HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Troubleshooting Responsibilities
Many problems encountered with terminals and serial printers can be
solved by the end user. Even more can be solved by a system manager. If
the system manager cannot solve a problem, they should contact an HP
support representative.
Each of the above groups has a specific role to play in the
troubleshooting process. Each person needs to fulfill this role for
troubleshooting to be completed quickly.
Basic Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting usually begins with recognizing that the device is not
working. The device might be "hung" (port not responding), transmission
might be "garbled", or the device might not work at all (screen or
printer is "dead"). Record the following information to make
troubleshooting easier:
* The ldev number of the device.
* The time that the problem began.
* The environment of the device when the problem occurred, including:
* What application was running on the device.
* Whether the device was in character or block mode (for terminals
only).
* What specific task was being attempted when the problem began.
* Symptoms of the problem and when each originated.
* Steps already taken to correct the problem.
* Whether the problem has occurred before.
More Troubleshooting
A system manager has many troubleshooting responsibilities. They need to
know how to collect information, analyze information, and (maybe most
importantly) know when it is time to call an HP support representative.
When an HP support representative is contacted, the system manager should
have collected as much information as possible so that the HP
representative has enough information to solve the problem or consult
with other HP personnel.
A system manager should:
* Collect as much information as possible from the user.
* Check each device that is malfunctioning.
* Check configuration values for the malfunctioning devices.
* Perform a modem check (if modems are used).
* Run TermDSM to collect more information. At this point, it is
usually possible to return specific devices or the whole subsystem to
a state where new sessions can be started and new device opens can
occur.
Not all of the above steps are necessary each time. For instance, if
many devices go down at once, it is likely that the problem lies in the
DTC or the LAN, instead of each individual device.
It is important to note that intermittent problems can become more
frequent. This is especially true if a piece of hardware is beginning to
fail.
If it is possible to reset the subsystem so that it appears to function
normally, there is no reason to contact an HP support representative.
However, it is important to keep an accurate log of the problems and to
save any data you have accumulated from the problems. It might take data
from several different occurrences of the problem to be able to pinpoint
the area where the problem lies.
CAUTION The system manager should not perform hardware diagnostics other
than the loopback tests and the DTC selftest included in
TermDSM. Only HP support representatives should perform other
hardware diagnostics.
Hewlett-Packard Responsibilities
It is ultimately Hewlett-Packard's responsibility to resolve problems
that arise with the use of products that HP supports as specified in your
customer service contract. The job of Hewlett-Packard personnel who are
called to your site can be made more effective by the efforts of the
users and the system manager. The more information the HP representative
is given, the faster the problem can be solved.