Booting Series 800 Systems

This section describes the Series 800 boot process. See the following section for the Series 700 boot process.

Depending on the model of your computer, initiate the boot process by doing one of the following:

turn the reset key
press the reset button
press CTRL-B and then type in the command RS
press CTRL-B and then type in the command TC
cycle the main power

You will see the following on the console (the display can vary depending on the model of your computer):

Processor Dependent Code (PDC) Revision 4
console path = 8.1.0.0
Primary boot path = 8.0.0.0
Alternate boot path = 8.2.3.

If the autoboot feature is enabled, the boot process continues. The following message is displayed:

Autoboot from primary boot path enabled.
To override, press any key within 10 seconds.

If you do not interrupt the boot process by pressing a key, the boot process automatically continues. Watch the messages during the process and note actions. The startup process ends when you see the login prompt on the console. You are now ready to use your HP-UX system. If you do not get the prompt, the system did not start up and you will need to determine why. During the startup process, the system will perform a file system consistency check of the root disk if the system was improperly shut down. If your system is spread over multiple disks, the system will perform a consistency check on the file systems listed in /etc/fstab. See hpux(1M) for further information on booting.

If autoboot is Interrupted or Disabled

(Note: The following interface can vary depending on the model of your computer. For example, some machines use a menu-driven interface.)

If you interrupt autoboot or autoboot is disabled, the boot process pauses and asks:

Boot from primary boot path (Y or N)?>

If you answer Y, the system proceeds to boot the system specified in the boot area of the device at the primary path hardware address.

If you answer N, the boot ROM prompts for an alternate boot path:

Boot from alternate boot path (Y or N)?>

If you answer Y, the system proceeds to start up the system specified in the boot area of the device at the alternate path hardware address.

If you answer N, the loader prompts for the boot path:

Enter boot path, command, or ?>

When you specify a valid boot path, which is the hardware path to a device with boot utilities, the system displays messages indicating the progress of the boot process.

The system will then ask if you want to interact with IPL (the Initial Program Loader). If you specify y, you will see a series of messages and then the Initial System Loader (ISL>) prompt.

Disabling or Enabling autoboot

Your HP-UX system is supplied with the autoboot feature enabled. You can disable autoboot at the ISL prompt by entering:

ISL> autoboot off

If the autoboot feature is disabled, you can enable it by entering:

ISL> autoboot on

Selecting a Kernel to Boot

After specifying the boot path and requesting interaction with ISL, you must tell the computer what kernel to boot. Usually you specify /stand/vmunix, the kernel or operating system that resides in the root file system.

For standalone or root server systems, the disk on which your bootable system resides has a boot area and a root file system. If the root disk is a Logical Volume Manager (LVM) disk, the boot area is located in a root logical volume. The boot area contains the bootstrap program and other files for bringing up the system. For further information, see Chapter 3, "Managing Disks Using the Logical Volume Manager (LVM)" in this manual.

Using the AUTO File

The AUTO file contains the hpux command that ISL uses to automatically boot the system. There might be times when you want to change the contents of the AUTO file, such as to routinely boot from an alternate kernel on your root disk or to boot from a device at another location. To change the AUTO file, use the /usr/sbin/mkboot command.

For example, to install an AUTO file in a logical volume or non-partitioned disk, enter:

mkboot -a "hpux /stand/vmunix" /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0

See mkboot(1M) for details.

To display the AUTO file when not in ISL, enter

lifcp /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0: AUTO file

cat file

You can also display the boot command string in the AUTO file at the ISL> prompt:

ISL> hpux show autofile

If the AUTO file correctly identifies the location of the kernel, boot to multi-user state by entering:

ISL> hpux

To boot to single-user state (restricting user input to the system console), enter:

ISL> hpux -is boot

The two hpux command options shown above boot the kernel (/stand/vmunix) in the root file system as specified in the AUTO file.

Booting in Maintenance Mode

To boot in maintenance mode on a system with a root disk configured with LVM, enter:

ISL> hpux -lm boot

The maintenance mode is useful on such systems if a standard boot has failed due to LVM problems. You must resolve the problem and then reboot. For more details, see "Booting When LVM Data Structures Are Lost" in Chapter 3 of this manual.




	CAUTION: When you boot your system in maintenance mode, do not activate the root volume group. Also, do not change to multi-user mode (such as specifying `/sbin/init 2`) or else you might corrupt the file system. Reboot the system using the `reboot` command.

Booting an Alternate Kernel

To boot an alternate kernel, such as /stand/vmunix.BCKUP, enter:

ISL> hpux -is /stand/vmunix.BCKUP

The system boots using the kernel /stand/vmunix.BCKUP in single-user state. The above command boots from the root file system.

You can also boot from another partition on the same root device (this presumes that you are booting from a partitioned disk). For example, to boot using the kernel /stand/vmunix.BCKUP in section 4 of a partitioned disk, enter:

ISL> hpux -is (;4)/stand/vmunix.BCKUP

If booting from a whole disk partition using the kernel /stand/vmunix.BCKUP, enter:

ISL> hpux -is (;0)/stand/vmunix.BCKUP

For more information on disk partitions, see Chapter 3, "Managing Disks Using the Logical Volume Manager (LVM)" in this manual.

Booting From Other Devices

Although you can boot a kernel from another device (only if it is connected to the same interface card used by the device at the boot path you selected earlier), this procedure is not recommended. See hpux(1M) for more information.

Determining a Boot Source

See Table 2-1 “Booting Sources ” later in this chapter for a table summarizing boot sources.

Reviewing the Status of the File System

If necessary, /usr/sbin/fsck will check the file system. You will see the status message

Checking file systems

fsck will correct inconsistencies in the file system without your intervention. For more information, see fsck(1M).

Changing the Primary Boot Path

On a logical volume or non-partitioned disk, change the PRIMPATH variable in the ISL to automatically reboot from a new root file system at its new hardware address. See "Using the AUTO File" earlier in this chapter for details. See isl(1M) for more information on the initial system loader and hpux(1M) for the secondary system loader.

Follow these steps to change the primary boot path:

Reboot:
reboot

Interact with ISL by pressing a key when you see:

Autoboot from primary path enabled.
To override, press any key within 10 seconds.

Answer n to the questions concerning booting from the primary boot path and alternate boot path, and enter the hardware path to the new root disk at the next prompt:
Enter boot path, command, or ?> 52.3.0
Specify that you want to interact with IPL:
Interact with IPL?> y
Enter the new PRIMPATH variable and boot:
ISL> primpath 52.3.0
ISL> hpux /stand/vmunix
The above sequence specifies your new primary boot path, but the change does not become implemented until you reboot. In the current boot, the system boots using whatever boot path you entered in answer to the question Enter boot path, command, or ?>.