C H A P T E R 3 |
Using Pc-Check Diagnostics Software |
This chapter assists you with using the Diagnostics application on the Tools and Drivers CD that is packaged with your system.
Diagnostic output is accessible on systems that are running supported Linux or Solaris operating systems. If you are having specific problems with your system, use the Pc-Check Diagnostics software to diagnose and resolve these issues.
The following sections are included in this chapter:
Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 server diagnostics are contained in the DOS-based Pc-Check utility. This program can be accessed and executed only from the Tools and Drivers CD. Pc-Check was designed to detect and test all motherboard components, ports, and slots.
If you encounter any hardware-related error message (such as memory errors or hard disk errors) on your server, run one of the following:
The following procedure describes how to access these test options from the Tools and Drivers CD.
Do one of the following, depending on which method you are using to access the Pc-Check diagnostics software:
a. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into your DVD drive and reboot the system.
b. Type 1 to run the hardware diagnostics software.
a. Select Remote Control -> Diagnostic tab.
b. Select one of the following:
Refer to the Integrated Lights Out Manager 2.0 User’s Guide for more information on using the ILOM web interface.
The system boots to the Pc-Check main menu.
The system information loads, the Diagnostics main menu opens, and the following menu options are displayed:
To run a specific hardware component test, select "Advanced Diagnostics Test." To run one of the test scripts supplied by Sun, select "Immediate Burn-in Testing."
Navigate through the menu items by pressing the arrow keys to move to a menu selection. Use the Enter key to select a menu selection, and the ESC key to exit a menu. Navigation instructions are shown at the bottom of each screen.
The following sections in this chapter describe the menu items and tests in detail.
TABLE 3-1 describes each option in the System Information menu.
TABLE 3-2 gives the name and a brief description of each option in the Advanced Diagnostics Tests menu.
Details information about the processor, and includes a Processor Tests menu to test the processor on the system. |
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Details information about the memory, and includes a Memory Tests menu to test the memory on the system. Also lists each type of memory in the system, such as system, cache, or video memory. |
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Details information about the motherboard, and includes a Motherboard Tests menu to test the motherboard on the system. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Details information about the hard disk, and includes a Hard Disk Tests menu to test hard disks on the system. Refer to Testing the Hard Disk, for detailed information about testing hard disks and script information. |
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Includes a CD-ROM/DVD menu to test DVD devices on the system. |
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Details information about devices attached to the IDE controllers on the system other than a DVD or hard disks (for example, zip drives). |
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Details information about the serial port, and includes a Serial Ports Tests menu to test serial ports on the system. Note: In order for the Serial Port test to pass, the COM1 entry in the BIOS Setup Screen must be set to "System". The use of a serial port Loopback connector might also be required. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Details information about the USB devices on the system, and includes a USB Tests menu to test the USB. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Includes a Keyboard Test menu with options for performing different tests on the keyboard. |
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Details information about the mouse, and includes a menu to test the mouse on the system. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Details information about the video card. Initially, the monitor might flicker, but then it brings up a Video Test Options menu that enables you to perform various video tests. |
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Not relevant to the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers. |
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Details information about Advanced Configurable Power Interface (ACPI), and includes an ACPI Tests menu to test ACPI. |
1. From the main menu, choose Advanced Diagnostics Tests.
2. From the Advanced Diagnostics menu, choose Hard Disks.
3. From the Select Drive menu, choose the hard disk you are testing.
The Hard Disk Diagnostics window opens, showing both the information for the hard disk you have selected and the Hard Disk Tests menu.
The Hard Disk Tests menu displays the following options:
The Media Test options include the Read Test, the Read Verify Test, the Non-Destructive Write Test, and the Destructive Write Test. These tests are relevant to testing the media associated with the hard drive hardware, such as the physical disk.
Caution - Running the Destructive Write Test destroys any data that is on the disk. |
The Device Test options include the Mechanics Stress Test and the Internal Cache Test. These tests are relevant to testing non-media-related devices associated with the hard drive hardware, such as the head and internal cache.
In addition to choosing any of these tests, you can also define several parameters of the test.
You can change the parameters within the Test Settings option. Your options within Test Settings include the following:
Enables you to select the test time duration, the percentage of the hard disk to test, and the sectors to be tested on the hard disk.
Enables you to select the test time durations of the devices and the test level.
Enables you to select the number of times to retry testing a device before terminating the test.
Enables you to select the number of errors allowed before terminating the test.
SMART stands for Smart Monitoring Analysis Reporting Test.
HPA stands for Host Protected Area.
The Immediate Burn-in Testing option enables you to run burn-in test scripts on your server.
This section includes the following topics:
Three scripts have already been created for testing your system:
Tip - Each of these scripts tests the operating status of your entire system. If you want to test only a certain percentage of your system’s hard drives, refer to Testing the Hard Disk to change the test options. |
When you select the Immediate Burn-in Testing menu option, the Continuous Burn-in Testing window is displayed. The screen includes the list of options shown in TABLE 3-3 for running the tests. When a quick.tst, noinput.tst, or full.tst script is loaded, the defaults indicated in the third column are automatically loaded.
There are also a number of tests that can be performed on individual components. Each test is a continuous loop that last for 6 minutes.
The following scripts are available for testing specific components:
Note: the actual hard disk test by default last 10 minutes.
To load one of the scripts available to test the devices on your system, do the following:
From the main menu, choose Immediate Burn-in Testing.
The top portion of the window lists the options described in TABLE 3-3, and the bottom portion of the window lists the following Burn-in menu options:
To use a pre-written test: Enter one of the following: quick.tst, noinput.tst, or full.tst
To use a script that you have created and saved: enter d:\testname.tst, where testname is the name of the script that you have created.
To save a burn-in script that you have created, enter d:\testname.tst, where testname is the name of the script that you have created.
Opens the Burn-in Options menu, which enables you to modify the various options listed in TABLE 3-3 for the currently loaded test script.
Opens a listing of the tests available for your server configuration and the currently loaded test script.
Runs the currently loaded burn-in test script.
Tip - The memory tests in Pc-Check detect single-bit ECC failures and report them down to an individual DIMM. |
You can use the Deferred Burn-in Testing option to create and save your own scripts to run at a later time.
From the main menu, choose Deferred Burn-in Testing.
The top portion of the window lists the options described in TABLE 3-3, and the bottom portion of the window lists the following Burn-in menu options:
To use a pre-written test: Enter one of the following: quick.tst, noinput.tst, or full.tst
To use a script that you have created and saved: enter d:\testname.tst, where testname is the name of the script that you have created.
To save a burn-in script that you have created, enter d:\testname.tst
Where testname is the name of the script that you have created.
Opens the Burn-in Options menu, which enables you to modify the various options listed in TABLE 3-3 for the currently loaded test script.
Opens a listing of all the possible types of tests available for you to run for the currently loaded test script.
The diagnostic partition is preinstalled on the server. You need to reinstall the diagnostic partition only if you have reformatted your hard drive. Using the Erase Primary Boot Hard Disk utility on the Tools and Drivers CD preserves the diagnostic partition.
The Create Diagnostic Partition option installs a diagnostic partition on the first bootable disk seen by the server. The first bootable disk is on the primary HDD device.
Note - If you are running the Pc-Check Diagnostics software from a PXE server, you do not need to follow the instructions in Appendix D. |
The following sections explain how to create and access the diagnostic partition on the server:
The Create Diagnostic Partition option creates a diagnostic partition on a hard disk only if that hard disk is completely free of any partitions. You need to delete any existing partitions from a hard disk if you plan to use the hard disk to create a diagnostic partition on it.
Caution - Removing all hard disk partitions destroys all data on the disk. |
There are two ways to remove existing partitions from the hard disk:
1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD tray.
3. From the Tools and Drivers CD main menu, type 3 to exit to DOS.
4. Type fdisk at the command prompt, and press the Enter key.
5. Type 4 to select an alternate fixed disk.
The second hard disk as seen from fdisk is the first bootable disk of the system. The first hard disk as seen from fdisk is the bootable Tools and Drivers CD.
Caution - When performing the following tests, be careful not to delete any operating system partitions that you want to keep. Removing hard disk partitions destroys all data on the disk. |
6. Type 2 to delete the DOS partition.
7. Type 1 or 2 depending on the type of partition you want to delete.
8. Type the number of the partition you want to delete.
9. Type Y to erase the data and the partition.
10. Repeat Step 6 through Step 9 until all partitions have been deleted.
11. Press the Esc key to exit, and press any key to reboot the server.
Pc-Check can view only the first or second hard disk on the system from the boot loader. The software automatically installs the diagnostic partition on the first bootable disk.
To add the diagnostic partition on the first bootable disk:
1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD tray.
3. At the Tools and Drivers CD main menu, type 1 to run Hardware Diagnostics.
4. From the main menu, choose Create Diagnostic Partition.
A window appears, stating, “Partitioning complete. Your machine will now be restarted.”
5. Press Enter to reboot your server.
All the scripts that are loadable with the hardware diagnostics software are predefined, with logging to the diagnostic partition enabled. The names of log files correspond to the name of the script. For example, a script named noinput.tst creates a log file named noinput.jrl.
The following procedure shows an example of how to create and access a log file on the diagnostic partition for the noinput.tst script.
1. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD tray.
3. From the Tools and Drivers CD main menu, choose 1 to run Hardware Diagnostics.
4. From the Hardware Diagnostics main menu, choose Immediate Burn-In Testing.
5. Select Load Burn-in Script.
6. Type noinput.tst and press Enter.
If you are using a test you have created yourself, you need to enter
d:\testname.tst into the Load Burn-in Script field, where testname is the name of the test you have created.
7. Select Perform Burn-in Tests to run the script.
8. When the tests are complete, press the Esc key to exit the Display Results window.
9. Select Exit to DOS and press Enter.
10. At the DOS prompt, type the following:
11. Type the following to list the contents of the diagnostic partition:
To access the diagnostic partition on a Red Had Linux system:
1. Remove the Tools and Drivers CD from the DVD tray.
2. Reboot the server and start the Red Hat Linux operating system.
3. Log in as root (superuser).
4. Determine if your diagnostic partition has been configured to be mounted by typing the following command:
5. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD tray.
6. When the CD is mounted, open a terminal window.
7. Type the following command:
# cd mountpoint/drivers/linux/linux_version
Where mountpoint is the CD mountpoint and linux_version is the version of Linux that you have installed. For example:
# cd /mnt/cdrom/drivers/linux/red_hat
8. Type the following to install the diagnostic partition:
The following lines appear if the diagnostic partition is mounted successfully:
10. Type the following command:
The contents of the diagnostic partition are listed.
To access the diagnostic partition on the Solaris 10 operating system (OS):
1. Remove the Tools and Drivers CD from the DVD tray.
2. Reboot the machine and start the Solaris 10 OS.
3. Log in as root (superuser).
4. Type the following command to determine if your diagnostic partition has been configured to be mounted:
5. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD tray.
6. When the CD is mounted, open a terminal window.
# cd /cdrom/cdrom0/drivers/sx86
8. Type the following to install the diagnostic partition:
The following lines appear if the diagnostic partition is mounted successfully:
10. Type the following command to list the contents of the diagnostic partition:
The Windows Server 2003 operating system (OS) does not allow you to mount a diagnostic partition. There is no way to view or gain access to the diagnostic partition if you are running Windows XP on the server.
The only way to retrieve the contents (log files) on the diagnostic partition is to attach a USB diskette drive to the server and complete the following procedure.
1. Connect the USB diskette drive to any USB port on the server.
2. Insert the Tools and Drivers CD into the DVD tray.
4. At the Tools and Drivers CD main menu, type 3 to exit to DOS.
5. Type the following at the DOS command prompt:
6. Copy the log file to the diskette.
For example, to copy a file named noinput.jrl to the diskette, type:
The journal file is now saved to the diskette in the USB diskette drive.
The summary lists the tests that were run and shows the results. Pass, Fail, or N/A is listed for each option.
The following is a complete listing of all options that are available with the Tools and Drivers CD. If your own system does not have all of these options, they might not be listed when the Show Results Summary is displayed.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the processor: Core Processor Tests, AMD 64-Bit Core Tests, Math Co-Processor Tests - Pentium Class FDIV and Pentium Class FIST, MMX Operation, 3DNow! Operation, SSE Instruction Set, SSE2 Instruction Set, and MP Symmetry.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the motherboard: DMA Controller Tests, System Timer Tests, Interrupt Test, Keyboard Controller Tests, PCI Bus Tests, and CMOS RAM/Clock Tests.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the various types of memory: Inversion Test Tree, Progressive Inv. Test, Chaotic Addressing Test, and Block Rotation Test.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the input device: Verify Device, Keyboard Repeat, and Keyboard LEDs.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the mouse: Buttons, Ballistics, Text Mode Positioning, Text Mode Area Redefine, Graphics Mode Positions, Graphics Area Redefine, and Graphics Cursor Redefine.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the video: Color Purity Test, True Color Test, Alignment Test, LCD Test, and Test Cord Test.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the multimedia components: Internal Speaker Test, FM Synthesizer Test, PCM Sample Test, CD/DVD Drive Read Test, CD/DVD Transfer (KB/Sec), CD/DVD Transfer Rating, CD/DVD Drive Seek Test, CD/DVD Seek Time (ms), CD/DVD Test Disk Read, and CD/DVD Tray Test.
This section shows the following tests conducted against ATAPI devices: Linear Read Test, Non-Destructive Write, and Random Read/Write Test.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the hard disk: Read Test, Read Verify Test, Non-Destructive Write Test, Destructive Write Test, Mechanics Stress Test, and Internal Cache Test.
This section shows the following tests conducted against the USB: Controller Tests and Functional Tests.
The compare test is used to determine the machine ID for the system. This test is not available for the Sun Fire X4150, X4250, and X4450 servers.
The Print Results Report option enables you to print system diagnostic results.
Ensure that your server is connected to a printer, and then enter the required information to print the results.
The About Pc-Check window includes general information about Pc-Check software, including resident and nonresident components, such as mouse devices.
Use the Exit to DOS option to exit Pc-Check and return to the DOS prompt.
Copyright © 2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.