You will be most successful in searching a software support database by observing the following rules:

• Use the keywords you have developed as your freeform search argument.
• Spell keywords the same way every time, exactly as this publication specifies them.
• Specify the keywords in the order suggested in the following text.
• Include all the following keywords and those of the keywords you were able to determine in any discussion with IBM®. If it becomes necessary to submit an APAR, include the keyword strings used with the APAR documentation you send to IBM.

• Search the software support database, using as many of the following keywords as you have obtained and entering them in the order shown:
  1. Type-of-failure
  2. Load module, or CSECT, or both
  3. Modifiers
  4. Component identifier
  5. Release level
  6. Service level
• Scan the resulting list of known similar problems, eliminating APAR fixes that are already installed on your system.
  • If the list of matching APARs is too long to be practical, contact the IBM Support Center for assistance.
  • If you find a matching APAR problem description, contact the IBM Support Center to obtain the fix.
  • If you do not find a matching APAR problem description, broaden the search by eliminating keywords from the search argument as directed in Techniques for varying the search argument.
  • If you still do not find a matching APAR problem description, contact the Support Center as directed in Contacting the IBM Support Center for assistance. They might be able to refine your search argument and find a match in the database; otherwise, they can direct you to gather additional failure-related information.
• Preliminary failure source isolation documents the process of building a keyword string.