Table of Contents
Advertisement
Console Strategy
The firmware starts a console-selection sequence at system boot time if any of the
following is true:
v A console has not yet been selected.
v A previous console selection sequence timed out.
v A change in the system configuration affects the console (keyboard
installed/removed, mouse installed/removed, graphics adapter installed/removed or
moved to another PCI slot).
The console-selection sequence allows you to select (from the appropriate input device)
one of the available console devices. If no console is selected within approximately 60
seconds, serial port 1 (S1) is selected as the console and the selection sequence times
out.
After a console has been selected, the console-selection sequence is only started at
boot time if there is a change in the system configuration (as described above), or the
contents of the system's nonvolatile memory (NVRAM) are lost.
Note: Moving an ASCII terminal from one serial port to another (from S1 to S2) cannot
You can also initiate a firmware console selection sequence from the System
Management Services (SMS) menus.
Power-On Self-Test
After power is turned on and before the operating system is loaded, the system does a
power-on self-test (POST). This test performs checks to ensure that the hardware is
functioning correctly before the operating system is loaded. During the POST, a POST
screen displays and POST indicators appear on the fimware console (if one is
connected). The next section describes the POST indicators and functions that can be
accessed during the POST.
POST Indicators
POST (power-on self-test) indicators indicate tests that are being performed as the
system is preparing to load the operating system. The POST indicators are words that
display on the system console. Each time that the system starts another step in the
POST, a POST indicator word appears on the console. Each word is an indicator of the
tests that are being performed.
10
Service Guide
be detected by the firmware, so it does not constitute a configuration change.
Advertisement
Table of Contents
