In Case of Difficulty

The primary diagnostic software that troubleshoots the SBus Expansion Subsystem is built into the Expansion Adapter card PROM. Also useful is the SunDiag System Exerciser which was shipped on the compact disc with the device driver.

Troubleshooting Hardware

This section describes how to troubleshoot:

At power up

Disk drives

SBus Expansion Subsystem hardware (including the Expansion Adapter card)

SBus cards with the test routine built into the SBus card PROM

Note - For troubleshooting with SunDiag, please refer to Appendix C, "SBus Expansion Subsystem Testing with SunDiag."

Troubleshooting at Power Up

Before powering up the SBus Expansion Subsystem and other devices, check the following:

3 Power cord is connected to the SBus Expansion Subsystem and to a wall outlet with the correct voltage. (Refer to Appendix A for the correct input voltage.)

3 SBus Expansion Subsystem cable is securely connected to the Expansion Adapter card and to the SBus Expansion Subsystem connector.

3 Turn the system on in the following order:

Devices connected to the SBus Expansion Subsystem

SBus Expansion Subsystem

Devices connected to the computer system

Computer system

Monitor

3 The LED light on the front of the SBus Expansion Subsystem is lit.

If the LED is present but not lit, check to see that the power cord is connected to the SBus Expansion Subsystem and the cord is plugged into a proper outlet.

If, after you checked the electrical connections and the LED is still not lit while other units on the same ac power outlet are powered up, replace the power supply in the SBus Expansion Subsystem. Refer to the chapter on "Replacing Parts" in this manual.

If the LED still does not work, replace the Expansion controller board in the SBus Expansion Subsystem box. Refer to the chapter on "Replacing Parts."

3 The mouse's LED is lit.

If it is not lit, contact your authorized Sun Customer Service Provider.

3 The monitor display is lit.

3 The banner screen is displayed. An example follows:

-

-

3 If you are booting from an SBus Expansion Subsystem disk, make sure that the normal boot display appears. When it does, check the following:

Boot device name is correct

External SCSI cable is snugly connected to the SBus Expansion Subsystem and to the computer system

SCSI terminator is installed on the last device in the SCSI bus

To determine if the SCSI address is set correctly do the following:

i. Press Stop-A to get to the ok prompt.

ii. Type the probe-scsi command at the ok prompt.

This command returns the target ID (SCSI address) and unit number. These numbers should agree with the device probe displayed at power up and with the SCSI set on the device address.

----------------------------------
(Press Stop-A) ok probe-scsi Target 1 Unit 0 Disk disk device name Target 3 Unit 0 Disk disk device name ----------------------------------

If necessary, replace one of the following:

External SCSI cable

Disk drive

SBus SCSI Host Adapter (if used to provide an additional SCSI bus)

Internal SCSI cable to disk drive

SBus Expansion Subsystem controller board

Hard Disk Drive Response

If the hard disk does not respond to a command or will not spin up:

1. Press Stop-A to get to the ok prompt. If you see the > prompt, type n and press Return to get the ok prompt.

2. Type probe-scsi and press Return. This command returns the target ID (SCSI address) and unit number.

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(Press Stop-A) ok probe-scsi Target 1 Unit 0 Disk disk device name Target 3 Unit 0 Disk disk device name ----------------------------------

Hard Disk Drive Reading or Writing Data

If the disk drive indicates it has a problem reading or writing data, you may want to use SunDiag to diagnose the problem area. To be able to use the SunDiag software, you must be:

a. using a SPARCstation(TM) or a SPARCserver(TM)

b. running under SunOS(TM)

c. running under OpenWindows(TM)

Refer to Appendix C, "SBus Expansion Subsystem Testing with SunDiag." for complete read and write troubleshooting information. For complete instructions on using SunDiag, refer to the SunDiag manual which is part of the documentation set shipped with the operating system.

Testing the SBus Expansion Subsystem

If the SBus Expansion Subsystem does not power up, see "Troubleshooting at Power Up." If the SBus Expansion Subsystem passes power up but is not working properly, refer to "Testing SBus Expansion Subsystem Hardware."

Testing SBus Expansion Subsystem Hardware

Test the SBus Expansion Subsystem hardware, including the Expansion Adapter card in the computer system, by using either the test command or the SunDiag System Exerciser described in Appendix C, "SBus Expansion Subsystem Testing with SunDiag."

You can use the SunDiag System to "exercise" your Sun system by running SunDiag's on-line diagnostic tests.

Test Command

To use the test command, type the following:

-------------------------------------------------------------------
system% su Password:(Type superuser password) system# halt Type b(boot), c(continue), or n(new command mode) > n ok test /sbus/SUNW,xbox@1 (If adapter card installed in slot 0) ok test /sbus/SUNW,xbox@2 (If adapter card installed in slot 1) ok test /sbus/SUNW,xbox@3 (If adapter card installed in slot 2) ok old-mode > b (System reboots) -------------------------------------------------------------------

To test the functionality of any SBus card installed in the SBus Expansion Subsystem which has the test routine built into the SBus card PROM, determine the SBus slot numbers of the Expansion Adapter card and the SBus card to be tested.

1. If you are in Unix mode, type the following:

%dmesg filename

The dmesg command displays bootup messages, including the SBus card abbreviations and slot numbers you need. Use the more command or a text editor to view the results of dmesg.

To use the test command to test the SBus cards, type the following:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
system% su Password:(Type superuser password) system# halt Type b(boot), c(continue), or n(new command mode) > n ok test /sbus/SUNW,xbox@1/cardname@2 (If adapter card installed in slot 1 and the SBus card you are testing is in slot 2.) ok test /sbus/SUNW,xbox@2/cardname@0 (If adapter card installed in slot 2 and the SBus card you are testing is in slot 0.) ok test /sbus/SUNW,xbox@3/cardname@1 (If adapter card installed in slot 3 and the SBus card you are testing is in slot 1.) ok old-mode > b (System reboots) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. If you are in Unix mode, do the following:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
system# halt Type b(boot), c(continue), or n(new command mode) > n ok cd / <cr'> ok ls <cr'> ok /sbus/SUNW,xbox@1/cardname@2 (If adapter card installed in slot 1 and the SBus card you are testing is in slot 2.) ok /sbus/SUNW,xbox@2/cardname@0 (If adapter card installed in slot 2 and the SBus card you are testing is in slot 0.) ok /sbus/SUNW,xbox@3/cardname@1 (If adapter card installed in slot 3 and the SBus card you are testing is in slot 1.) ok old-mode > b (System reboots) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SBus Card Problems

SBus cards may not function properly in your system for one of several reasons.

1. The card may be bad. Try it in other SBus slots out side of your SBus Expansion Subsystem. Bad cards should either be discarded or repaired by your normal repair facility.

2. The card may not be compatible with the SBus Expansion Subsystem. Refer to either the SBus Expansion Subsystem Compatibility Note that accompanied your SBus Expansion Subsystem or your Sun Product Price List for a list of SBus cards not supported. However, you may be able to use these SBus cards in the SBus slot in your computer system.

3. You may have exceeded the amount of memory available for the SBus system. To determine if this is the problem, do the following:

a. Power down your system.

b. Remove all SBus cards from the SBus Expansion Subsystem slots.

c. If you have the address requirements for your SBus cards, place the card with the largest address requirement in slot <0, the card with the next largest address requirement in slot <1, and the card with the least amount of address requirement in slot <2. Now reboot your system.

d. If the address requirements are not available, rearrange the cards in a different sequence and reboot your system. If the system does not reboot, repeat this routine.

e. If you continue to experience problems, try removing an SBus card.

SCSI Problems

When adding SCSI devices to the SBus Expansion Subsystem, care should be taken to comply with the normal SCSI requirements as established through the system kernel. Refer to the paragraph "SCSI Requirements" under "Special Requirements" in the "Installing Hardware" section.