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Sun Enterprise 250 Server Owner's Guide

How to Use POST Diagnostics

When you turn on the system power, POST diagnostics run automatically if any of the following conditions apply:

In the event of an automatic system reset, POST diagnostics run under either of the following conditions:

For information about the various keyswitch positions, see "About the Status and Control Panel".

Before You Begin

You can choose to view POST diagnostic and error messages locally on an attached terminal or remotely on an RSC console.

To view POST diagnostic messages on the local system, you need to connect an alphanumeric terminal or establish a tip connection to another Sun system. For more information, see "About Setting Up a Console".

To view POST diagnostic messages remotely on an RSC console, you need to configure the RSC software before starting POST. For information about using the RSC software, see the Remote System Control (RSC) User's Guide.

Note -

By default, POST output is displayed locally on an attached terminal or through a tip connection. If your server has been reconfigured to display POST output on an RSC console, POST results will not display locally. To redirect POST output to the local system, you must issue the OpenBoot PROM command diag-output-to ttya from the RSC console. See the Remote System Control (RSC) User's Guide for additional details.

You can choose to run an abbreviated POST with concise error and status reporting or run an extensive POST with more detailed messages. For more information, see "How to Set the Diagnostic Level for POST and OBDiag".

What to Do

  1. Ensure that the front panel keyswitch is in the Standby position.

    For descriptions of the various keyswitch settings, see "About the Status and Control Panel".

  2. Turn the keyswitch to the Diagnostics position.

    The system runs the POST diagnostics. POST displays status and error messages on the system console or on an RSC console, if the RSC software is configured to display POST output. For more information, see the "Results" section below.

    Upon successful completion of POST, the system will run OBDiag. For more information about OBDiag, see "About OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)" and "How to Use OpenBoot Diagnostics (OBDiag)".

Results

While POST is running, you can observe its progress and any error indications in the following locations:

You can also obtain a summary of POST results by using the .post and .rsc commands.

Observing POST in Progress

As POST runs, it displays detailed diagnostic status messages on the system console (or on an RSC console, if POST output has been redirected to an RSC console). If POST detects an error, it displays an error message on either the system console or the RSC console that indicates the failing part. A sample error message is provided below: 

Power On Self Test Failed. Cause: DIMM U0702 or System Board
ok

POST status and error conditions are indicated by the general fault LED on the system front panel. The LED blinks slowly to indicate that POST is running. It remains lit if POST detects a fault.

If a Sun Type-5 keyboard is attached, POST status and error indications are also displayed via the four LEDs on the keyboard. When POST starts, all four keyboard LEDs blink on and off simultaneously. After that, the Caps Lock LED blinks slowly to indicate POST is running. If an error is detected, the pattern of the lit LEDs provides an error indication. See "Error Indications" for more information.

If POST detects an error condition that prevents the system from booting, it will halt operation and display the ok prompt. The last message displayed by POST prior to the ok prompt indicates which part you need to replace.

Obtaining a Summary of POST Results

Use the .post command at the ok prompt to view a summary of POST results. 

ok .post
System status: OK
CPU0:          OK
CPU1:          OK
SC-MP:         OK
Psycho@1f:     OK
Cheerio:       OK
SCSI:          OK
Mem Bank0:     OK
Mem Bank1:     OK
Mem Bank2:     OK
Mem Bank3:     OK
PROM:          OK
NVRAM:         OK
TTY:           OK
SuperIO:       OK
PCI Slots:     OK

Use the .rsc command at the ok prompt to view a summary of SSP POST results. 

ok .rsc
SEEPROM:           OK
I2C:               OK
Ethernet:          OK
Ethernet (2):      OK
CPU:               OK
RAM:               OK
Console:           OK
RSC Console line:  OK
RSC Control line:  OK
FlashRAM Boot CRC: OK
FlashRAM Main CRC: OK
RSC Console Link:  OK
Console Selection: ttya