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Help AIX 3.2.4 ! Boot problems

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skiddy

Technical User
Aug 3, 2000
16
AU
I am trying to recover an RS/6000 380 (Ugh!). It is running AIX 3.2.4 and I have attempted to boot from the release media and diskettes created on the live system but none of them seem to boot. The system does the POST checks and continues to the 299 LED before blanking the display and that is as far as it gets. Can anyone remember if the 3.2.4 release of media was bootable and if so why will neither media boot, or does anyone have a set of bootable diskettes at 3.2.4 that I could borrow or download any images ? The other methods of recovery that I have tried are to boot from AIX 3.2.5 which works but then when the system tries to do the bosboot -a -d command it fails with an error about copying the CuDt and PuDt (I think that is right ?) files into the ODM which renders the system unbootable.
 
299 = IPL ROM passed control to the loaded program code.
Are you sure that it has hung at this ? Is it not still reading the media ?
 
Yes I left it running overnight but the system had not booted by the following morning.
 
Hi Skiddy,

Well - it's not quite as old as an RT/6150 and AIX v2 - but nearly.

Anyway, the way I used to approach an LED of 299 was as follows, or at least as far as I can remember, but you will need the bosboot install/maintenance diskettes, and unfortunately I don't have any these days.

There is probably one or both of the following files missing:
/unix
/bootrec
Boot the machine from the bosboot install/maintenance diskettes and select option 5 for install/maint. mode.
Run getrootfs hdisk0
Restore these files from a diskette backed up from a similar system. (if you have one)
A restore of these files from a system image won't work as you are not able to define the tape drive to the system under install mode.
Re-ipl the system in normal mode.
If you cannot get a backup of these files, or you don't have a system backup then you may have to consider a rebuild.

Alternatively, if the system crashed with an 888-103-203-299 on the LED this is probably due to lost (or deleted) boot logical volume. (hd5)
If this is the case then a different procedure is required. Reply to this thread to let me know and I will indicate the procedure I used to use.

good luck.
DaveN.



 
Yes even I remember the RT/6150 running version 2 AIX. That was the first AIX I used. Currently due to time constraints on recovery of the 3.2.4 machine I have had to abandon the standard recovery. What I have had to do is to build the system as 3.2.5 and selectivly restore the files to run their Pick operating system I am at a point of restoring their data but require licence activation on a system that is 11 years old is proving a challenge ! I will try and do the recovery that you have sugested oncd I have completed this way of recovery and the application has been tested.
 
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