HMC diagnostics overview

Learn about the HMC diagnostic path and how to find additional information on the base hardware.

The first step to service a managed system or an attached HMC is to go to the Beginning problem analysis procedure. You will then be directed to the appropriate documentation depending on the type of problem that is to be isolated and repaired.

If a problem is determined to be in your HMC system, you are directed to the HMC problem analysis for diagnostic and repair information.

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's base personal computer. When this occurs, the maintenance documentation for the personal computer is used to complete the repair action.

Connector and hard disk drive restrictions for the HMC

The following table contains connector and hard disk drive restrictions that you will need to know when cabling or adding hard disk drives to your HMC.

Table 1. Connector and hard disk drive restrictions for the HMC
HMC machine type, and model number	Connector restrictions for cabling an HMC
7310-CR2	The following are not supported: 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. The C2T IN and ISM ports The CR2 only supports a USB keyboard and mouse. When the keyboard and mouse are connected to any of the three USB connectors, the third unconnected USB connector is not supported. To view the location of each connector identified above, refer to Cabling the HMC, then scroll to the back view of the model you are cabling.
7310-CR3	The following are not supported: 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 the HMC system management connector Use of the serial port Use of the DVD drive The HMC supports only the USB keyboard and mouse that are shipped with the HMC. No other USB devices are supported when connecting to the third USB connector. There is no requirement that you must use a specific USB port for the keyboard and mouse. When a set of USB connectors is being used for a keyboard and mouse, all other USB and the PS/2 connectors are rendered inoperable. When the PS/2 connectors are being used for a keyboard and mouse, all USB connectors are rendered inoperable. To view the location of each connector identified above, refer to Cabling the HMC, then scroll to the back view of the model you are cabling.
7310-C03	The following are not supported: 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 the audio connectors Use of the diskette drive The HMC supports only the USB keyboard and mouse that are shipped with the HMC. No other USB devices are supported when connecting to the third USB connector. There is no requirement that you must use a specific USB port for the keyboard and mouse. When a set of USB connectors is being used for a keyboard and mouse, all other USB and the PS/2 connectors are rendered inoperable. When the PS/2 connectors are being used for a keyboard and mouse, all USB connectors are rendered inoperable. To view the location of each connector identified above, refer to Cabling the HMC, then scroll to the back view of the model you are cabling.
7310-C04	The following are not supported: 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 the serial connectors Use of the audio connectors Use of the diskette drive The HMC supports only the USB keyboard and mouse that are shipped with the HMC. No other USB devices are supported when connecting to the third USB connector. There is no requirement that you must use a specific USB port for the keyboard and mouse. When a set of USB connectors is being used for a keyboard and mouse, all other USB and the PS/2 connectors are rendered inoperable. When the PS/2 connectors are being used for a keyboard and mouse, all USB connectors are rendered inoperable. To view the location of each connector identified above, refer to Cabling the HMC, then scroll to the back view of the model you are cabling.
7310-C05	The following are not supported: 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 connector identified above, refer to Cabling the HMC, then scroll to the back view of the model you are cabling.

Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC's personal computer hardware

The following table provides information 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 2. 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 base personal computer machine type and model number	Order numbers for supporting hardware maintenance information
7310-CR2 Note: For the latest HMC Parts information, go to Hardware management console (HMC) parts, then scroll to your HMC machine type and model.	Type 8676 Model 22X	To access the Type 8676 Hardware Maintenance Manual and Troubleshooting Guide, select 48p9908.pdf from the Support & downloads Web site.
7310-CR3 Note: For the latest HMC Parts information, go to Hardware management console (HMC) parts, then scroll to your HMC machine type and model.	Type 8837 Model 22U	To access the Type 8837 Hardware Maintenance Manual and Troubleshooting Guide, select 25k8109.pdf from the Support & downloads Web site.
7310-CR4	7978 Model 42U or 7978 Model PBT	31R1156
7310-C03 Note: For the latest HMC Parts information, go to Hardware management console (HMC) parts, then scroll to your HMC machine type and model.	Type 8187 Model F4U (without POV)	To access the Type 8187 Hardware Maintenance Manual, select 74p2661.pdf from the Support & downloads Web site.
7310-C04 Note: For the latest HMC Parts information, go to Hardware management console (HMC) parts, then scroll to your HMC machine type and model.	Type 8141 Model 31U	To access the Type 8141 Hardware Maintenance Manual, select 19r0486.pdf from the Support & downloadsWeb site.
7310-C05 Note: For the latest HMC parts information, go to Hardware management console (HMC) parts, then scroll to your HMC machine type and model.	Type 8485 Model 3AU	To access the Type 8485 Problem Determination and Service Guide, select 31r205.pdf from the Support & downloads Web site.
7310-C06	4362 Model 52U or 4362 Model PAT	nn1cqmst

For the latest information regarding the maintenance of your HMC personal computer, system board specifications, and parts, refer to the appropriate personal computer hardware maintenance manual. Use the links in the previous table to go to the personal computer hardware maintenance information on the World Wide Web. If you cannot link directly to these documents, you can access the documents by using the following procedure:

Go to the IBM® Web site at http:\\www.ibm.com.
Select Support & downloads.
In the Search Technical support field, type the order number from the previous table for the hardware maintenance information that you want to access.
Click Search.
In the search results, click the link for the appropriate document.

Diagnostics, test, and recovery

The following tools are available to help identify and resolve hardware-related problems:

Power-on self-test (POST)
- POST beep codes
- Error code format
7310-CR4 sector disk drive scanning procedure
To do a sector by sector scan of your 7310-CR4 disk drive, do the following:
1. Power off then power on the HMC.
2. As the HMC is rebooting, watch the HMC display. After the second BroadCom Ethernet driver screen appears on your display, simultaneously press the "CTRL" key and the letter "A" key . An options menu appears on your display.
3. From the list of options select Disk Utilities.
4. Select Disk Utilities
5. Select Verify Disk Media....
  Note: After selecting the Verify Disk Media.... the HMC will begin to do a sector by sector scan of you 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, refer to the Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC's 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 Release 3 Version 3.0 (or later) for HMC models that are not rack-mounted.

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

Before accessing the PC-Doctor application on the HMC, you need to create a bootable diskette (referred to as the PC-Doctor diskette in the remainder of this section).

To create the diskette:

On a machine running Windows®, insert a high-density floppy diskette in your diskette drive.
Insert volume 2 of HMC Recovery CD into the CD drive.
Select Start > My Computer.
Open the CD and go to the pc_diag directory.
Open the readme file and follow the instructions for creating the PC-Doctor diskette using the pc_diag.exe tool.

To run PC-Doctor:

Power off the HMC.
Insert the PC-Doctor diskette you created.
Power on the HMC.

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

Power off the HMC.
Power on the HMC and press F1 when the Setup Utility prompts during startup.
Select the Startup tab.
Highlight Startup Sequence and press Enter.
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

Note: A rack-mounted HMC has PC-Doctor preinstalled. You can upgrade your PC-Doctor using a bootable CD that has PC-Doctor installed. To use a bootable diskette copy of PC-Doctor on a rack-mounted HMC, you must use an external USB diskette drive.

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

Turn off the power to the HMC.
If you are using a bootable CD or diskette to run PC-Doctor, insert it into the appropriate drive.
Turn the power to the HMC back on and press F2 when the message F2 for Diagnostics is displayed.
If prompted, type the appropriate password, then press Enter.
Select either Extended or Basic from the top of the screen.
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, refer to Equivalent maintenance information for the HMC's personal computer hardware.