Newbie: AIX/Installation/p615 - scsi not bootable

[koelli]

Hi All,

i'm actually trying to install aix 5.2 on a new p615 with four scsi hard disks (2x36Gb,2x140Gb). the machine boots from cd without problems to the aix configuration menu. when i want to choose the target device it shows all four devices with correct id and size, but says that none of them is bootable.

does anyone know how to change the status/how to set hd0 active?

thx -- koelli

 

[bi]

Do you have the installation CDs? It sounds as if the OS hasn't been installed on this system. However, if you purchased the system from IBM rather than another vendor, that would be very odd that the OS isn't there.

Does the configuration menu have an option of installing the OS? Have you tried booting without the CD? There's a first boot trigger in /etc/inittab that brings up the configuration assistant that then allows you to finish the installation (set root password, networking options, etc.)

 

[koelli]

Hi bi,
first of all the machine is totally new and has never seen an os on any hd. I bought the machine without preinstalled aix because we have a campus license in our university.

However, I have the installation CDs here and they are bootable. The installation fails, because the configuration utility does not find a hd for the installation. As I pointed out above all drives were detected but set as not bootable.
A colleague suggests that I use an "outdated" revision (LCD4-1133-01) for the machine i.e. the drivers don't work?!?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[letis]

Hello Koelli,

could you tell us how the installation fails ?? When the installation program presents you the disks, do you have the opportunity to select one or several for installation (eg 0 + ENTER to put an arrow in front of the target disk), and then launch the installation, or it fails at another stage ??

regards

 

[koelli]

Hi letis,

when the installation program presents the disks I have the opportunity to select one for installation, but I can not inherit the changes because the HDs are not bootable:

>>> hdisk0 ... blabla .. 36Gb .. No No

i.e. I can not start the installation because I don't have a target device.

Thats my problem.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[letis]

re-,

a few more questions :

- when you write ">>> hdisk0 ... blabla .. 36Gb .. No No", this means that you have the >> sign in front of hdisk0 am I right ? and below, you have hdisk1 / 2 / 3 with no >> in front ? And below this table, do you have something like "88 to start the installation" or something like this ?

- when you boot on the AIX cdrom, and that you choose to review the installation settings, you have a choice screen which says something like "1 Method of installation...new and complete overwrite Target disk : hdisk0", is this the case ?

I ask you all these questions because as far as i know, the installation cd shouldn't care if the disk is bootable or not, this is its job to make the disk bootable by adding a boot logical volume on it )

regards,
johann

 

[koelli]

Hi johann,


No, in "1 Method of installation...new and complete overwrite" there is no target disk given: "Target disk : "

When I try to choose one you are right, I can see the >>> sign but I can not apply the changes.

It say that I have to choose a bootable disk to continue but all four disks are listed as not bootable ...

best, Marko

 

[koelli]

p.s. very crazy, I expected to run into problems with the installation of the compilers etc. but not at this point.

Now I'm sitting on this machine and can not do anything ...

 

[tekinept]

Need some more specifics on the drives and model type.
There is a possibility of a software driver problem, it has happened on some other systems.
this is a p615, is it a 70296c3?
Can you grab the FRUs from the drive?
there may even be a firmware issue here.
If you happen to have another version of AIX, that could be something helpfull to try out as well.

 

[koelli]

ok, first of all - thank you for your interest!

The FRUs of the drives are: hd0/hd1 00P3068, hd2/hd3 00P2665

When I go to the SMS I can see the SCSI adapters:
Type: Ultra-320 LocCode U0.1-P1/Z1 ID 7 MaxID 15
and Type: Ultra-320 LocCode U0.1-P1/Z2 ID 7 MaxID 15

when I select Boot Options
- select Install or Boot Device
-- List all Devices
--- Hard Drive
---- SCSI
----- select media adapter -> U0.1-P1/Z1
it says---> the selected devices are not detected in the system

The machine is model 6E3, Machine Type is 7029!

Actually I have only this OS version (see above)

The firmware information above does not look promising.

best, Marko

 

[letis]

can you check from the SMS the ROM level of the integrated SCSI adapter ? at the the following URL a microcode update exists fot this integrated device :

https://techsupport.services.ibm.com/server/mdownload//scsi0041.html

But if you never made a microcode update, read * carefuuullllyyy * the description file, if you don't feel concerned don't make update (possibly in last resort).

I would first suggest too to make a test with having just one disk in the system.

regards

 

[koelli]

I prefer to not update the firmware until every other possibility has been checked out.

The IBM FAQ says:

Question
Are the newly announced pSeries SCSI RAID adapters, feature codes = 5703 and 5711, bootable?
Answer
Yes, both feature codes 5703 and 5711 are bootable. The older SCSI RAID adapter, feature code 2498, was not bootable.

I'm using the 2498!!! Can this be the problem?

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docvie...1fq102886&loc=de_DE&cs=utf-8&cc=de&lang=de+en

thx, Marko

 

[letis]

Hmmm what do you think about this techdoc ?

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/FQ102693

it doesn't sound good (

 

[koelli]

not promising!

Actually my only chance seems to be the technical service. The hotline says it's a known problem and it's not from the os revision. I'm expecting the service on monday. grimmm!

I'll post the result. Thanks to all guys for help - have a nice weekend!

Marko

 

[Imchuys]

Koelli

Please do let us know what the resolution is. I too am facing this problem.

Jane

 

[tekinept]

This is the first I have ever heard of any scsi RAID cards being bootable.
This would definitely explain the problem you are experiencing. If you are using the 2498, then there is no way for you to use the drives as bootable.
May I suggest that you connect these drives to the onboard scsi, or at least the one you are looking to add to the rootvg.
Since your current config would not allow a raid5 (at least not at full capacity of the drives), why did you even buy it?

 

[koelli]

Hi All!

The newest revision of AIX 5.2 works!!!

Thanks to all,

koelli