POWER7 information

HMC diagnostics

Learn to use the HMC diagnostics when determining the state of or capability of a component found in the HMC to perform its functions.

If a problem is determined to be in your HMC, read, understand, and then perform the procedures found in this topic.

The HMC problem analysis procedure will guide you to the appropriate repair action. Occasionally, you will be directed to the maintenance documentation for the HMC base personal computer. When this occurs, the maintenance documentation for the personal computer is used to complete the repair action.

HMC system reference code

System reference codes (SRCs) are the foundation of the Hardware Management Console diagnostics.

All SRCs, also know as error codes, that pertain to the function of the HMC can be found in System reference codes (Cxxx-Hxxx) .

HMC connection error codes are 6 digits in length and begin with a 0, all other HMC error codes are 8 digits in length and begin with the alphabetic characters HSC. The HMC error codes are organized in the following categories:
  • 0xxxxx connection error codes
  • HSCExxxx console events error codes
  • HSCFxxxx Licensed Internal Code error codes
  • HSCIxxxx Inventory Scout Services error codes
  • HSCLxxxx error codes
  • HSCPxxxx platform management error codes
  • HSCSxxxx Service Focal Point error codes

Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC personal computer hardware

Use the information provided to help cross-reference your HMC equivalent machine type and model number for the base personal computer. You can use the entries in this table to link directly to the base PC maintenance documentation.

Table 1. Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC's personal computer hardware
HMC machine type and model number (available on the serial number plate of your HMC) Equivalent PC server machine type and model number Hardware maintenance manuals (HMM)
7310-CR4, 7042-CR4 7978 Model 42U or 7978 Model PBT See Problem determination and service guide
7042-CR5 7946 Model 52U or 7946 Model PAL See Problem determination and service guide
7042-CR6 7944 Model PCH See Problem determination and service guide
7042-CR7 7914 Model PCH See Problem determination and service guide
7310-C06 and 7042-C06 4362 Model 52U or 4362 Model PAT See Problem determination and service guide
7042-C07 4367 Model 32U, 4367 Model PAM or 4367 Model PAR See Problem determination and service guide
7042-C08 7946 Model 52U See Problem determination and service guide
For the latest information regarding maintenance of your HMC PC, system board specifications, and parts, see PC hardware maintenance manuals. To obtain the latest versions of these publications through the IBM® website, follow this procedure:
  1. Go to the IBM website (http://www.ibm.com).
  2. Select Support & downloads.
  3. Go to Select product or service type for support and expand the Choose support type box.
  4. Select System x from the menu listing, and then select the Go icon.
  5. On the right side of the menu, locate the Quick path box and type in the Equivalent PC Server machine type that corresponds to your HMC machine type, and then select Go.
  6. Select the Troubleshooting tab, located on the support menu.
  7. In the Available topics box select Service/Support guide. Then click the Go icon.
  8. Click on the link that appears below Service/Support guide.
  9. Click on the file link number listed below File link. The file for the hardware maintenance manual will open.

Diagnostics, test, and recovery

Describes some of the diagnostic tools available for use on your HMC hardware related problems.

Choose from one of the following procedures to help in diagnosing a hardware related problem.

  • Power-on self-test (POST)
    • POST beep codes
    • Error code format
  • Sector disk drive scanning procedure

    To do a scan of your HMC disk drive, do the following:

    1. Power off the HMC.
    2. Power on the HMC.
    3. As the HMC is rebooting, watch the HMC display. After the second BroadCom Ethernet driver screen is displayed, press CTRL + A.
    4. From the list of options, select Disk Utilities.
    5. Select Verify Disk Media The HMC will perform a scan of your disk drive.
  • PC-Doctor
Note: For additional information about items in the previous list, see the appropriate personal computer hardware maintenance manual. To access the personal computer hardware maintenance documentation, see Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC personal computer hardware.

PC-Doctor

PC-Doctor is a set of diagnostic and system information tools included with the HMC. In rack-mounted HMC models, PC-Doctor is preinstalled on the system. PC-Doctor is included on the HMC Recovery CDs for Version 3.0 Release 3 (or later) for HMC models that are not rack-mounted.

Note:
  • ISO image support is available on CD-ROM for the PC models 8485, 4362 and the HMC models 7xxx-C05 and 7xxx-C06 or at the http://www.ibm.com website.
  • ISO image support is available on diskettes or CD-ROM for the PC models 8305, 8187, 8141 and the HMC models 7xxx-C03 and 7xxx-C04 HMCs or at the http://www.lenovo.com website.

Running PC-Doctor on an HMC that is not rack-mounted

Before accessing the PC-Doctor application on the HMC, create a bootable diskette (referred to as the PC-Doctor diskette in this topic).

To create the diskette:

  1. Insert volume 2 of HMC Recovery CD into the CD drive.
  2. Select Start > My Computer.
  3. Open the CD and go to the pc_diag directory.
  4. Open the readme file and follow the instructions for creating the PC-Doctor diskette using the pc_diag.exe tool.

To run PC-Doctor:

  1. Power off the HMC.
  2. Insert the PC-Doctor diskette that you created.
  3. Power on the HMC.

If the HMC does not read the PC-Doctor diskette upon startup, the problem might be due to the startup sequence. To make the PC-Doctor diskette the primary startup media, do the following:

  1. Power off the HMC.
  2. Power on the HMC and when the Setup Utility prompts during startup, press F1.
  3. Select the Startup tab.
  4. Highlight Startup Sequence and press Enter.
  5. Under Primary Startup Sequence, make sure the first startup device is set to Removable. Then follow the remainder of the instructions on the screen to complete the procedure.

Running PC-Doctor on a rack-mounted HMC

Teaches you how to run PC-Doctor from your rack-mounted HMC.

Note:
  • A rack-mounted HMC has PC-Doctor preinstalled in read-only memory (ROM). The diagnostics are run from ROM, there is no boot media required.
  • If you are directed by a your service provider, you can obtain and install updated versions of PC-Doctor.
    • The updates for PC model 7978 and HMC 7xxx-CR4 can be obtained from diskette, CD-ROM, or at the http://www.ibm.com website.
    • The updates for PC models 8837, 8676 and HMC models 7xxx-CR3, and 7xxx-CR2 can be obtained from diskettes, or at the http://www.ibm.com website.

To run PC-Doctor on a rack-mounted HMC:

  1. Turn off the power to the HMC.
  2. Turn on the power to the HMC and press F2 when the message F2 for Diagnostics is displayed, press F2.
  3. If prompted, type the appropriate password, then press Enter.
  4. Select either Extended or Basic from the top of the screen.
  5. From the diagnostic screen, select the test you want to run from the list and then follow all instructions.
Note: For additional information about HMC diagnostics, go to the diagnostics section in the appropriate personal computer hardware maintenance manual. To access the personal computer hardware maintenance documentation, see Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC personal computer hardware.

Connector and hard disk drive restrictions for the HMC

Identifies the connector and disk drive restriction found on your HMC.

Models 7310-C05, 7042-CR4, 7042-CR5, 7042-C06, and 7042-C07 have the following two hard disk drive restrictions:
  • Use of the parallel port
    Note: The HMC is a closed system and as such, the hardware is used in a limited manner. No device drivers or code support any peripheral devices that use a parallel port.
  • Use of more than one hard disk drive
To view the location of each HMC connector, see Cabling the HMC
Parent topic: Hardware Management Console operations

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Last updated: Sun, December 17, 2017