Document revision date: 30 March 2001

This appendix contains the following information:

• Booting operations, including the following:
  • Booting the operating system CD-ROM, locally and from an InfoServer system
  • Booting manually from the system disk
  • Performing a conversational boot
  • Booting with minimum startup
  • Booting with the XDelta utility (XDELTA)
  • Booting from a different directory
  • Booting with a PMAZB or PMAZC TURBOchannel adapter
  • Booting over the network with an alternate TURBOchannel adapter
  • Booting in an emergency
• Set, Show, and Writeboot operations, including the following:
  • Setting the system for automatic booting
  • Setting and showing boot devices
  • Setting boot parameters
  • Using the Writeboot utility
• Halt and shutdown operations
• Troubleshooting procedures

The following sections describe different methods of booting your system.

A.1.1 Booting the Operating System CD-ROM

If you need to boot the Compaq OpenVMS Alpha operating system CD-ROM, either to perform an installation or upgrade or to perform related operations such as mounting or backing up the system disk, follow the steps in the following sections, depending on whether you are booting locally or from the InfoServer.

A.1.1.1 Booting from the Local Drive

Boot from the local drive as follows:

1. Insert the operating system CD-ROM into the local CD-ROM drive.
2. At the console prompt (>>>), enter the SHOW DEVICE command so you can identify the name of the CD-ROM drive (for example, DKA400:)
3. Enter the boot command in the following format:

   BOOT -FLAGS 0,0 source-drive

   
   Substitute the device name of the CD-ROM drive (as listed in the SHOW DEVICE display) for source-drive.
   For example, if the SHOW DEVICE display lists the device name of your CD-ROM drive as DKA400, enter the following command and press the Return key:

   >>> BOOT -FLAGS 0,0 DKA400

After you boot, the system displays a menu from which you can choose options to perform the following tasks:

• Install or upgrade the operating system using the POLYCENTER Software Installation utility.
• Enter a DCL environment from which you can perform preinstallation or maintenance tasks such as mounting or showing devices and backing up or restoring files on the system disk.
• Shut down the system.

To boot the operating system CD-ROM using the InfoServer, do the following:

1. At the console prompt, enter the following command:

   >>> B -FLAGS 0,0 -FILE APB_073 lan-device-name

   
   Note the following conventions:

   • APB_073 is the file name of the APB program used for the initial system load (ISL) boot program.
   • lan-device-name is the name of the local area network (LAN) device identified with your computer. For information about the LAN devices your system supports, refer to the following table. For additional information, see the hardware manuals that you received with your Alpha computer and the OpenVMS software product description (SPD).

   Alpha Computer	Ethernet Device	FDDI Device
   ALPHAbook 1	EOA0	--
   AlphaServer 400 series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaServer 1000 series	ERA0, EWA0	FRA0
   AlphaServer 1000A series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaServer 1200 series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaServer 2000 series	ERA0, EWA0	FRA0
   AlphaServer 2100, 2100A series	ERA0, EWA0	FRA0
   AlphaServer 4100 series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaServer 8200 series	EXA0, EWA0	FXA0
   AlphaServer 8400 series	EXA0, EWA0	FXA0
   AlphaStation 200 series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaStation 400 series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaStation 500 series	EWA0	FWA0
   AlphaStation 600 series	ERA0, EWA0	FWA0
   DEC 2000 series	ERA0	--
   DEC 3000 series	ESA0	"n/ESA0"
   DEC 4000 series	EZA0	--
   DEC 7000 series	EXA0	FXA0
   DEC 10000 series	EXA0	FXA0
   Digital Personal Workstation (DPWS) series	EWA0	FWA0

   Note If you are using a DEC 3000 or 4000 series system, note the following: On DEC 3000 series systems, you can boot through the InfoServer with an Ethernet PMAD device or FDDI DEFTA device by specifying the device name as "n/ESA0". The value for n is the TURBOchannel slot number, which you can obtain by entering the SHOW CONFIGURATION command at the console prompt (>>>) and examining the display. For more information, see Section A.1.8 in Appendix A. On DEC 4000 series, you must specify the ISL file name in uppercase (APB_073).

2. The InfoServer ISL program then displays the following menu:

   Network Initial System Load Function Version 1.2 FUNCTION FUNCTION ID 1 - Display Menu 2 - Help 3 - Choose Service 4 - Select Options 5 - Stop Enter a function ID value:

3. Respond to the prompts as follows, pressing the Return key after each entry:
   1. Enter 3 for the function ID.
   2. Enter 2 for the option ID.
   3. Enter the service name (ALPHA073).
   
   A sample display follows:

   Enter a function ID value: 3[Return] OPTION OPTION ID 1 - Find Services 2 - Enter known Service Name Enter an Option ID value: 2[Return] Enter a Known Service Name: ALPHA073[Return]

After you boot, the system displays a menu from which you can choose options to perform the following tasks:

• Install or upgrade the operating system using the POLYCENTER Software Installation utility.
• Enter a DCL environment from which you can perform preinstallation or maintenance tasks such as mounting or showing devices and backing up or restoring files on the system disk.
• Shut down the system.

Boot the system disk manually as follows:

IF ...	THEN ...
the Compaq OpenVMS Alpha operating system is running,	go to step 1.
the Compaq OpenVMS Alpha operating system is not running,	go to step 4.

1. Log in to the SYSTEM account.
2. Enter the following command and press the Return key:

   $ @SYS$SYSTEM:SHUTDOWN

3. Answer the questions displayed by the system. When the procedure asks if an automatic reboot should be performed, press the Return key for NO. When the procedure is finished, it displays the following message:

   SYSTEM SHUTDOWN COMPLETE

4. Halt the system by entering Ctrl/P or by pressing the Halt button. (See Section A.3.1 for more information about how to halt your Alpha computer.)
5. Enter the BOOT command in the following format:

   BOOT device-name

   
   Substitute the device name of the system disk for device-name. For example, to boot from a drive with a device name of DKA400, enter the following command and press the Return key:

   >>> BOOT DKA400

   
   To boot from the network, enter the following command and press the Return key:

   >>> BOOT ESA0

A conversational boot is most commonly used in research and development environments and during software upgrades. Perform a conversational boot to stop the boot process before it completes. The boot process stops after it loads SYS$SYSTEM:SYSBOOT.EXE and displays the SYSBOOT> prompt. At the SYSBOOT> prompt, you can enter specific OpenVMS System Generation utility (SYSGEN) commands to do the following:

• Examine system parameter values
• Change system parameter values
• Specify another parameter file
• Specify another system startup command procedure
• Select the default system parameter file if you modified system parameters to values that render the system unbootable
• Specify a minimum startup

There are several ways to perform a conversational boot. The following procedure is the most direct:

IF ...	THEN ...
the OpenVMS Alpha operating system is running,	go to step 1.
the OpenVMS Alpha operating system is not running,	go to step 4.

1. Log in to the SYSTEM account.
2. Enter the following command and press the Return key:

   $ @SYS$SYSTEM:SHUTDOWN

3. Answer the questions displayed by the system. When the procedure asks if an automatic reboot should be performed, press the Return key for NO. When the procedure is finished, it displays the following message:

   SYSTEM SHUTDOWN COMPLETE

4. Halt the system by entering Ctrl/P or by pressing the Halt button. (See Section A.3.1 for more information about how to halt your Alpha computer.)
5. To begin the conversational boot, enter the BOOT command in the following format:

   BOOT -FLAGS 0,1 [device-name]

   
   Substitute the device name of the drive from which you want to boot for device-name. For example, if the system disk has a device name of DKA400, enter the following command and press the Return key:

   >>> BOOT -FLAGS 0,1 DKA400

   
   If you do not specify a device name, the system boots from the boot device assigned when you entered the SET BOOTDEF_DEV command.

6. At the SYSBOOT> prompt, you can enter any of the SYSGEN commands listed in Table A-1. For more information about these SYSGEN commands, see the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
7. When you finish using the SYSGEN commands, enter the CONTINUE command to complete the boot process.

   Table A-1 SYSGEN Commands Used in the SYSBOOT Procedure

   Command	Description
   CONTINUE	Resumes the boot procedure.
   DISABLE CHECKS	Inhibits checking of parameter values specified with the SET command.
   ENABLE CHECKS	Permits checking of parameter values specified with the SET command.
   HELP	Displays a summary of the SYSBOOT commands on the terminal screen.
   SET parameter-name	Establishes the value of a system parameter.
   SET/STARTUP	Sets the name of the system startup command procedure.
   SHOW [parameter]	Displays active, current, default, maximum, and minimum values for specific parameters. (Use qualifiers to display characteristics of parameters grouped by categories.)
   USE [file-spec]	Specifies a parameter file to be used as a source of values. You must enter the entire file specification, including device and directory; you cannot specify a logical name.

For examples of using conversational booting, see Section A.1.4 and Section A.1.9.

A.1.4 Booting with Minimum Startup

In certain cases, you might want to boot your system without performing the full sequence of startup events. For example, if a startup event prevents you from logging in, you might want to boot the system without executing the startup so that you can log in and fix the problem. You can use the conversational boot to specify a minimum startup.

Boot the system with minimum startup as follows:

1. Perform a conversational boot by entering the following command at the console prompt:

   >>> BOOT -FLAGS 0,1 [device-name]

2. Enter the following command and press the Return key:

   SYSBOOT> SET STARTUP_P1 "MIN"

3. Enter the following command to continue booting:

   SYSBOOT> CONTINUE

4. After the system boots, log in and enter the following commands to invoke SYSMAN and clear the STARTUP_P1 parameter you set in step 2:

   $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN SYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE CURRENT SYSMAN> PARAMETERS SET STARTUP_P1 "" SYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE CURRENT

The XDelta utility (XDELTA) is a debugging tool that system programmers use. The procedure for booting all Alpha computers with XDELTA is the same.

The following table describes the valid values you can specify when booting with XDELTA:

Value	System Response
0	Normal, nonstop boot (default).
1	Begins a conversational boot and then displays the SYSBOOT prompt.
2	Includes XDELTA but does not take the initial breakpoint.
3	Displays the SYSBOOT prompt and includes XDELTA but does not take the initial breakpoint.
6	Includes XDELTA and takes the initial breakpoint.
7	Includes XDELTA, displays the SYSBOOT prompt, and takes the initial breakpoint at system initialization.

The following is an example of booting with XDELTA from the console prompt:

>>> BOOT -FLAGS 0,7

For more information about using XDELTA, see the OpenVMS Delta/XDelta Debugger Manual.

A.1.6 Booting from a Different Directory

By default, the OpenVMS Alpha operating system is installed in the system root directory [SYS0]. However, if you have created a cluster system disk, you can use the SYS$MANAGER:CLUSTER_CONFIG.COM procedure to add a copy of the operating system to a different root directory. (See the OpenVMS System Manager's Manual for more information about using the SYS$MANAGER:CLUSTER_CONFIG.COM procedure.)

To boot from a different directory (for example, [SYS3]), enter the BOOT command as follows:

>>> BOOT -FLAGS 3,0 DKA200

A.1.7 Booting with a PMAZB or PMAZC TURBOchannel Adapter

PMAZB and PMAZC TURBOchannel adapters are adapters that are software-compatible with the integrated SCSI ports on DEC 3000 Alpha series systems.

The DEC 3000 Alpha series system consoles implement the SHOW CONFIGURATION console command, which displays information about the TURBOchannel options and the built-in adapters in the system. When a PMAZB or PMAZC adapter is installed in the TURBOchannel, the SHOW CONFIGURATION command displays the "PMAZB-AA" or "PMAZC-AA" string, the TURBOchannel slot number, and the device status.

The DEC 3000 Alpha series consoles also implement the SHOW DEVICE command, which displays information about the devices in the system. Because the integrated SCSI adapter is built into every DEC 3000 Alpha series system, the SHOW DEVICE console command can display the SCSI devices connected to the integrated SCSI ports. However, the SHOW DEVICE console command cannot display the SCSI devices connected to the PMAZB or PMAZC SCSI ports.

To make the console display the devices connected to the PMAZB or PMAZC SCSI ports, enter the following command at the console prompt, where x is the TURBOchannel slot number in which the PMAZB or PMAZC adapter is installed:

>>> TEST TCx CNFG

This command displays the devices that are connected to each SCSI port of the PMAZB or PMAZC adapter. The device controller letters are either A or B, based upon the PMAZB or PMAZC ports to which the devices are connected. Do not confuse these devices with any DKAxxx or DKBxxx devices displayed by the SHOW DEVICE command, which shows SCSI devices on the integrated SCSI ports only.

To boot from a device connected to a PMAZB or PMAZC adapter, enter the boot command as follows:

>>> BOOT "X/DKYzzz"

The following conventions are used:

• X is the TURBOchannel slot number in which the PMAZB or PMAZC adapter is installed.
• DK is the device code of the boot device.
• Y is either A or B, depending on the SCSI port of the PMAZB or PMAZC adapter that contains the boot device.
• zzz is the SCSI unit number of the boot device.

The Compaq OpenVMS Alpha operating system does not distinguish between the PMAZB or PMAZC adapter and the integrated SCSI adapter. The operating system views them as identical adapters. Because the operating system searches for I/O adapters in backplane slot number order, device controller letters are assigned that correspond to the backplane order of the TURBOchannel options, followed by the integrated adapters. This is different from console SCSI device naming, which always designates SCSI devices on the integrated SCSI ports as either "A" or "B" port devices.

Example

On a DEC 3000 Model 500 Alpha system with no TURBOchannel options installed, the Compaq OpenVMS Alpha operating system names the integrated SCSI ports PKA0 and PKB0, and the devices connected to the ports inherit the controller letter from the port controller letter (A or B). However, if a PMAZB or PMAZC adapter is installed in the TURBOchannel, the operating system names the PMAZB or PMAZC SCSI ports PKA0 and PKB0 and names the integrated SCSI ports PKC0 and PKD0. The devices connected to the ports inherit the controller letter from the port controller letter (A, B, C, or D).

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