Generally, if you encounter a problem in the booting process, you see a three-digit display value. This section describes these common display values and what you can do about them. If you need to access a system that does not boot from the hard disk, see Accessing a System That Will Not Boot.
For more values related to booting problems, see List of Three-Digit Display Values: 500-599.
Find the three-digit display value in the following and go to the appropriate recovery location:
| Display Value | Recovery Location |
| 201 | Display Value 201 |
| 223 through 229 and xxx- xxx | Display Value 223-229 and xxx-xxx |
| 551, 555, and 557 | Display Values 551, 555, and 557 |
| 552, 554, and 556 | Display Values 552, 554, and 556 |
| 553 | Display Value 553 |
| c31 | Display Value c31 |
| c99 | Display Value c99 |
Note: You must have root user authority to perform any of the following procedures.
If the system stops at 201 during the boot process, the problem may be either a software problem or a hardware problem.
If the display first goes past 299, and then back to 201, it is most likely a damaged boot image.
If the display never gets to 299, it is not a software problem because the boot process hasn't loaded any software yet.
Did the system display a value of 299 or greater before displaying 201?
| Yes | Go to Rebuilding the Boot Image. |
| No | Go to Hardware Problems. |
To rebuild a boot image, perform the following:
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Will Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 1 to access the volume group. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
Enter the following to check the free column:
df /dev/hd3 df /dev/hd4
If the free column for either /dev/hd3 or /dev/hd4 is less than 1000, erase some files from that file system (such as /smit.log, /smit.script, core files in / or /tmp and/or any subdirectories of these file systems that are not separate mount points, such as /etc, /dev, and user created directories.
Also, check for any large files in the /dev directory. Large file can end up in /dev as a result of a mistyped command (such as backup, tar, or dd).
Determine which disk is the boot disk with the lslv command. The boot disk will be shown in the PV1 column of the lslv output.
lslv -m hd5
Recreate the boot image.
bosboot -a -d /dev/hdisk#
Where hdisk# is the boot disk.
To see if there are any CHECKSTOPs in the error log, generate an error report. For example:
errpt -a | grep CHECKSTOP
The errpt command processes a report of logged errors. This example generates a report of just the CHECKSTOP errors. If you get output of the form:
LABEL: CHECKSTOP
Contact your hardware support organization for assistance.
Place the key mode switch in the Normal position, shut down, and reboot the system. For example:
shutdown -Fr
The shutdown command ends system operation. The previous example performs a fast shutdown, bypassing the messages to other users and bringing down the system as quickly as possible. Then, it restarts the system.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | If the LED is different than 201, go back to the display values in Booting Problems
.
If the LED is the same (201), complete the Problem Summary Form and report the problem to your hardware service organization. |
The display value 201 may be due to a hardware problem with the system planar. Usually, the error log contains an entry for the checkstop. You must turn your system off and then back on again before you reboot.
Note: When a machine checkstops, the machine will try to reboot itself. If the reboot is unsuccessful, the system will attempt to reboot itself two more times. If each subsequent reboot is unsuccessful, the machine will stop with the value 201 in the operator display panel. If this occurs, contact your service representative for assistance.
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Will Not Boot for more information.
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 1 to access the volume group. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
To see if there are any CHECKSTOPs in the error log, generate an error report. For example:
errpt -a | grep CHECKSTOP
The errpt command processes a report of logged errors. This example generates a report of just the CHECKSTOP errors. If you get output of the form:
LABEL: CHECKSTOP
Contact you hardware support organization for assistance.
If the system cycles display values (the display changes from 223 to 229 to 223 and so on), the IPL list in nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM) is incorrect. It is most likely pointing to a device without a boot record, or the device is unavailable.
Note: This procedure also applies to alternating display values 221-229, 225-229, 233-235 and solid display values 221 and 721.
Reboot your machine with the key mode switch in the Service position.
If the display sequence continues normally, change the key mode switch back to the Normal position after the display value reaches 299.
If you get to a login prompt, login as root and go to step 6 in Modify the Boot List.
If the display sequence continues to flash between 223 and 229, go to step 3 of this section.
shutdown -Fr
Check that all external devices are properly attached. Change cables if necessary.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | Go to Modify the Boot List. |
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Will Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 1 to access the volume group. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
Determine which disk is the boot disk by entering the lslv command. The boot disk is show in the PV1 column of the lslv output. For example:
lslv -m hd5
Now use the bootlist command to set the bootlist. For example:
bootlist -m normal hdisk#
Where hdisk# is the boot disk.
The bootlist command alters the list of boot devices (or ordering of the devices) available to the system.
Place the key mode switch in the Normal position, shut down and reboot the system:
shutdown -Fr
The shutdown command ends system operation. This example does a f ast shutdown, bypassing the messages to other users and bringing down the system as quickly as possible, and then restarts the system.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | Go back to the Hardware Diagnostics in in AIX Problem Solving Guide and Reference. |
If the boot process halts with a display value of 551, 555, or 557, there may be several causes, such as a corrupted file system, a corrupted journaled-file-system (JFS) log device, or a bad disk in the machine that is a member of the rootvg. Use the following steps to determine the problem area.
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Does Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 2 to access the volume group and start a shell, before mounting file systems. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
fsck -y /dev/hd1 fsck -y /dev/hd2 fsck -y /dev/hd3 fsck -y /dev/hd4 fsck -y /dev/hd9var
The fsck command checks file system consistency and interactively repairs the file system.
Enter the following to format the default jfslog for the rootvg jfs file systems:
/usr/sbin/logform /dev/hd8
Type exit to continue the process of accessing the root volume group and mount the file systems.
Enter the lslv command to determine which disk is the boot disk. The boot disk will be shown in the PV1 column of the lslv output.
lslv -m hd5
Enter the following to recreate the boot image.
bosboot -a -d /dev/hdisk#
Where # is the boot disk.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | For reasons of time and the integrity of your AIX operating system, reinstall AIX from either a mksyb tape or an install tape. |
The main symptom for the 552, 554 or 556 display values is a loop displaying the respective display value. To correct this problem, perform the steps that follow to clean up file systems and to check the log volume.
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Does Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 2 to access the volume group and start a shell, before mounting file systems. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
Run the fsck command on the following file systems:
fsck -y /dev/hd1 fsck -y /dev/hd2 fsck -y /dev/hd3 fsck -y /dev/hd4 fsck -y /dev/hd9var
The fsck command checks file system consistency and interactively repairs the file system.
If fsck indicates that block 8 could not be read, the file system is probably unrecoverable. (The easiest way to fix an unrecoverable file system is to delete the file system from the system and restore it from a backup. Note that hd4 cannot be recreated. If hd4 is unrecoverable, you must reinstall AIX.)
If fsck indicates that block 8 could be read but one of the following errors is given:
fsck: Not an AIXV4 file system fsck: Not a recognized file system type
Repair the file system by entering:
dd count=1 bs=4k skip=31 seek=1 if=/dev/hd# of=/dev/hd#
Where hd# is the file system.
If errors are indicated from any of the fsck commands in step 6, go to step 8. If no errors occur, go to step 9.
/usr/sbin/logform /dev/hd8
The system asks you if you want to destroy your log. The answer should be yes. logform reformats the log logical volume.
Type exit to continue the process of accessing the root volume group and mount the file systems.
Reboot your machine with the key mode switch in the Normal position.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | Go to Rebuild the ODM |
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Does Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 2 to access the volume group and start a shell, before mounting file systems. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
Mount the /dev/hd4 and /usr file systems. (/dev/hd4 is being mounted in a temporary location for maintenance purposes.)
mount /dev/hd4 /mnt mount /usr
Copy the system configuration to a backup directory:
mkdir /mnt/etc/objrepos/backup cp /mnt/etc/objrepos/Cu* /mnt/etc/objrepos/backup
Copy the configuration from RAM:
cp /etc/objrepos/Cu* /mnt/etc/objrepos
Unmount the file system (include the path for the unmount command).
cd /etc/umount all
Note: An error messages might occur indicating that the system is not able to unmount /dev/ram0.
Enter exit to exit from the shell. The file systems will automatically mount after you enter exit.
Enter the lslv command to determine which disk is the boot disk. The boot disk will be shown in the PV1 column of the lslv output.
lslv -m hd5
Enter the following to save the clean ODM database to the boot logical volume:
savebase -d /dev/hdisk#
Where hdisk# is the boot disk.
Reboot your machine with the key mode switch in the Normal position.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | For reasons of time and the integrity of your AIX operating system, reinstall AIX from either a mksyb tape or an install tape. |
If the system stops at display value 553 during boot, it may be due to a problem running or reading the /etc/inittab file. This often occurs when the /tmp, /usr or / (root) file systems are full. If your default shell is missing (such as /bin/sh), the system might also stop at display value 553.
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Does Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 1 to access the volume group. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 4.
Check for free space in /dev/hd2, /dev/hd3, and /dev/hd4 by entering:
df /dev/hd2
OR
df /dev/hd3
OR
df /dev/hd4
If df indicates that any of the file systems is out space, three files you could remove include /smit.log,/smit.script, and /.sh_history.
Check the /etc/inittab file for damage. Problems include:
The /etc/inittab file controls the initialization process. The following is a sample /etc/inittab file:
init:2:initdefault: brc::sysinit:/sbin/rc.boot 3 >/dev/console 2>&1 # Phase 3 of system boot powerfail::powerfail:/etc/rc.powerfail 2>&1 | alog -tboot > /dev/console # Power Failure Detection rc:2:wait:/etc/rc 2>&1 | alog -tboot > /dev/console # Multi-User checks fbcheck:2:wait:/usr/sbin/fbcheck 2>&1 | alog -tboot > /dev/console # run /etc/fi rstboot srcmstr:2:respawn:/usr/sbin/srcmstr # System Resource Controller rctcpip:2:wait:/etc/rc.tcpip > /dev/console 2>&1 # Start TCP/IP daemons lafs:2:once:/usr/vice/etc/lafs rcnfs:2:wait:/etc/rc.nfs > /dev/console 2>&1 # Start NFS Daemons install_assist:2:wait:/usr/sbin/install_assist </dev/console >/dev/console 2>&1 cons:0123456789:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty /dev/console cron:2:respawn:/usr/sbin/cron qdaemon:2:wait:/usr/bin/startsrc -sqdaemon writesrv:2:wait:/usr/bin/startsrc -swritesrv uprintfd:2:respawn:/usr/sbin/uprintfd lft:2:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty /dev/lft0
If the /etc/inittab file is not damaged, check for modification or permission problems with the following files:
Reboot your machine with the key mode switch in the Normal position. For example:
shutdown -Fr
The shutdown command ends system operation. This example does a fast shutdown, bypassing the messages to other users and bringing down the system as quickly as possible. Then, it restarts the system.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | For reasons of time and the integrity of your AIX operating system, reinstall AIX from either a mksyb tape or an install tape. |
If the system stops at display value c31, look for a message to select your console. The system cannot locate the system console if the console device is defined but not enabled or the console is a tty that cannot be reached. This error also occurs if a non-terminal device (such as a plug, modem, or printer) is plugged into S1 or S2.
Check for a non-terminal device (such as a wrap plug, a modem, or a printer) plugged into S1 or S2; if you find one, remove it.
If you find loose asynchronous cables or a non-terminal device in S1 or S2, reboot the machine with the key in the Normal position.
If you still get display value c3 after the reboot, continue with step 3.
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Does Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 1 to access the volume group and start a shell. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 8.
Otherwise, select 99 to display the list of volume groups and go to step 6.
Enable the console. For example:
chcons -a login=enable /dev/lft/0
The chcons command redirects the system to a specified device or file to be effective on the next start of the system. This example changes the system console to the physical LFT display associated with the /dev/lft/0 device and ensures a login at the console.
With the key mode switch in the Normal position, reboot your system.
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | For reasons of time and the integrity of your AIX operating system, reinstall AIX from either a mksyb tape or an install tape. |
If the system stops at display value c99 while booting, it may be due to a problem running or reading the /usr/bin/odmget command. This could be caused by a missing /usr file system or a corrupted /etc/filesystems file.
With the key mode switch in the Service position, boot from your installation media. See Accessing a System That Does Not Boot for more information .
Select the option to access a volume group from the Maintenance menu.
Note: Once you select this option, you cannot return to the Installation menu or Maintenance menu without rebooting the system.
Select the volume group you believe to be the root volume group. An information screen displays the list of logical volumes that belong to the volume group you selected. The root volume group usually includes logical volumes hd2 and hd4.
If you selected the root volume group, select 1 to access the volume group. This allows access to the file systems in the volume group. Go to step 6.
Check the /etc/filesystems file to make sure it contains a stanza for the /usr file system.
Enter the df command to make sure/usr is mounted. For example:
df /usr
Sample output:
Filesystem Total KB free %used iused %iused Mounted on /dev/hd2 405504 12756 96% 28877 28% /usr
Check for the existence of the /usr/bin directory by trying to change to that directory:
cd /usr/bin
Check for the existence of the /usr/bin/odmget file with the following command:
ls -l /usr/bin/odmget
If there is no odmget file, then check to see if other files are missing from /usr/bin.
To find out how many files you have in /usr/bin, type:
ls -l | grep -c 1
Restore missing files if possible.
Were you able to restore the files?
| Yes | Stop. |
| No | For reasons of time and the integrity of your AIX operating system, reinstall AIX from either a mksyb tape or an install tape. |
Go back to Three-Digit Display Values.