[Info-vax] RX-2620 server failure

[Rich Jordan]

On Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 1:24:15 PM UTC-5, Rich Jordan wrote:
> On Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at 7:06:57 PM UTC-5, Rich Jordan wrote:
> > It picked an auspicious time to stop working; we used it as our test bed for planning a customer upgrade a month ago.  A few days ago apparently, it just stopped.  The last iLO serial console session was still connected showing the end of its last startup, but it was totally unresponsive.  iLO was working fine, review of the iLO logs showed nothing.
> > 
> > It can no longer find the attached devices.  VMS boot and the backup VMS boot to a second disk fail, can't find the disk (I'll post the specific error if needed)>  
> > 
> > Booting the DVD shows a cursor and hangs.  The DVD light and the SCSI disk lights are flashing sporadically
> > 
> > Booting into EFI hangs with the text "Scanning for devices" for as long as we've let it try.  Again DVD and disk lights are flashing sporadically.
> > 
> > Found some online references that said reseating drives and cables fixed the problem for some on similar systems, but that has not worked here.
> > 
> > I can pull the server and reseat all the things in a day or two.  Fortuantely this is a test box, not production but we would like it back in service if possible.  Any suggestions appreciated while we start digging through the service guide; thank God HP hasn't hidden that behind the VMS PDF from hell.
> > 
> > Thanks
> 
> So we're still chasing a problem with the optical disk.  The original one died so we replaced it with one of a set of spares that were originally laptop drives.  All of them had been tested on a DS10-L and worked, some  were DVD-ROM/CDRom and some DVD-ROM/CDRW.
> 
> The first DVD-ROM we put in the RX2620 worked for firmware updates, booting VMS distribution, doing the VMS upgrades, etc.   After the system disk failure, where we had to fall back to the original VMS V8.2-1 disk and rebuild the boot menus, but still on an intermediate firmware release, the DVD-ROM stopped working.  Console can't boot it (spins forever), VMS can't boot or access it  (%MOUNT-F-IVBUFLEN, invalid buffer length).
> 
> Not sure why the system disk fallback should affect the console's ability to see and use the drive, unless the system disk killer also impacted the DVD ROM.
> 
> I have since sub'd on two other drives, another DVD-ROM of the same model and a DVDROM/CDRW and both give the same symptoms.
> 
> There are some references online about similar problems in V8.2 that an ECO corrected.  I pushed V8.2-1 UPDATE ECO 16, still makes no difference with two of the three drives (haven't had time to try the third).  %MOUNT-F-IVBUFLEN, invalid buffer length or a hang from the console trying to boot.
> 
> If it was a drive version/firmware issue then the first replacement should never have worked but it did.  I haven't had a chance to retest the drives in the DS10-L but hope to this afternoon.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Thanks

Heh... in the 'well isn't _that_ special' department.  I tried a new DVD-R burned V8.4 OE disk, and it mounted.  Tried an original alpha CD, and it mounted.  Tried my burned V8.4 Alpha CD, buffer overrun; tried the earlier factory HP VMS V8.2 OE DVD, buffer overrun, earlier burned V8.3 and V8.4 DVD-Rs that were working in July, buffer overrun.

So one older factory DVD and all my older burned DVD's and CD's are failing.  A DVD burned last week (on a PC, different drive) works, and factory Alpha CD's work.

This drive may be more sensitive to burned disks or my burned disks may be doing early fades.  In any case looks like we're GTG again on doing the upgrade to V8.4 once we do some successful boot tests.