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Activating and Deactivating Autoboot and Autosearch Functions

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Enabling and disabling the autoboot and autosearch flags determines one of four boot device and console selections for system initialization. Hardware interprets the selections as follows:

Manual (autoboot off and autosearch off). Ask for the path to the boot device. Use the path that is indicated. Initialize the path given, and boot from it.

Bootsearch (autoboot off and autosearch on). Search for a boot device. (Devices are searched from the smallest to the largest physical address on the processor's bus.) If the boot device has an incorrect data format, search for the next boot device. If no boot device exists, or all have the incorrect data format, execute manual selection.

Autoboot (autoboot on and autosearch off). Try to boot from the primary boot device specified in stable storage. If the boot device does not exist or has an incorrect data format, execute manual selection. Once booted, execute (performed by ISL) an autoboot file, which contains a command sequence, to bring up the operating system without operator intervention. If the autoboot file does not exist, prompt the operator for the utility command.

Autosearch (autoboot on and autosearch on). Try to boot from the boot device path stored in stable storage. If the boot device does not exist or has an incorrect data format, execute the boot search selection. Once booted, execute (performed by ISL) an autoboot file, which contains an autoboot sequence, to bring up the operating system without operator intervention. If the autoboot file does not exist, prompt the operator for the utility command.

To enable or disable these features, use the AUTOBOOT and AUTOSEARCH commands. Enter one or both of the commands and the desired setting (ON/OFF) at the ISL prompt. The system responds with a message indicating the flag status: 


  ISL> AUTOBOOT ON

    Autoboot is ON (enabled).

  ISL> AUTOBOOT OFF

    Autoboot is OFF (disabled).

  ISL> AUTOSEARCH ON

    Autosearch is ON (enabled).

  ISL> AUTOSEARCH OFF

    Autosearch is OFF (disabled).
For more information on the autoboot and autosearch flags refer to Appendix C Reading Stable Storage and Nonvolatile Memory

Modifying Boot Paths in Stable Storage

The ISL commands PRIMPATH, ALTPATH, and CONSPATH are available for placing new primary boot path, alternate boot path, or console boot path information in stable storage. The changes need to be in stable storage to execute the autoboot sequence properly in the event of a power outage or other serious failure.

CAUTION: The commands described in the above paragraph may disrupt normal system functions if used inappropriately. For this reason, do not attempt to use these commands without assistance from Hewlett-Packard service personnel.

To execute any of these three commands, enter the command with its appropriate parameter or enter Return after the command and wait to be prompted for further input: 

  ISL> altpath 0/0/1/0.6
or 

  ISL> ALTPATH

  Enter alternate boot path: 0/0/1/0.6
To withdraw a command (without changing the path), enter Return after entering the command without any parameter. For example, 

  ISL> ALTPATH

  Enter alternate boot path:  Return
  Invalid Input.
Trailing zeros are not required when a boot path is entered: 

  ISL> PRIMPATH primpath 0/0/2/0.6.0.0
  ISL> CONSPATH 0/0/4/0
If an improper path format is entered, or you have withdrawn a command as shown above, the system issues an Invalid Input message. Then ISL prompts for a new command: 

  ISL> PRIMPATH 240
  Invalid Input.

  ISL>

Displaying Current Boot Path, Autoboot, and Autosearch Settings

Since an improper path keeps the system from booting, use the DISPLAY command to check the paths entered. Double check these entries against a recent I/O map from the ISL IOMAP utility or a configuration listing from the SYSGEN utility. For more information on SYSGEN, refer to Chapter 4 Using the System Generator (SYSGEN)

The DISPLAY or DI command lists the autoboot and autosearch settings, the primary boot path, the alternate boot path, and the system console path held in stable storage. Use the DISPLAY command to verify that correct information resides in stable storage. Example 3-3 demonstrates using the ISL DISPLAY command. This is an example from a N-class system. The boot paths may vary, depending on the system.

Example 3-3 Displaying an Example of ISL Settings 

  ISL> display
    Fastsize value is 0000000F
    Autoboot is OFF (disabled)
    Autosearch is OFF (disabled)

    Primary boot path is 0/0/2/0.6.0.0.0.0.0
    Primary boot path is (hex) 0/0/2/0.6.0.0.0.0.0

    Alternate boot path is 0/0/1/0.6.0.0.0.0.0
    Alternate boot path is (hex) 0/0/1/0.6.0.0.0.0.0

    System console path is 0/0/4/0.0.0.0.0.0.0
    System console path is (hex) 0/0/4/0.0.0.0.0.0.0
  ISL>

Setting Fastsize

If fastsize is set to the wrong value, you cannot do installs or updates. The only value that is acceptable is "F." If you try to do an update or install with fastsize set to the wrong value, you will receive an error message that reads UTILITY REQUIRES MORE MEMORY THAN IS CONFIGURED.

Consider the following example. 

  ISL> DISPLAY

  Fastsize value is 00000003

  .
  .
  .
This fastsize value is invalid. You must reset it to "F"; therefore, at the ISL prompt, enter Fastsize F, as in the following example. 

  ISL> FASTSIZE F
If you changed the value of fastsize, you must reset the system for the new value to take effect. For more information on resetting the system, refer to Chapter 2 Initiating System Activity

Listing Autoboot File Contents

To list the contents of the current autoboot file, enter either LISTAUTOFL or LSAUTOFL at the ISL prompt: 

  ISL> LISTAUTOFL



Initial System Loader (ISL)

Reading Nonvolatile Memory (NVM)