MBF COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL FIELD INFORMATION BULLETIN SERVICE GROUP(S): MINI MFG: BASIC FOUR NACS TYPE(S): N035 MFG. MODEL(S): 2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS CATEGORY: DIAGNOSTICS DESC: DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION *** TABLE OF CONTENTS AS OF 12/19/90 *** FIB 00001.2000 flaw maps, DUTIL - drive formatting....................08/07/86 FIB 00002.How to run "dutil" on the 3rd and 4th Winchester disks......03/25/87 FIB 00003.New release of 7.2B diagnostics for the 2000 system availabl07/07/87 FIB 00004.Maxtor disk fails on diagnostic test 25 with 1C error.......08/19/87 FIB 00005.Third 8-way fails on 7.2D Eway diagnostics..................11/12/87 FIB 00006.CMB Parity ERR While Moving EXEC to 6000 on 2000 Sys .......02/26/89 FIB 00007.Bug in 7.2C & 7.2D1 Diag.Tape when running MMU Test.........03/09/88 FIB 00008.Bug in 7.3A SIT Diagnostic on Parallel Printer Port.........03/09/88 FIB 00009.Warnings & cautions for 7.3A & 7.4B Diagnostics [ WPSF 449A12/19/88 FIB 00010.How to Run BASS Diagnostics on SPX Systems..................02/07/89 FIB 00011.Unexpected Interrupt 2C Occurs in MCS Logic Test [ WPSF 449-07/27/89 FIB 00012.Error Log Reporting Notes...................................02/20/90 FIB 00013.7.5B Diagnostics History [ WPSF 598 ]......................02/22/90 FIB 00014.7.5B Diagnostics fail to Boot on a 2000 System [ WPSF 598-102/22/90 FIB 00015.Delete Diagnostics from Disk if no License Agreement [ WPSF 02/22/90 FIB 00016.Problems Running SCC (Serial Comm. Cont.) Diagnostic on 7.5B04/30/90 DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------Table Of Contents Pg01 of 01 FIB 00001 08/07/86 *** 2000 flaw maps, DUTIL - drive formatting *** The necessity for keeping and maintaining an up-to-date flaw map for the Winchester disks cannot be over emphasized. This holds especially true with possible Adaptec firmware problems, where blown formats may necessitate reformatting of the disk unit(s). Some systems may have been shipped without accompanying flaw maps for the disk drives, (prior to March 1986), if any of these disk units need to be reshipped, it is required that a flaw map accompany them during shipment. If you have such a system and your unit does not now have a current flaw map, make one at your earliest convenience, you'll save yourself a lot of grief and time later. All Winchesters shipped from the repair center will be shipped with an accompanying map, it's up to you to make sure that it can be used as a viable tool. A good format and surface analysis is absolutely essential for reliable operation of the disk unit in the future. With this thought in mind, I would like to make the following recommendations: * Disk units must have a flaw map when shipped. The list should include the original munufacturer's list, as well as the flaw map, as printed by the DUTIL program. * Never format a drive unless necessary. You can determine this by running the Disk diagnostics, concentrating on the seek tests and using read only option. Run the read only utility verify option with ECC off to detect possible soft errors. * If the disk's flaw map is inadvertently lost, a printout of the defect list can still be obtained by selecting printer command OPTION SP or OPTION LP while running under DUTIL, and then displaying the defect list. * If the drive has been formatted before and the service representative wishes to reformat, always use opeion #5 (Update Defect Map). Use option #4 (Format, no Surface Analysis, Defect Mapping) only if Update Defect map fails. Below are listed the various DUTIL options available, recommended procedures for using them and a concise explanation of what they do. OPTION: 1. Format, surface analysis, defect mapping - Use this option to first format a disk unit as if there were no defects, then perform a surface analysis with hardware ECC and retries disabled. After surface analysis, the manufacturing defects are entered by the user. The surface analysis results are merged with the manufacturing defects to form a more complete defect list. (Use this option when no defects are known to exist, or when the defect list is lost.) NOTE: OPTION 1 is the only formatting option which will do two formats of the disk; the first without defects, the second with the defect list just created. 2. Format only, no defect mapping - This is the QUICK format. Use DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB001 Pg001 this option when NO defects are desired, or none are to be mapped out. 3. Surface analysis, report results - Surface analysis specifically for use after formatting. This analysis WILL DESTROY DATA on the disk. Use this option after the LAST formatting option is complete to insure no further soft errors exist. If defects are found by this option, rerun option #5 to add new defects to flaw map. 4. Format, no surface analysis, defect mapping = This format option is intended to permit the user to enter known defects. This option does NOT use a previously saved defect list, it is intended primarily to manually enter defects. Option #3 should normally be run after this to insure that no additional defects exist. 5. Update defect map - This option is used to add a new defect to the existing defect list created by a previous format. Option #3 should have been run prior to this option. Error log information saved by the operating system is also an excellent source of intermittent bad spots. This option is the ONLY time when the saved defect list is used. Use this option to reformat the disk unit with the old (original) defect list. To do this, simply carriage return when prompted for defects. If no saved defect list exists, and no defects are entered, this option informs the user and no formatting will be done. 6. Change disk label - This option only changes the disk label in the superblock. The re-write operation will either take place immediately or during the next formatting process, at the user's option. If the choice is immediate, DUTIL will create a default label; if the choice is during formatting, the label can be user-defined. 7. Read Maxtor defects from disk - For Maxtor disk units which have never been formatted under DUTIL, only. Defect list written on the drive by the manufacturer may be optionally re-written for later DUTIL use by the user. This eliminates the necessity to manually enter all defects. Do not select this option if drive has previously been formatted by DUTIL. To check, use the read-only utilities menu and read defect list. To determine what to do and when, use the following parameters: CONDITION ACTION Never before formatted Maxtor Option 7 Never before formatted NON-Maxtor drive Option 4, then Option 3 and defects are known Never before formatted NON-Maxtor drive Option 1 and NO defects are expected or list is lost Drive has been formatted before Option 5, then Option 3 When defect list on disk is corrupted Option 4, (Enter all defects), then Option 3, then Option 5 if new defects are found Add a new defect to an existing list Option 5 Reformat using existing list as a normal Option 5, (Enter C/R to "defect DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB001 Pg002 maintenance procedure entry promp" in order to use old list) then Option 3, then Option 5 if new defects are located. To test format and data reliability Option #1, read-only utilities The suggested number of surface analysis pattern for you to use is: AS MANY AS TIME WILL ALLOW... The more patterns selected, the more thorough the analysis, and the more reliably the unit will operate. ORIGINATOR: PETE KOEHLER DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB001 Pg003 FIB 00002 03/25/87 *** How to run "dutil" on the 3rd and 4th Winchester disks *** At the time the system gives you the "dutil" prompt enter the following: wdc 1 This will select the 2nd controller, drives 0 and 1 for diagnostic activity. ORIGINATOR: W. LUSSMIER DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB002 Pg001 FIB 00003 07/07/87 *** New release of 7.2B diagnostics for the 2000 system available *** New diagnostics, 7.2B plus, are now available. This is the required level for testing the MT-4406 on the MAI 2000. This new release will be sent with all new MAI 2000 shipments. The following should be noted: 1. When running the MCS diagnostics use the command 'init' before typing 'run'. Example: init run Failure to do this will cause write protected errors after test #5. 2. A minimum of 2 memory boards (512K) is required to perform: A. The LAN logic test. B. The MCS logic test. C. The MTS logic test. D. The SIT test. 3. AUTO test mode ends up with an address error after the DISK logic test. 4. The SIT diagnostics gets a buffer compare error on the 1/2 inch tape streamer (MTS). The LAN test (ln00) either hangs the system or goes into DEBUG. 5. Disk logic test #25 (Start/Stop Unit Test) gets a 1C error code with an 85MB drive. 6. The SIT console is always on SCC0 regardless of where the NVRAM console parameter is set. This new version also contains additions to some of the menu selection. ORIGINATOR: C. Figueroa DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB003 Pg001 FIB 00004 08/19/87 *** Maxtor disk fails on diagnostic test 25 with 1C error *** There is a software bug in the 2000/3000 disk diagnostic test 25. The problem only shows up when running on Maxtor drives. Test 25, "start/stop test" will show an error code of 1C. This problem exists on diagnostics releases 7.2B plus, 7.2C and 7.2D. The error will be fixed in release 7.3. ORIGINATOR: H. MITCHELL DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB004 Pg001 FIB 00005 11/12/87 *** Third 8-way fails on 7.2D Eway diagnostics *** SYMPTOM: Logic test EWAY fails while running the third 8-way (number 2) on test 13, system drops into MDS, using level 7.2D diagnostics. PROBLEM DETERMINATION: This is a diagnostics failure, switch 8-ways 0 & 1 with 2 & 3, if the test fails the same way the hardware is not at fault. FIX: Level 7.3 diagnostics work properly. ORIGINATOR: N. Jones DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB005 Pg001 FIB 00006 02/26/89 *** CMB Parity ERR While Moving EXEC to 6000 on 2000 Sys *** SYMPTOM: When running the memory diagnostics on 2000 system with all released diagnostics, the system will get a CMB parity error when the VDT displays "MOVING EXEC TO 6000". PROBLEM DETERMINATION: This is a known software bug in release 7.3 diagnostics through 7.5B diagnostics. FIX: Ignore this error. ORIGINATOR: H. Mitchell/R. Kent DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB006 Pg001 FIB 00007 03/09/88 *** Bug in 7.2C & 7.2D1 Diag.Tape when running MMU Test *** There seems to be a bug on the 7.2D1 diagnostic tape when running MMU Test #2 with a 3000 system... The screen will scroll with data mis- compare errors. MMU diagnostics at level 7.2C also fail test 2. With a 7.3A Diagnostic tape the test runs correctly indicating there is nothing wrong with the PMMU on the CMB. On a cold boot SELF TEST did run correctly under both 7.2 and 7.3 OS Levels, however when you select the MMU Test under a disk diagnostic boot OR a tape diagnostic boot it will fail only under 7.2 This was verified on a second system. ORIGINATOR: Kim Yaworsky DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB007 Pg001 FIB 00008 03/09/88 *** Bug in 7.3A SIT Diagnostic on Parallel Printer Port *** SYMPTOM/TEXT: There seems to be a bug with the 7.3A diagnostic tape when you run the SIT test. When you load the SIT test it autosizes all devices on the system. The parallel printer port (port 2 on CMB) should come up the same as any other port on the test and say 'RUNNABLE' (ASSUMING YOU HAVE A PARALLEL PRINTER ATTACHED..) It will say 'runnable' for any parallel printer attached ON A COLD BOOT (system powered off then on).. It will also work when booted from the diagnostic partition on the disk from a COLD BOOT. On a WARM START with a 150/300 lpm Printronix/MAI Basic Four printer, port 2 on the cmb will say device failed, and will fail on every subsequent WARM BOOT. If you power down and do a cold boot it will be 'runnable' again. I tested a DMP and a CITIZEN parallel printer on both a cold AND warm boot and they both tested fine.. THE PROBLEM IS ONLY WITH THE 150/300 LPM PRINTER. This only occurs on 7.3a diag tape. On 7.2d the parallel port is not recognized. ORIGINATOR: Kim Yaworsky DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB008 Pg001 FIB 00009 12/19/88 *** Warnings & cautions for 7.3A & 7.4B Diagnostics [ WPSF 449A ] *** MAI 2000 PROBLEM: memory> Moving exec to: 6000 A System Memory Parity Error Was Detected !! CMB Parity Error Register Contents: E0 SOLUTION: This is a problem with the diagnostics test, not the system. If you let the test complete, it will report: 0 Errors Detected You will see this with both 7.3A*12 and 7.4A*27 diagnostics release. This will be fixed on a future release. (SPR #515906) PROBLEM: exec> When installing diagnostics on the hard disk an "error:4000" is displayed at the end of the install. SOLUTION: Ignore error. When you get this error the install is completed. This problem was encountered on both diagnostics 7.3A*12 and 7.4A*27. You will see this error on the MAI 2000 only. This will be fixed on a future release. (SPR #516846) MAI 3000/4000 PROBLEM: sit> When loading the SIT diagnostics the system goes into a halt (amber led on the CMB lights up). SOLUTION: This will only happen when the system has 1MB of memory on 7.3A*12 and 2MB of memory or less on 7.4A*27. In order to run SIT, you need 2MB of memory or more for the 7.3A*12 diagnostics and 3MB of memory or more for the 7.4A*27 diagnostics. This will be fixed on a future release. (SPR #515341) PROBLEM: sit> While running sit, if a parity error is encountered on a port, sit will fail (may drop into mds prompt). Since sit has no way of knowing what is conected to each port (or how the port is set up) its defaults may very well be different from what is there, with the probability that there will be parity errors encountered. SOLUTION: Disconnect all serial device cables to check the system DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB009 Pg001 hardware if failures occur. PROBLEM: eway> Test 12 (bus error test) fails (may be an intermittant failure which varies with the amount of memory), this is a diagnostic failure which should be ignored. SOLUTION: If it is desired to test all of the controllers (or the complete system) remove memory to =< 4 meg, this test will probably not fail in this configuration. PROBLEM: mds> When running the Micro Diagnostics System with 1 controller in the stack. You might get an UNEXPECTED INTERRUPT: 002C on the DMA Bus Error Test. SOLUTION: This is a hardware error on the CMB, caused by time-outs. ECN is been worked on to correct this problem. PROBLEM: sit> When an error is encountered while SIT is running, any key entry at the error message prompt will deselect that task from the run list. In addition, the line item in the news display is deselected from the news display. SOLUTION: If you get an error, take note of which device or controller had the error and run that particular device or contrller test. This error is encountered on all systems. This will be fixed on a future release. (SPR #516338) PROBLEM: cache> Logic test fails tests 1 and 4 with clock option enabled. SOLUTION: The superfluous spaces at the CACHE prompt have no effect to the USER or test. This will be fixed on a future release. (SPR #515342) PROBLEM: cache> The CACHE logic test prompt has superfluous spaces preceeding itself when displayed. SOLUTION: This will be fixed on a future release. (SPR #515343) PROBLEM: DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB009 Pg002 cmb> When loading the CMB logic test from tape with 7.3A*12 on the 3000 system only, it will say `file not found'. But if it is installed from the disk file it will load fine. SOLUTION: Already fixed on 7.4A*27. PROBLEM: Some 7.4A diagnostics were shipped indicating *24 on the label, when in actuality is a *27 (released version). SOLUTION: 1. Load tape. 2. At the `exec' prompt type: ltape 3. Diagnostics Level and Programs will be displayed on the screen. If you have the *24 tape, you should contact the local branch so they can order and replace it with the released version. ORIGINATOR: Carlos Fiqueroa/N. Jones DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB009 Pg003 FIB 00010 02/07/89 *** How to Run BASS Diagnostics on SPX Systems *** Ensure that the EBA files are installed on the system, this is usually done during the O/S installation/upgrade. If these files are not on the system, they can be installed from the O/S tape using the " install cs " command. To run BASS Diagnostics enter the following commands starting from the ADMIN prompt: ADMIN> cd /sys/bass ADMIN> basic > START 128 > RUN "BASS" To exit BASS use the escape key until you reach the BASIC prompt, then enter RELEASE. These diagnostics can be very useful for testing printers, and tape drives with the system ON-LINE. ORIGINATOR: B. Matthews DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB010 Pg001 FIB 00011 07/27/89 *** Unexpected Interrupt 2C Occurs in MCS Logic Test [ WPSF 449-18 *** PROBLEM: A problem has been reported when loading the 7.4B MCS logic test on the SPX system. The error reads: "UNEXPECTED INTERRUPT 2C" SOLUTION: The error was found to be a timing problem. To correct this condition the timing has to be delayed. The following is the rework instructions (ECN #13535). o Board to be reworked: 903631-003 PCBA 32 bit CMB o Rework all assemblies built on detail 905296-001 o Remove 120 ohm resistor at location R-46 o Change revision letter to: W ORIGINATOR: C. Figueroa DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB011 Pg001 FIB 00012 02/20/90 *** Error Log Reporting Notes *** 1. Only 10% of the errorlog is reserved for terminal errors. This is to prevent important errors--i.e. disk, CMB, memory--from being overwritten by terminal errors which happen much more often. If you take the default (100 records), only 10 records will be allocated for terminal errors. 2. If you get many errors (in the millions), in the cronological log, the error count in the summary log may not equal the cronological log count, the summary count gets reset after a certain number of errors. ORIGINATOR: Pete Dobrow DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB012 Pg001 FIB 00013 02/22/90 *** 7.5B Diagnostics History [ WPSF 598 ] *** Since the release of 7.5B there have been 4 releases of diagnostics to the field. The first level was 7.5B*05 and currently 7.5B*08 is being sent to the field. The following is a history of the changes to diagnostics from *05 to *08. The first four items are overall changes to the diagnostics. 1) The diagnostics partition must be initialized, using sbinit because the partition size must be increased to 2000. 2) The directory structure of diagnostics has changed which also requires the initialization of the diagnostic partition using sbinit. If the diagnostic partition size has been increased it is not necessary to do the sbinit again. 3) A full backup should be done before using sbinit. Data may be lost and/or the operating system may need to be reinstalled. 4) When the diagnostics are being installed, a message will display 'Delete old copy?'. Reply "no", because the file was installed earlier in the procedure. Fixed on *08: EXEC If a SCSI drive (280MB or 380MB) is the primary drive, after the CACHE Logic test has been run, a listing of the diagnostic directory will cause a disk error. DCS Fixed an operation with 280 MB disk drive. MTS Added support for High Capicity Cartridge. MTSFS Added support for High Capicity Cartridge. SIT Fixed 'dev fail' when running sit on 280 MB disk. Fixed on *07: EXEC If the ALL option of AUTO was used, the SCSI disk tests never loaded DSC and no devices were found. The 'help' command lists 'ldiskn' twice in the directory. DSC DSC Logic test 25, "Read SCSI Device Buffer", hangs the system. In *07 it no longer hangs the system. DSC Logic test 33 VERIFY fails with writeok option. Error message is Illegal Request2 Sense data from check status E39C 16 Fixed on *06: EXEC Modified to support the Maxtor 280 MB SCSI disk drive. DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB013 Pg001 DSC The DSC Logic Test was modified to support the Maxtor 280 MB SCSI disk drive. CAUTION: There is a deficiency on the *5,6 & 7 diagnostics in the CACHE Logic Test when SCSI hard disks are the primary disk of the 2500/3000/4000 systems. If the CACHE Logic Test 5 is run, a disk error will occur if a listing of the contents of the disk is run or a file is loaded. This problem may be worked around by rebooting diagnostics. ORIGINATOR: Dan Arteritano DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB013 Pg002 FIB 00014 02/22/90 *** 7.5B Diagnostics fail to Boot on a 2000 System [ WPSF 598-1 ] *** PROBLEM: Diagnostics will not boot from disk on a 2000 with 7.5B. The error which appears is "/sys/diag is not contiguous". The file must be contiguous for it to boot from the disk. WORKAROUND: After doing an osinstall or osupdate, immediately do the following steps while rooted to the BOOT partition: Enter: copy /sys/diag /sys/diag1 Enter: copy /sys/diag1 /sys/diag -c This makes it contiguous. Enter: delete /sys/diag1 Now you will be able to boot diagnostics from disk on the 2000 with 7.5B. ORIGINATOR: Dan Arteritano DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB014 Pg001 FIB 00015 02/22/90 *** Delete Diagnostics from Disk if no License Agreement [ WPSF 598-2 ] *** Customers in the U.S., using 7.5B and above are required to sign a License Agreement for diagnostics. If they have not signed an agreement, service is required to delete diagnostics from the disk. In the 7.5B Software Announcement, # 167 it recommends reformatting the drive; this will not be necessary. To disable diagnostics that boot from disk, do the following steps: Enter 2 at the boot message (CTRL-C on 2000) Press at "Boot Device" Enter diag at "System File" (Enter "/sys/diag" for the 2000) Enter l at the "" prompt, to display the contents of the diagnostic partition Enter dinit at the "" prompt, to to delete all contents of the diagnostic partition Enter y at the "Destroy: diags (y/n)?" prompt, (where 'diags' was the name assigned when the diagnostic partition was created Enter a new name at the "Disk Name:" prompt The system displays "Initializing: diags" Enter l at the "" prompt, no items display Enter: shut now you may shutdown or reboot the system. The diagnostic partition is now empty but will remain on the system. Diagnostics can be reinstalled later if desired. ORIGINATOR: Dan Arteritano DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB015 Pg001 FIB 00016 04/30/90 *** Problems Running SCC (Serial Comm. Cont.) Diagnostic on 7.5B Diags *** SYMPTOM/TEXT: SCC diagnostic appears to have some problems.. The TESTS option do not seem to apply to this diagnostic...In order to run the external loopback portion (tests 10 and/or 11) the OPTIONS MANUAL command must be used at the SCC prompt..All tests will then be run... If no loopback plug is available test 10 will error and the A (abort) will jump to test 11. Test 11 APPEARS to run error free with a modem hooked up in analog loopback, unfortunatly switching the modem to data mode still gives no error indication as well AS POWERING IT OFF!!! Apparently test 11 doesn't error under any circumstances! This problem was observed on a 2000 system, it is unknown (although highly likely) if the same condition exists on other SPx systems. ORIGINATOR: Ken Fortin DIAGNOSTICS-BASIC FOUR-2000/3000/4000 SYSTEMS-------FIB016 Pg001