Solaris Common Messages and Troubleshooting Guide

"I"

I can't read your attachments. What mailer are you using?

Cause

The SunView mailtool(1) and pre-3.3 OpenWindows mailtool(1) produce this message when they cannot cope with an attachment. The attachment is probably in MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) format, using base64 encoding.

Action

To read a mail message containing MIME attachments, use mailtool(1) from Solaris 2.3 or later. If you are running an earlier version of Solaris, rlogin(1) to a later version of Solaris, set the DISPLAY environment variable back to the first system, and run mailtool remotely. If those options prove impossible, ask the originator to send the message again using mailtool(1), or using the CDE dtmail compose File->SendAs->SunMailTool option.

Technical Notes

Standard MIME attachments with base64 encoding, for example, produce this message and fail to display in older mailtool(1)s.

See Also

Look into using metamail, available on the Internet, which allows you to send and receive MIME attachments.

Identifier removed

Cause

This message indicates an error in a System V IPC facility. Most likely a file associated with messaging, semaphores, or shared memory was deleted from the filesystem where it had been created.

Technical Notes

This error is returned to processes that resume execution after the removal of an identifier from the file system's name space. See msgctl(2), semctl(2), and shmctl(2) for details.

The symbolic name for this error is EIDRM, errno=36.

ie0: Ethernet jammed

Cause

This message can appear on SPARCservers or x86 machines with an Intel 82586 Ethernet chip. It indicates that 16 successive transmission attempts failed, causing the driver to give up on the current packet.

Action

If this error occurs sporadically or at busy times, it probably means that the network is saturated. Wait for network traffic to clear. If bottlenecks arise frequently, think about reconfiguring the network or adding subnets.

Another possible cause of this message is a noise source somewhere in the network, such as a loose transceiver connection. Use snoop(1M) or a similar program to isolate the problem area, then check and tighten network connectors as necessary.

ie0: no carrier

Cause

This message can appear on SPARCservers or x86 machines with an Intel 82586 Ethernet chip. It indicates that the chip has lost input to its carrier detect pin while trying to transmit a packet, causing the packet to be dropped.

Action

Check that the Ethernet connector is not loose or disconnected. Other possible causes include an open circuit somewhere in the network and noise on the carrier detect line from the transceiver. Use snoop(1M) or a similar program to isolate the problem area, then check the network connectors and transceivers, as needed.

ifconfig: bad address

Cause

System fails to boot with error message: ifconfig: bad address. Upon coming up to multiuser ifconfig -a indicate:


le0: flags=863<UP,BROADCAST,NOTRAILERS,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	inet 0.0.0.0 netmask 0 
Once up, command

# ifconfig le0 inet hostname
succeeds, and all is well.

Action

Check /etc/hostname.* for a possible bad entry.

/etc/hosts was linked to /var/named/hosts and /var was a separate file system. Until system comes up in multiuser to mount /var, hostname could not be resolved to proper IP address.

ifconfig bad address le0

Cause

Customer installed the recommended 2.5.1 patches. When he booted, rootuser.sh presented the following errors:


ifconfig bad address le0
le0 arp - revarp failed no rarp replies
bad address hme0
hme0 auto-revarp failed: no rarp replies received.
Ip address of interface is set to 0.0.0.0

System fails to: resolve host ip address from /etc/host and no other rarp servers responded to the systems request for it's IP address.

Action

The workaround is to put files before dns [NOT FOUND=return] in /etc/nsswitch.conf

This matches bug number 4040423. Its summary is: if dns [NOTFOUND=return] appears before files in /etc/nsswitch.conf, at boot-time ifconfig complains about bad address. In some cases this can cause the boot to fail.

If pipe/FIFO, don't sleep in stream head

Cause

Streams pipe error (not externally visible).

Technical Notes

The symbolic name for this error is ESTRPIPE, errno=92.

Illegal Instruction

Cause

A process has received a signal indicating that it attempted to execute an instruction that is not allowed by the kernel. This usually results from running programs compiled for a slightly different machine architecture. This message is usually accompanied by a core dump, except on read-only filesystems.

Action

If you are booting from CD-ROM or from the net, check README files to make sure you are using an image appropriate for your machine architecture. Run df(1M) to make sure there is enough swap space on the system; too little swap space can cause this error. If you recently upgraded your CPU to a new architecture, replace your operating system with one that supports the new architecture (an operating system upgrade might be required).

Technical Notes

Sometimes this condition results from a programming error, such as when a program attempts to execute data as instructions. This condition can also indicate device file corruption on your system.

Illegal instruction "0xhex" was encountered at PC 0xhex

Cause

The machine is trying to boot from a non-boot device, or from a boot device for a different hardware architecture.

Action

If you are booting from the net, check README files to make sure you are using a boot image for that architecture. If you are booting from disk, make sure the system is looking at the right disk, which is usually SCSI target 3. Failing these solutions, connect a CD drive to the system and boot from CD-ROM.

Illegal seek

Cause

Using a pipe ("|") on the command line doesn't work here.

Action

Rather than using a pipe on the command line, redirect the output of the first program into a file and run the second program on that file.

Technical Notes

A call to lseek(2) was issued to a pipe. This error condition can also be fixed by altering the program to avoid using lseek(2).

The symbolic name for this error is ESPIPE, errno=29.

Image Tool: Unable to open XIL Library.

Cause

This message follows multiple multi-line "XilDefaultErrorFunc" errors, indicating that ImageTool could not locate the X Imaging Library. Many OpenWindows and CDE deskset programs require XIL.

Action

Run pkginfo(1) to determine what packages are installed on the system. If the following packages are not present, install them from CD-ROM or over the net: SUNWxildg, SUNWxiler, SUNWxilow, and SUNWxilrt.

Inappropriate ioctl for device

Cause

This is a programming error.

Action

Ask the program's author to fix this condition. The program needs to be changed so it employs a device driver that can accept special character device controls.

Technical Notes

The ioctl(2) system call was given as an argument for a file that is not a special character device. This message replaces the traditional but puzzling "Not a typewriter" message.

The symbolic name for this error is ENOTTY, errno=25.

INCORRECT BLOCK COUNT I=int (should be int) CORRECT?

Cause

During phase 1, fsck(1M) determined that the specified inode pointed to a number of bad or duplicate blocks, so the block count should be corrected to the actual number shown.

Action

Generally you can answer yes to this question without harming the filesystem.

See Also

For more information on bad blocks, see the section on checking filesystem integrity in the System Administration Guide, Volume I.

index failed:full:index preceded by saveset name

Cause

This is a server which has several clients. It seems when the backup kicks off many the savesets are failing with the message listed below.


godzilla                              index failed:full:index      
* godzilla:index 2 retries attempted
* godzilla:index sh: save: not found

Action

Edit the /etc/init.d/networker file and change the nsrexecd startup line to include a -p option to specify the command search path :


(/usr/sbin/nsr/nsrexecd -s masters -p /usr/sbin/nsr )     > /dev/console

inetd[int]: execv /usr/sbin/in.uucpd: No such file or directory

Cause

This message indicates that the Internet services daemon inetd(1M) tried to start up the UUCP service without the UUCP daemon existing on the system.

Action

The SUNWbnuu package must be installed before the machine can run UUCP. Run pkgadd(1M) to install this package from the distribution CD-ROM or over the network.

inetd[int]: string/tcp: unknown service

Cause

This message indicates that the Internet services daemon inetd(1M) could not locate the TCP service specified after the first colon.

Action

Check the current machine's /etc/services file, and the NIS services map, to see if the service is described. To start this service, add an appropriate entry into the /etc/services file and possibly the services map as well. Note that NIS+ does not consult the local /etc/services file unless you put "files" right after "nisplus" on the services line of the system's /etc/nsswitch.conf file.

If you do not want to start this service, edit the system's /etc/inetd.conf file and delete the entry that tries to start it up.

See Also

For more information about NIS+, see the NIS+ and FNS Administration Guide.

inetd[int]: string/udp: unknown service

Cause

This message indicates that the Internet services daemon inetd(1M) could not locate the UDP service specified after the first colon.

Action

See the message "inetd[int]: string/tcp: unknown service" for a solution.

inetd: Too many open files

Cause

This message can appear when someone runs a command from the shell or uses a third-party application. The sar(1) command does not indicate that the system-wide open file limit has been exceeded.

Action

The probable cause of this message is that the shell limit has been exceeded. The default open file limit is 64, but can be raised to 256.

See the message "Too many open files" for a solution.

INIT: Cannot create /var/adm/utmp or /var/adm/utmpx

Cause

This console message indicates that init(1M) cannot write in the /var directory, which is usually part of the / (root) filesystem. Some other messages follow, and the system usually comes up single-user. The problem is often that / or /var is mounted read-only. Sometimes a brief power outage leaves the system believing that many filesystems are still mounted.

Action

If /var is a separate filesystem on the machine, and is not yet mounted, mount it now. If the filesystem containing /var is mounted read-only, remount it read-write with a command similar to this:


# mount -o rw,remount /
Then type Control-d and try to bring up the system multi-user. If that fails, the root filesystem is probably corrupted. Run fsck(1M) on the root filesystem, halt the machine, power cycle the CPU, and wait for the system to reboot. Should this problem still occur, restore the root filesystem from backup tapes, or re-install the system from net or CD-ROM to replace the root filesystem.

InitOutput: Error loading module for /dev/fb

Cause

This fatal X server error message indicates that /dev/fb, the "dumb frame buffer," is either missing or corrupted. It is usually followed by a "giving up" message and a few xinit(1) errors.

Action

If other devices on the system are working correctly, the most likely reason for this error is that the SUNWdfb package was removed or never installed. Insert the installation CD-ROM, change to the Solaris_2.x directory, and run the following command to install the packages SUNWdfbh and SUNWdfb (for your machine architecture):


pkgadd -d .

If other devices on the system are not working correctly, the system might have a corrupt /devices directory. Halt the system and boot using the -r (reconfigure) option. The system will run fsck(1M) if the /devices filesystem is corrupted, most likely fixing the problem.

Interrupted system call

Cause

The user issued an interrupt signal (usually Control-c) while the system was in the middle of executing a system call. When network service is slow, interrupting cd(1) to a remote-mounted directory can produce this message.

Action

Proceed with your work, this message is purely informational.

Technical Notes

An asynchronous signal (such as interrupt or quit), which a program was set up to catch, occurred during an internal system call. If execution is resumed after processing the signal, it will appear as if the interrupted programming function returned this error condition, so the program might exit with an incorrect error message.

The symbolic name for this error is EINTR, errno=4.

Invalid argument

Cause

An invalid parameter was specified that the system cannot interpret. For example, trying to mount an uncreated filesystem, printing without sufficient system support, or providing an undefined signal to a signal(3C) library function, can all produce this message.

Action

If you see this message when you are trying to mount a filesystem, make sure that you have run newfs(1M) to create the filesystem. If you see this message when you are trying to read a diskette, make sure that the diskette was properly formatted with fdformat(1), either in DOS format (pcfs(7FS)) or as a UFS filesystem. If you see this message while you are trying to print, make sure that the print service is configured correctly.

Technical Notes

The symbolic name for this error is EINVAL, errno=22.

Invalid null command

Cause

This C shell message results from a command line with two pipes (|) in a row or from a pipe without a command afterwards.

Action

Change the command line so that each pipe is followed by a command.

Invalid_SS_JWS_HOME:no C:\\lib\basicframe.properties

Cause

Customer is running WinNT 4.0 and goes to lauch Java Workshop - then gets the error message.

Action

Removed software loaded on her system from marimba company. The product is castanet. Removed the preduct from thesystem and JWS works fine. Apparently, product Tuner comes loaded with JDK, and this conflicts with JWS.

Check out www.marimba.com for more details on marimba products.

Another possible solution:

Double-click jws.exe within the: C:\Java-WorkShop\jws\intel-win32\bin\ folder.

I/O error

Cause

Some physical Input/Output error has occurred. If the process was writing a file at the time, data corruption is possible.

Action

First find out which device is experiencing the I/O error. If the device is a tape drive, make sure a tape is inserted into the drive. When this error occurs with a tape in the drive, it is likely that the tape contains an unrecoverable bad spot.

If the device is a floppy drive, an unformatted or defective diskette could be at fault. Format the diskette, or obtain a replacement.

If the device is a hard disk drive, you might need to run fsck(1M) and possibly even reformat the disk.

Technical Notes

In some cases this error might occur on a call following the one to which it actually applies.

The symbolic name for this error is EIO, errno=5.

Is a directory

Cause

An attempt was made to read or write a directory as if it were a file.

Action

Look at a listing of all the files in the current directory and try again, specifying a file instead of a directory.

Technical Notes

The symbolic name for this error is EISDIR, errno=21.