RS/6000 problem

[debs3759]

Not sure if this should be in this forum or in the information wanted section. If nobody here can help, I will of course look for a forum somewhere that is more hardware oriented to get the right appropriate advice...

I'm trying to get my RS/6000 working, but am having problems. I have the manuals listed at:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/pseries/v5r3/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.pseries.doc/hardware_docs/rs6000_7044_44p_170.htm

I get various errors when trying to boot, but commonly get the error code 4BA00830 on the operator panel display. I have established from the documents I have that this is a problem with the Service Processor, although I am not clear on exactly what and where this is (although wonder if it might be their name for the BIOS?)

Does anyone know what this means, or how to fix it?

On one boot, I managed accidentally to access the BIOS but am not sure what I did and cannot find it again. Does anyone know how I access the BIOS, which isn't mentioned in any of the docs?

Does anyone that knows how these work have any ideas what I should do? I get as far sometimes as it trying to load software off the disc (ie the OS, I assume), but then it just reboots.

I suspect that I need to get the BIOS reflashed, but I haven't a clue and if that is necessary I am not sure how to do it (if I just need to get a BIOS image and find someone who can flash it, or if there is an easier way..). I have a VT510 terminal I can connect up if it is easier to describe (or point me toward) a description of what to do with that...

This is my first non-x86 system I will have worked with (other than in a college environment where I never had to know how it worked and at the time didn't have a great interest), so iit would be nice to find a way of sorting it out (plus I am looking at this as an ideal opportunity to have a non-Windows system without giving up the ease of use that windows has while I learn to use Unix/Linux based systems).

Any help will be appreciated

[Qwerty]

The "service processor" isn't another word for BIOS is rather an addition to it.
It's a small auxiliary CPU on the mainboard or on an expansion card. It is used to control and manage the whole system. This CPU is used by BIOS only, the host's OS can't utilize it.

In some cases the service processor has it's own dedicated ethernet controller to allow the management the over the network.
This small CPU is totally independent from the main CPU, memory, I/O and OS. This solution has a great advantage - you can manage a PC with crashed OS, faulty main CPU or RAM and you can manage a computer with no OS at all.

Many 4 or 8-way x86 servers have such auxiliary CPU onboard.

Unfortunately I have no idea how to fix the problem. It's possible the service processor was on an expansion board which was removed. Another possible cause - the SP is configured to access the main hardware management server over the ethernet, but it's not connected. Perhaps the SP is just not working correctly.

Perhaps you should try to find some documentation about the service processor on the IBM webpages. I tried with google and was able to find a couple of PDFs there.

[debs3759]

I have been trying to find the appropriate documentation since Friday, and have not yet found anything that tells me how to fix any of the problems that are indicated by different error messages I get. The biggest problem is that if I turn it off and remove the power cable for an hour or more (maybe less, I didn't time it), the error code changes!

Today I have had it tell me, among other things, that there is a problem with the DIMMs, Service Processor and a couple that I couldn't find in the docs I have. That has been happening as long as I have been trying to start it up. No document I have seen told me how to enter the BIOS to check settings.

I have managed to get into System Management Services (which is what I thought before was the BIOS). I tried to update the SP and System firmware from there, doing what the website says, and it didn't work.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to register on the support forums at IBM (I was hoping to avoid that, but needs must...)

[Qwerty]

[Unzlbunzl]

[debs3759]

Thanks for the advice. I have just downloaded and looked through those documents, but sadly they have not been much help for this system.

I am so far able to access a multi-boot menu, but there is nothing for it to boot, and I can access the System Management Services. Neither seem to have any SCSI device on their list, so I can't check if AIX is on the hard drive already and I can't install it from the CDs I have.

I am going to look for support forums at IBM (that'll be easy enough, I just didn't look specifically for that before as I already can't keep up with all the forums I am a member of). I'll post WHEN I get it working what I had to do (even if it takes me 6 months, I am too stubborn to give up now I've started - though I might get side-tracked and work with some of the DIGITAL servers or DEC VaxStations in between (and see what is wrong with them, of course