Diagnostic Programs, Messages, And Error Codes; Running The Diagnostic Programs - IBM System x3800 Problem Determination And Service Manual

Diagnostic programs, messages, and error codes

The diagnostic programs are the primary method of testing the major components
of the server. As you run the diagnostic programs, text messages and error codes
are displayed on the screen and are saved in the test log. A diagnostic text
message or error code indicates that a problem has been detected; to determine
what action you should take as a result of a message or error code, see the table in
"Diagnostic error codes" on page 61.

Running the diagnostic programs

To run the diagnostic programs, complete the following steps:
1. If the server is running, turn off the server and all attached devices.
2. Turn on all attached devices; then, turn on the server.
3. When the prompt F2 for Diagnostics appears, press F2. If you have set both a
4. From the top of the screen, select either Extended or Basic.
5. From the diagnostic programs screen, select the test that you want to run, and
To determine what action you should take as a result of a diagnostic text message
or error code, see the table in "Diagnostic error codes" on page 61.
If the diagnostic programs do not detect any hardware errors but the problem
remains during normal server operations, a software error might be the cause. If
you suspect a software problem, see the information that comes with your software.
A single problem might cause more than one error message. When this happens,
correct the cause of the first error message. The other error messages usually will
not occur the next time you run the diagnostic programs.
Exception: If there are multiple error codes or light path diagnostics LEDs that
indicate a microprocessor error, the error might be in a microprocessor or in a
microprocessor socket. See "Microprocessor problems" on page 43 for information
about diagnosing microprocessor problems.
If the server stops during testing and you cannot continue, restart the server and try
running the diagnostic programs again. If the problem remains, replace the
component that was being tested when the server stopped.
The keyboard and mouse (pointing device) tests assume that a keyboard and
mouse are attached to the server. If no mouse or a USB mouse is attached to the
server, you cannot use the Next Cat and Prev Cat buttons to select categories. All
other mouse-selectable functions are available through function keys. You can use
the regular keyboard test to test a USB keyboard, and you can use the regular
mouse test to test a USB mouse. You can run the USB interface test only if no USB
devices are attached. The USB test will not run if a Remote Supervisor Adapter II
SlimLine is installed.
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IBM System x3800 Type 8866: Problem Determination and Service Guide
power-on password and an administrator password, you must type the
administrator password to run the diagnostic programs.
follow the instructions on the screen.
When you are diagnosing hard disk drives, select SCSI Fixed Disk Test for the
most thorough test. Select Fixed Disk Test for any of the following situations:
v You want to run a faster test.
v The server contains RAID arrays.
v The server contains SATA or IDE hard disk drives.