Digital Equipment MicroVAX 3100 85 Guide

MicroVAX3100
Model85/95/96
TroubleshootingandDiagnostic
Information
Order Number: EK–A0719–TM. C01
DATE 1995
This manual describes the troubleshooting procedures and diagnostic
commands that you can use to solve basic problems with the
MicroVAX 3100 Model 85, Model 95, and Model 96 systems.
Revision Information: This manual supersedes
EK–A0719–TM. B01
Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

DATE 1995
Digital Equipment Corporation makes no representations that the use of its products in the
manner described in this publication will not infringe on existing or future patent rights, nor do
the descriptions contained in this publication imply the granting of licenses to make, use, or sell
equipment or software in accordance with the description.
Possession, use, or copying of the software described in this publication is authorized only pursuant
to a valid written license from Digital or an authorized sublicensor.
FCC NOTICE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications.
Any changes or modifications made to this equipment may void the user’s authority to operate this
equipment.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area may cause interference in which case the user
at his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the
interference.
© Digital Equipment Corporation 1994. All Rights Reserved.
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All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
S2811
This document was prepared using VAX DOCUMENT Version 2.1.

Contents
Preface ................................................ v
1 Troubleshooting and Diagnosing Problems
1.1 Troubleshooting . . ............................... 1–1
1.2 Using the Troubleshooting Table .................... 1–2
1.3 Diagnostic Tests and Commands .................... 1–9
1.3.1 Power-Up Tests .............................. 1–10
1.3.2 Diagnostic Tests and Utilities ................... 1–13
1.3.3 Power-Up Error Messages ...................... 1–18
1.3.4 Configuration Display . . ....................... 1–22
1.3.5 Error Display . ............................... 1–24
1.4 Contacting Digital Services . ....................... 1–25
Index
Examples
1–1 SYNC Test Failure ............................ 1–18
1–2 Memory_Setup_CSRs Test Failure . ............... 1–19
1–3 Memory_Count_Pages Test Failure ............... 1–20
1–4 No_Memory_Present Test Failure . ............... 1–21
iii

Figures
1–1 Diagnostic Tests .............................. 1–13
1–2 Status LED Display ........................... 1–26
Tables
1–1 Basic Troubleshooting . . ....................... 1–3
1–2 Option Card Tests ............................ 1–15
1–3 MicroVAX 4000-100A/105A Tests . . ............... 1–16
iv

Preface
This manual describes the troubleshooting procedures and diagnostic commands
that you can use to solve basic problems with the MicroVAX™ 3100 Model 85,
Model 95, and Model 96 systems.
Audience
This manual is intended for people who have some experience with computers.
Structure of This Manual
This manual presents the information you need for solving basic problems with
the MicroVAX 3100 Model 85/95/96 system in one chapter. Use the sections in
the order presented, starting with Section 1.1, Troubleshooting, when solving
a problem with your system. You can follow up with diagnostic testing or by
contacting Digital services for support as described in Section 1.3 and Section 1.4.
Additional Information
See the MicroVAX 3100 Model 85/95/96 Operator Information manual for the
list of related documents.
v

Conventions
The following conventions are used in this manual:
Convention Description
MONOSPACE type Text displayed on the screen is shown in monospace type.
italic type Italic type emphasizes important information and indicates the
complete titles of manuals.
Note A note contains information that is of special importance to the
user.
Warning A warning contains information to prevent personal injury.
vi

1
Troubleshooting and Diagnosing
Problems
This chapter describes the troubleshooting procedures and diagnostic commands
that you can use to solve basic problems with the MicroVAX 3100 Model 85,
Model 95, and Model 96 systems. It contains information on the following:
• Troubleshooting
• Diagnostic tests and commands
• Contacting Digital™ services
It also lists the information that you must give to your Digital services
representative and where to find this information.
1.1 Troubleshooting
If a problem occurs, you must first make sure that all the cables, loopback
connectors, and terminators are correctly connected and that the connectors are
not damaged, for example, the pins may be broken or short-circuited.
Follow these steps:
1. Shut down the operating system by following the procedures described in the
operating system documentation.
2. Turn off the console terminal and all the peripheral devices, such as printers
and modems.
3. Turn off all the expansion boxes.
4. Turn off the system unit.
5. Check that the following cables, if installed, are correctly connected at both
ends and that the connectors are not damaged:
• Console terminal cable (linking the console terminal to the system unit)
• Console terminal power cord
Troubleshooting and Diagnosing Problems 1–1

• System unit power cord
• Expansion box SCSI cables
• Expansion box power cords
• ThinWire™ Ethernet cable or standard Ethernet cable
6. Check that the following terminators, if installed, are correctly connected and
are not damaged:
• SCSI terminators
• ThinWire Ethernet terminator (T-connector and two terminators)
• Standard Ethernet loopback connector
If you have correctly followed steps 1 to 5, the on/off switches on all the
components are set to the off (O) position, and you have solved any problems
caused by incorrectly connected cables or terminators.
7. Set the on/off switches on the following equipment to the on (|) position in
the following order:
a. Expansion boxes
b. Peripherals
c. Console terminal
d. System unit
The system responds with the power-up test display. If it does not, see
Section 1.2.
1.2 Using the Troubleshooting Table
Table 1–1 suggests the corrective actions for certain system problems. If you have
a problem with the system, follow these steps:
1. Write down the symptoms of the problem.
2. Check the Symptom column in Table 1–1 for a match.
3. Check the causes of the symptom in the Possible Cause column. If the
column lists more than one possible cause, check the possible causes and
their suggested solutions in the order listed.
4. Follow the advice in the Suggested Solution column.
5. See Section 1.4 if the problem persists.
1–2 Troubleshooting and Diagnosing Problems

Table 1–1 Basic Troubleshooting
Symptom Possible Cause Suggested Solution
System Problems
The system unit fan is
off or the power light is
off.
The power cord is not
connected. The power
cord may be faulty. The
power socket may not
be working. The system
breaker or wall outlet
may have blown.
Make sure that all the power cords
are connected correctly at both
ends. Try a known good power cord
or test the power socket with an
appliance that works.
The overload protection
circuitry of the power
supply may have shut
down because of an
abnormal condition on
the power line.
Turn the system off and then turn
it back on.
The power supply unit
(PSU) is faulty. Contact your Digital services representative.
The power-up display
does not show after 20
seconds.
The terminal cable is
not correctly connected. Make sure that all the cables are connected at both ends.
The terminal cable is
not connected to the
correct MMJ port.
Check the MMJ port to which the
terminal cable is connected. If this
port is not MMJ port 3, remove the
terminal cable and connect it to
MMJ port 3.
The power cord is not
connected. The power
cord may be faulty. The
wall outlet may not be
working.
Make sure that all the power cords
are connected correctly at both
ends. Try a known good power cord
or test the power socket with an
appliance that works.
The terminal fuse may
have blown. Replace the blown terminal fuse. See the terminal documentation.
The terminal settings
may be incorrect. See the MicroVAX 3100 Model 85/95/96 Operator Information
manual for the list of correct
terminal settings. See the terminal
documentation for information on
how to set up the terminal.
(continued on next page)
Troubleshooting and Diagnosing Problems 1–3

Table 1–1 (Cont.) Basic Troubleshooting
Symptom Possible Cause Suggested Solution
System Problems
The port to which the
terminal connects may
be faulty.
Try connecting the terminal to
another system. If this solution
works, the port to which the
terminal was connected is faulty.
If the terminal still does not
operate, it is faulty. In either
case, contact your Digital services
representative.
The terminal cable may
be faulty. Connect the terminal cable and the terminal to another system.
If the connected terminal works,
the DZ circuitry or MMJ connector
is faulty. Otherwise, the cable
is faulty. Contact your Digital
services representative.
The power-up display
contains question marks. A diagnostic error has occurred. See Section 1.4.
The power-up test
display contains
unexpected characters.
The terminal settings
are incorrect or the DZ
circuitry is faulty.
Make sure the terminal settings
are correct, then run the power-
up test again. If the terminal is
set correctly, contact your Digital
services representative.
The system fails to boot
the operating system. The system defaults are incorrectly set. Set the system defaults as described in the OpenVMS
Factory Installed Software User
Information document, then try
to boot the system again. If
the system still fails to boot,
contact your Digital services
representative.
(continued on next page)
1–4 Troubleshooting and Diagnosing Problems