5 Testing Memory Boards



The SPARCstation 2 system provides diagnostic testing of the optional primary and secondary memory boards:

This chapter discusses these diagnostic testing methods, and includes a table of physical address ranges and memory locations.

Power-On Self-Test (POST)

After one or two memory boards have been installed and power to the system is turned on, the SPARCstation 2 system will test the functionality of all installed memory (single inline memory modules (SIMMs), and any memory boards). Power-on testing shows the total amount of memory that is installed and functioning correctly.

The following power-up banner screen shows the diagnostic test results for a system equipped with sixteen 4-megabyte SIMMs (64 megabytes), and two
32-megabyte memory boards (64 megabytes): 

-





-

The banner screen is the first indication that all system memory is working and that the flex-circuit cable (memory cable) is correctly installed.

Forth Toolkit Diagnostics

The "automatic" power-on self-test (POST) that displays its results on the SPARCstation 2's Type 4 Keyboard does not test memory boards. If the banner screen displays a "memory installed" figure that does not include memory board capacity, then you may want to run the following self-test:

    1. Press L1-A to enter the Forth toolkit.

    See Figure 5-1.

    2. Type n and watch for the ok prompt.

    See Figure 5-1. 

------------------------------------------------------

Type b (boot), c (continue), or n (new command mode)
> n
ok

------------------------------------------------------

    Figure 5-1 Entering the Forth Toolkit

    3. Set the desired memory test range.

    Type the following: 

------------------------------

ok setenv selftest-#megs XX

------------------------------

    Where XX is equal to:

    Amount of SPARCstation 2 SIMMs in megabytes

        +

    32 megabtyes for a primary memory board

        +

    32 megabtyes for a secondary memory board

    For example, if your system is equipped with four 4-megabyte SIMMs (a total of 16 megabytes in SIMMs) and two 32-megabyte memory boards, you would type: 

------------------------------

ok setenv selftest-#megs 80

------------------------------
    4. Enter the test memory command. 
------------------

ok test /memory

------------------

    The memory test takes about 8 seconds per megabyte. A 128-megabyte test will take approximately 17 minutes.

    If the test is successful, the ok prompt returns to the screen. If any errors occur, error messages are displayed.

SunDiag

If the SPARCstation 2 memory board or board set passes the power-on and self-tests (see the previous sections of this chapter), then SunDiag provides the next available level of diagnostic testing.

To test SPARCstation 2 memory boards:

    1. Become superuser.

    For example, in Solaris 1.x or 2.x type su and press Return. Then type the superuser password.

    The following example is for a system with the hostname nevada: 

-------------

nevada% su
Password:
nevada#

-------------
    2. Change directories to the location of SunDiag and invoke the physical memory program.

    Use the pathname in the example below for Solarix 1.x (SunOS 4.x). For Solaris 2.x, the pathname is /opt/SUNWdiag/bin/sundiag. 

------------------------------------------------------------

nevada# cd /usr/diag/sundiag
nevada# pmem v
	pmem: Started.
	Read 0x400000 bytes (1024 pages) starting at address 0x0.
	Read 0x400000 bytes (1024 pages) starting at address 
0x2000000.
	Physical memory = 0x800000 (8.0 Meg) bytes.
	pmem: Stopped successfully.

------------------------------------------------------------

    SunDiag reports errors according to the physical address of the error.

Memory Mapping

When any diagnostic test reports an error, use Table 5-1 to locate the defective SPARCstation 2 memory "part."

    Table 5-1 SPARCstation 2 Memory Mapping 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        
Physical Address Range  Memory Location
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                        
  000000 to FFFFFF      Bank 0 Memory in the SPARCstation 2 system unit
                        
1000000 to 1FFFFFF      Bank 1 Memory in the SPARCstation2 system unit
                        
2000000 to 2FFFFFF      Bank 2 Memory in the SPARCstation2 system unit
                        
3000000 to 3FFFFFF      Bank 3 Memory in the SPARCstation2 system unit
                        
8000000 to 9FFFFFF      Primary memory board
                        
A000000 to BFFFFFF      Secondary memory board

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parts List

The following parts are field-replaceable units (FRUs):

The above part numbers are correct as of the publication date of this document. They are subject to change. Consult your authorized Sun sales representative or service provider to confirm part numbers before you order new or replacement parts.

Additional Reading

See the following SPARCstation 2 installation guides for additional information about diagnostic tests and memory mapping:

    (Appendix A, "Keyboard LED Diagnostics")

    (Chapter 1, "Installing SIMMs")