". Tests if HD
accepts supported medium access commands.
Device
Capacity Sends "Read capacity". Displays size in MB
Self
test Sends "Self diagnostics". HD self test. Performs R/W to HD
test area.
Seek
test Sends "seek" Exercises seek mechanism of HD
W/R/Compare
Test Writes random data to HD buffer, reads it back, then compares
the two. This tests the integrity of data transfer between system and HD
buffer.
Data
integrity test sequential read verify test. Verifies sectors for
readability. NO writes to HD are performed. Note:
IBM says "This test is relatively long"
Format the
hard drive This will LLF the SCSI drive you select.
Select SCSI hard disk to format
Shows Size in MB, Slot#, ID, LUN, and Bus
Next screen asks Save grown defect list -or- Erase grown
defect list
Save Grown Defects keeps the list. I'd keep
it. I had some interesting problems with an AIX install where some stuff
wendt missing. LLF'd it, saved the list, the system then worked. YMMV.
When you choose the drive and select save or erase grown
defect list, the LLF program asks you twice if you want to continue. Read
the message box- the first time you answer "Y", the second time it asks
you if you want to stop, answer "N".
Note: The system
refuses to format a drive with an active partition IF you booted from the
convenience (system) partition on that drive. To remove an existing system
partition, boot with a refdisk.
Warning: The advanced-diagnostic format program
(referred to as a low-level format), is different from the operating system
format program. The operating-system format program will not erase the System
Partition; the low-level format program will. It also will erase the system
programs and completely clear the hard disk.
More utilities
Display revision levels Shows BIOS
levels, refdisk and diags levels, planar and complex ID.
Stand alone utility information
As useful as something on a boar.
Set and view system identification
Set system identification
Enter Vital Product Data (VPD). Model code, submodel code, computer serial
number, and part-identification codes for the planar and complex (if applicable)
View system configuration
View VPD
Display system error log Shows you
up to four stored errors. You can delete errors from this screen Note:
Only on systems that support error logs!
Set character font Choose from #1,
which is a "linedraw" font, sans serif, or #2 which is a serif font. Note:
Flash BIOS systems only?
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