General Usage Problems

• No logon prompt?

  Press Return several times. If you still do not get a prompt, contact your system administrator. If you are the system administrator, refer to the "Problems with terminals" section of this chapter.

• Did you make a typing error in the logon identity?

  Retype HELLO and your logon identity. Make sure that you separate the user name from the account name with a period (.). If a group name is added, separate the group name from the account name with a comma (,).

  For example:

  :HELLO FRED.PROGRAM,DEVELOP

• Did you make an error entering a password?

  Retype the password. Press Return. You have three chances to enter a correct password. If you fail in all three attempts, you have to start the logon process over again.

• Have you forgotten your logon identity or password?

  Contact your system administrator. The system administrator has SM capability and can use LISTACCT to see all accounts. System administrators can also use LISTUSER username.accountname;PASS to see the passwords of an account.

• Did you get a message about an account, a user, or a group not existing?

  Check for any typographical errors in your logon. If no errors were made, contact your system administrator.

• Did you get the following message: Can't initiate a new session now.?

  Wait a few minutes and try to log on again. If you get the same message, ask the system administrator to check the job and session limits with the SHOWJOB command.

• While logged on to a worksession, did you get a message on your terminal screen beginning with OPERATOR WARNING:?

  This is a priority message sent from the system operator. Read the entire message carefully, and act accordingly.

• Will streamed jobs not log on?

  Check the jobfence and the job limit with the SHOWJOB and LIMIT commands. Also, be sure that STREAMS 10 has been invoked. (STREAMS 10 is usually included in file SYSSTART.PUB.SYS and is automatically invoked when your system is started. Your system administrator may want to check this file.)

  Check symptoms under "Problems logging on" above.

• Did you get the following error message on your screen after entering a command?

  UNKNOWN COMMAND NAME. (CIERR 975)

  Look for any spelling errors. Carefully retype the command. Use the online Help Facility to verify that you are using the command correctly.

• If a command file does not execute exactly as you anticipated (but appears to execute like an MPE/iX command), there may be a file-naming conflict on the system. There are two solutions to this problem:

  • Rename the command file to a name that does not match an MPE/iX command.

  • Use the XEQ command to execute the command file.

  :XEQ commandfilename Return

1. To invoke the Help Facility, enter HELP at the system prompt, and press Return.

   :HELP Return

   The following Help Facility menu, HELPMENU, appears on your screen:

   This is the MPE/iX Help Facility ------------------------------------------------- * Enter SUMMARY, CLASS, a commandname, or HELPSTUDY * ------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY.... A summary MPE/iX commands & HELP CLASS...... Classes of Commands SESSIONS, JOBS, FILES, SUBSYSTEMS, ETC. <command name> COMMAND entries, by name <command name><keyword> COMMAND entry with keyword PARMS, OPERATION, EXAMPLE HELPSTUDY A beginner's introduction to Help EXIT To leave the Help Facility You can use UPPERCASE or lowercase. >>>>>>>>>>> The name of this screen is HELPMENU <<<<<<<<<< >

2. At the Help Facility prompt (>), type in an option from the HELPMENU, namely SUMMARY, CLASS, a command name, a command name and parameter, HELPSTUDY, or EXIT.

3. To leave the Help Facility, type either E or EXIT. This action returns you to the system prompt (:).

The Help Facility has a self-paced tutorial that instructs you on its use. To start the tutorial, do the following:

To display a specific topic in HELPSTUDY, list the contents and select the topic in which you are interested.

The Help Facility provides lists of MPE/iX commands classified by the type of tasks performed by the commands.

To get information about a specific command, type HELP and the name of the command at the system prompt. Keywords allow you to limit the amount of information and display only the details that are of interest to you.

The following uses the SHOWTIME command as an example:

   :HELP SHOWTIME EXAMPLE Return

   EXAMPLE

        

        To display the time and date, enter



        SHOWTIME

        WED, JUL 24, 1993, 8:47AM



   KEYWORDS: PARM,OPERATION,EXAMPLE

   :

You are returned to the system prompt after this display.

Most of HP's programs allow Help requests from within the program.

In the following example, the user requests a display of the SHOWJOB command parameters from within the EDIT/3000 program. The "/" prompt is unique to the EDIT/3000 program. Without including the colon (:) before the HELP command here, the program would expect one of its subcommands.

   :HELP SHOWJOB PARMS Return

To obtain information on command interpreter (CI) errors (errors related to how commands are entered), do the following:

In the following example, an error message is displayed on the screen.

   :showjov 

    ^

   UNKNOWN COMMAND NAME.  (CIERR 975)

If more information is needed on what caused this error message and what action should be taken for correction, type HELP CIERR975 at the prompt. Remove all spaces when typing in the error message number.

   :HELP CIERR975 Return



   MESSAGE  UNKNOWN COMMAND NAME.  (CIERR 975)



   CAUSE    A command was entered that was not recognized by the

            MPE/iX Command Interpreter.



   ACTION   Enter a valid MPE/iX Command.



   :_

To obtain information on STORE or RESTORE error messages do the following:

In the following example, a STORE/RESTORE message is displayed on the screen:

   STORE/RESTORE ENCOUNTERED UNKNOWN MEDIA ON LDEV3 (S/R 11)

If more information is needed on what caused this error message and what action should be taken for correction, type HELP SR11 at the prompt. Remove the / symbol, and do not include any spaces when typing the error message number.

   :HELP SR11 Return



   MESSAGE STORE/RESTORE ENCOUNTERED UNKNOWN MEDIA ON LDEV! (S/R 11)



   CAUSE   Media type is incompatible with store subsystem.



   ACTION  Mount compatible media type or update store.

To obtain information on command interpreter warning messages (CIWARN) do the following:

In the following example, a command interpreter warning message is displayed on the screen:

   EXTRANEOUS DELIMITER IGNORED.  (CIWARN 215)

If more information is needed on what caused this warning message and what action should be taken for correction, type HELP CIWARN215 at the prompt. Remove any spaces when typing the error message number.

   :HELP CIWARN215 Return



   MESSAGE EXTRANEOUS DELIMITER IGNORED.  (CIWARN 215)



   CAUSE   You included an extra delimiter (such as a comma or 

           semicolon) where none was called for.



   ACTION  No action is required; the system merely ignored 

           the extra delimiter.  You may wish to note the 

           error for future reference.  

There are two ways to get help in HP Easytime/iX. You can access the Help menu for a complete index of help topics, or you can press F1 {{Field Help}} for context-sensitive help about an object on the screen.

The HP Easytime/iX Help menu is available on every screen. The Help menu provides the following six categories of help information:

With the help key you can access field-specific help about an object on the screen or in a menu, such as, a task or a data-entry field.

HP Easytime/iX uses dialog boxes to present information, or to prompt you for the data needed to complete a task. Dialog boxes are windows that appear on your screen overlaying a portion of the current display.

To get help in a dialog box, do the following:

If HP Easytime/iX abnormally ends (abends), console logging may be terminated, and may not restart when HP Easytime/iX is restarted. This does not prevent your system from operating, but may prevent console events from being written to a log file.

Contact your system administrator if HP Easytime/iX abends. If you are the system administrator, determine if anybody in your environment (or a remote environment, like your company's home office) enabled console logging. For additional assistance, call your service representative.

If you forget the system administrator password, you may obtain it as follows:

• Did the prompt disappear after using the PRINT command?

  Enter :eod (colon included) by itself on a new line and press Return. To prevent this from occurring again, always specify a file name when using the PRINT command.

• Did you get the following error message?

  NONEXISTENT PERMANENT FILE (FSERR 52) THE PRINT COMMAND FAILED. (CIERR 9080)

  This error message means that the file name that you are trying to access, is not recognized by the computer. Check to see if the file name is spelled correctly.

  Also, check that the file is in your logon group and account. If it is not, and you are the creator of the file, use the fully qualified file name.

• Did you get this error message?

  SECURITY VIOLATION (FSERR 93) THE PRINT COMMAND FAILED. (CIERR 9080)

  You are trying to print a file to which you do not have access. In this case, the creator of the file must release the file (with the RELEASE command) before you can print it.

• Is the printer ready?

  Be sure that the printer is plugged in, powered up (power switch is on), and online.

• Is the printer out of paper, or is there a paper jam?

  Load more paper, or clear jammed paper.

• Is the printer outfence too high?

  The outfence should be lowered with the OUTFENCE command, or the output priority of files waiting to be printed (spool files) should be undeferred or raised (above the printer outfence) with the SPOOLER command.

• Has the print file been deferred, or is its output priority lower than the outfence?

  Use the SHOWOUT command to check the outfence. Use the LISTSPF command to check the output priority of your print file and to see if it has been deferred. Use the SPOOLF command to undefer your print file or to raise its output priority.

• Is the printer spooler queue not open, or is the printer not spooled?

  The system administrator should spool the printer and open the spooler queue with the SPOOLER command. This is usually done by the SPOOLER command in file SYSSTART.PUB.SYS when the system is started. The system administrator may wish to check this file.

• Is the printer waiting for a special form to be loaded?

  Use the RECALL command to see if a reply request is pending for the printer. Load special forms, if necessary, and reply to the request.

• Is the printer waiting for forms alignment verification?

  If special forms have been loaded, the printer may be waiting for verification that the forms have been properly aligned. Use the RECALL command, and check the printer.

• Is the printer waiting for regular paper to be loaded?

  If a special forms request has just been processed, your printer may be waiting for regular paper to be reloaded. Use the RECALL command, as above to check.

• Has the printer been removed from use by the DOWN command from the console?

  The system administrator should activate the printer with the UP command.

• Do you have a DTC problem?

  If your printer fails to respond correctly, the DTC to which it is connected may have a problem.

  1. Check all cable connections, then power cycle the DTC (turn the power off and then on).

  2. Check the printer; if the problem was in the DTC, the printer may now be operative.

  	CAUTION: Power cycling a DTC aborts all terminal users on that DTC.

• Has none of the above worked?

  1. From the console, enter ABORTIO to the logical device number (113 in this example) of the printer as follows:

     :ABORTIO 113

  2. If this doesn't work, power-cycle the printer (turn the power switch off and then on). This causes most HP printers to perform a self-test. If the printer has a display window of any kind, observe it as the printer comes up.

• Did the following message appear on the screen when you tried to retrieve a file in the EDIT/3000 program?

  +-F-I-L-E---I-N-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N---D-I-S-P-L-A-Y-+ ! ERROR NUMBER: 52 RESIDUE: 0 ! ! BLOCK NUMBER: 0 NUMREC: 0 ! +-------------------------------------------------+ *23* FAILURE TO OPEN TEXT FILE (52) NONEXISTENT PERMANENT FILE (FSERR 52)

  Verify the spelling of your file name with the LISTFILE command. Retype the command to retrieve a file.

• In trying to retrieve a file, did the following prompt appear on your screen?

  LOCKWORD: username.groupname.acctname?

  This prompt is informing you that the file has a lockword. Ask the system administrator to identify the lockword for you. At the lockword prompt, type in the lockword.

• Did you get the following error message?

  OUT OF DISC SPACE (FSERR)

  This error message indicates that you have run out of disk space allotted to you. To obtain disk space, delete extra files with the PURGE command or ask the system administrator to allocate more file space for your logon group (the ALTGROUP command) or your logon account (the ALTACCT command).

• Did you encounter the following error message while trying to abort, suspend, or resume a job?

  JOB SECURITY IS HIGH OR JOB NOT YOURS, CANNOT SUSPEND, RESUME, ALTER, OR ABORT. (CIERR 3047)

  This error message could mean one of several things:

  • The job file does not belong to you.

  • You have not been granted (with the ALLOW command) the use of the commands ABORTJOB, BREAKJOB, and RESUMEJOB.

  • The command should be entered from the console.

• Did you accidentally delete a file?

  Ask the system administrator when the last system backup was performed. The system administrator should be able to restore a previous version of a file that has been deleted.

• When using the PURGE command, did you get the following error message on your screen?

  FILE filename NOT FOUND, NO PURGE DONE. (CIWARN 383)

  Check for any typographical errors or misspellings in the file name.

• When using the RENAME command, did you get the following error message?

  DUPLICATE PERMANENT FILE NAME (FSERR 100) RENAME FAILED DUE TO SYSTEM ERROR, NOT RENAMED.(CIERR 373)

  This error message indicates that the name to which you are renaming your file already exists. Reenter the command line, this time selecting a unique file name.

• When using the RELEASE command, did you get the following error message?

  ACTION DISALLOWED SINCE NOT CREATOR OF FILE. (CIERR 351)

  This error message indicates that you are not the creator of the file and do not have the authority to release the file's security. Have the creator enter the command, or have the creator release the file for your use. Do not forget to tell the creator when you are finished so that the file can be secured.

  If you are the administrator or operator for the system, check to see if you logged on with the appropriate logon. The MANAGER.SYS logon should allow you to access any file.

• Did you forget your password?

  Use the LISTACCT, LISTUSER, or LISTGROUP commands to display the forgotten password. Use the LISTFILE command to display a forgotten lockword (file-level password).

  A user with system manager (SM) capability can display any password or lockword on the system. Individual users can display passwords for their logon and lockwords for files they have created. A user with account manager (AM) capability can display all passwords (user, group and account) for the account for which the user has AM capability.

• Was the unload button of the tape drive accidentally pressed during the backup process?

  Start the backup procedure over again from the beginning.

• Did the backup not start because the backup device was never assigned to the job?

  Be sure that someone responds to the backup device reply request on the console (usually a tape request); or, if you want the reply to be automatic (so that a console reply is not needed), be sure that your backup device has been configured for autoreply.

• Did your terminal screen suddenly turn off?

  Some terminals have a feature that causes the screen to turn itself off automatically after several minutes of user inactivity. If this happens, press any key on the keyboard to reactivate the screen.

• Is the keyboard not responding?

  Sometimes the terminal screen and the keyboard seem to "freeze up" and become unresponsive. There may be a problem with the power source, or you may have what is called a hung terminal.

  Several hung terminals could mean serious system problems. If there is such an occurrence on your system, call your service representative immediately. Here are some remedies for a hung terminal.

• Method 1: Wait a few minutes.

  1. Wait a few minutes.

  2. Press Return several times.

• Method 2: Check that the terminal is not in Ctrl S mode.

  • Press Ctrl Q.

  CTRL S may have been pressed. This prevents the computer from displaying output on your terminal screen. By pressing CTRL Q, output once again begins displaying.

• Method 3: Check that your terminal is in the correct mode.

  1. Look at the bank of terminal keys at the top of your keyboard. In the middle of the row of keys marked F1 through F8, locate and press the one labeled System.

  2. This should change the softkeys displayed at the bottom of your terminal screen. Locate and press the softkey F4, labeled {{Modes}}.

  3. This changes the softkey display. Look at the softkey labeled {{BLOCK MODE}}. Make sure that the {{BLOCK MODE}} key does not contain an asterisk (*) in the label. If it does, press F3 to toggle the asterisk "off."

  4. Look at the softkey labeled {{AUTO LF}}. Make sure that the {{AUTO LF}} key does not contain an asterisk (*) in the label. If it does, press F3 to toggle the asterisk "off."

  5. Locate and check the {{REMOTE MODE}} label. Make sure that an asterisk (*) does appear in the label. If not, press F4 to toggle the asterisk "on."

  6. Press Return several times to see if the system prompt appears.

• Method 4: Perform a terminal soft reset.

  1. Press Shift Reset.

  2. Press Return several times.

  If your terminal hang occurred while you were in the middle of work on the system, do the following:

  1. Press Shift Reset.

  2. Press Return several times.

  3. At the system prompt, type ABORT Return.

  This terminates whatever process you were working on and may free your terminal.

• Method 5: Check the cable connections.

  1. Check that the terminal is plugged into its power source.

  2. Check to see if the terminal is turned on.

  3. Check that the terminal is connected to the DTC.

     1. Make sure that the cable is connected firmly at the back of the terminal.

     2. Trace the cabling back to its connection on the DTC. Make sure that the cable is firmly attached to the connector.

• Method 6: Perform a terminal hard reset.

  1. Press Shift Ctrl Reset simultaneously.

• Method 7: Turn the terminal off and back on.

  	CAUTION: The following procedure should not be performed on the system console. If you are using the console, refer to the section entitled, "Problems with consoles."

  1. Turn the terminal off and then back on again.

• Method 8: Abort your session.

  Have the system administrator abort your session.

  If you are the system administrator, do the following from the system console:

  2. Enter the following:

     SHOWJOB JOB=@S Return

     A screen similar to the following appears:

     JOBNUM STATE IPRI JIN JLIST INTRODUCED JOBNAME #S22 EXEC 20 20 TUE 8:46P JOANN.YUKI #S43 EXEC 105 105 WED 9:32A MANAGER.SYS 2 JOBS (DISPLAYED): 0 INTRO 0 WAIT; INCL 0 DEFERRED 2 EXEC; INCL 2 SESSIONS 0 SUSP JOBFENCE= 7; JLIMIT= 2; SLIMIT= 15

  3. Identify your session number, identified under JOBNUM as #Snn.

  4. Enter the following:

     ABORTJOB #Snnn Return

     Replace nnn with the session number of the hung terminal.

  5. After the session abort message appears on the user's terminal screen, and the logoff message has been displayed on the console, have the user press Return several times.

  6. If the logon prompt (MPE/iX:) does not appear on the user's terminal, enter the ABORTJOB command again.

• Method 9: Determine if other terminals are hung.

  If all terminals connected to the same DTC are hung, the problem could be with the DTC.

  1. Power cycle the DTC (turn the power off and then on).

  2. Check the console to ensure that the DTC downloads successfully.

  3. If the DTC does not download, check the cable connections.

  4. Check the hung terminals; if the problem was in the DTC, the hung terminals may now be okay.

Press Return several times.

If the console is hung, try the first six methods of the "Problems with terminals" section.

If after attempting these methods the console is still hung, check the following:

Check that the BAUD rate (the speed at which the console transmits and receives data) is set to 9600.

Check to see if another user on the system can send a message to the console. Have someone using a working terminal do the following to send a message to the console:

Too many pending console requests can cause the console to appear hung. Check to see if there are any pending console requests using the RECALL command.

If there is no = prompt, abort input and output to the console from another working terminal.

It may be necessary to abort your original console session. To do so, you must switch the console controls to a working terminal. You must have, or be allowed, SM capability to do the following procedures:

• Are you using new tapes, or a different brand of tapes? Is the Caution signal being displayed by the drive? Have you been using the particular tape for a very long time? Then the problem could be the tape.

  If you suspect the tape:

  • Clean the tape heads (if you have a DDS tape drive use the cleaning cassette).

  • Try the operation again.

  • If the problem still occurs, try using a different tape (tape cassette for DDS drives).

  • If the problem persists, the tape is probably not the cause.

• Has the tape drive been moved recently? Has the environment changed--unusually hot, cold, damp, or dry? Has there been dust or dirt near the drive? Have reasonable precautions been taken against static? If so, then the problem could be the tape drive. If you suspect that the problem is with the drive:

  • Clean the tape heads, and try the operation again.

  • If the problem persists, check the environmental conditions against the drive's specified limits and try to correct the conditions if they are outside the limits. Perhaps move the drive to a more suitable site.

• Has a new operating system been installed in the host computer? Have any cables been disconnected and reconnected? Then the problem could be in the host or the connections.

  If you suspect problems in the host, call your service representative.

• Is someone new operating the system? Has the operator just returned after a long absence? Then the problem may be caused by incorrect operation.

  If you suspect improper operation, ask the person to repeat the operation while you watch, to check that they are not omitting some vital step.