Chapter 1. Start Here; Diagnosing A Problem - IBM x3200 M3 7327 Service Manual

Chapter 1. Start here

You can solve many problems without outside assistance by following the
troubleshooting procedures in this Problem Determination and Service Guide and
on the IBM Web site. This document describes the diagnostic tests that you can
perform, troubleshooting procedures, and explanations of error messages and error
codes. The documentation that comes with your operating system and software
also contains troubleshooting information.

Diagnosing a problem

Before you contact IBM or an approved warranty service provider, follow these
procedures in the order in which they are presented to diagnose a problem with
your server:
1. Determine what has changed.
2. Collect data.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2011
Determine whether any of the following items were added, removed, replaced,
or updated before the problem occurred:
v IBM System x Server Firmware (server firmware)
v Device drivers
v Firmware
v Hardware components
v Software
If possible, return the server to the condition it was in before the problem
occurred.
Thorough data collection is necessary for diagnosing hardware and software
problems.
a. Document error codes and system-board LEDs.
v System error codes: See "POST error codes" on page 26 for information
about a specific error code.
v See "System-board LEDs" on page 19 for the location of the
system-board LEDs.
v Software or operating-system error codes: See the documentation for
the software or operating system for information about a specific error
code. See the manufacturer's Web site for documentation.
b. Collect system data.
Run the Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) diagnostics program to collect
information about the hardware, firmware, software, and operating system.
Have this information available when you contact IBM or an approved
warranty service provider. See "Running the diagnostic programs" on page
74 for the instructions to run the DSA program.
If you need to download the latest version of DSA, go to
http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/supportsite.wss/
docdisplay?brandind=5000008&lndocid=SERV-DSA or complete the
following steps.
Note: Changes are made periodically to the IBM Web site. The actual
procedure might vary slightly from what is described in this document.
1) Go to http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/.
2) Under Product support, click System x.
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