Using the SCSISelect Utility Program

Using the SCSISelect Utility Program

The server comes with a menu-driven configuration utility program, called SCSISelect, that you can use to view and change SCSI settings.

You can use the SCSISelect Utility program to:

•  View and change the device configuration
•  Perform a low-level format or verify the media on a SCSI hard disk drive.

Starting the SCSISelect Utility Program

NOTE: The SCSI controller in the server is a dual channel device. Select channel B for internal devices, channel A for external devices. The default selection is channel A.

You can access this program when you start the server. The SCSISelect prompt appears after the IBM Netfinity Logo appears. Press Ctrl+A immediately after the SCSISelect prompt appears, then, select channel B for internal devices.

Use the Up Arrow (  ) and Down Arrow (  ) key to move the highlight bar to the various menu choices. Press Esc to return to the previous menu. Also, you can press the F5 key to switch between color and monochrome modes (if the monitor permits).
To change the settings of the displayed items, follow the directions on the screen.

SCSISelect Utility Program Choices: The following choices appear on the SCSISelect Utility program menu:

•  Configure/View Host Adapter Settings
•  SCSI Disk Utilities

•  Host Adapter SCSI ID
   Select this choice to change the SCSI ID of the SCSI controller from its default value of 7.  Do not assign the SCSI controller to a SCSI ID already in use, such as 14, which is used by the daughterboard card  (SAF-TE) on the DASD backplane.

•  SCSI Parity Checking
   The default value is Enabled. This value should not be changed.

•  Host Adapter SCSI Termination
   The default value is Enabled. This value should not be changed.

•  Boot Device Options
   Select this choice to configure startable device parameters.  Before you can make updates, you must know the ID of the device whose parameters you want to configure.

•  SCSI Device Configuration
   Select this choice to configure SCSI device parameters. Before you can make updates, you must  know the ID of the device whose parameters you want to configure.

•  Advanced Configuration Options
   Select this choice to view or change the settings for advanced configuration options.  These options include enabling support for large hard disk drives and support for BIOS  parameters if BIOS is enabled.

To reset to the the host adapter defaults, press F6, then, follow the instructions on the screen.

SCSI Disk Utilities: To see the IDs that are assigned to each SCSI device, to format a SCSI device, or to scan the disk for media defects, select SCSI Disk Utilities from the SCSISelect Utility program menu.

To use the utility program, select a drive from the list. Read the screens carefully before making a selection.

NOTE: If the following screen displays, you might have pressed Ctrl+A before the selected drives were ready. Restart the server, and watch the SCSISelect messages as each drive spins up. After the drive that you want to view or format spins up, press Ctrl+A.

 +----------------------------------------------------------------+
 |                                                                |
 |                 Unexpected SCSI Command Failure                |
 |                                                                |
 |  Target SCSI ID:          4                                    |
 |  SCSI CDB Sent:           03 00 00 00 0E 00 07 00 02 00        |
 |  Host Adapter Status:     00h - No host adapter error          |
 |  Target Status:           02h - Check condition                |
 |  Sense Key:               02h - Not ready                      |
 |  +Sense Code:             04h                                  |
 |  +Sense Code Qualifier:   02h                                  |
 |                                                                |
 |                  Press 'Esc' to continue.                      |
 +----------------------------------------------------------------+


Performing a Low-Level Disk Format: You can perform a low-level format on hard disk drives using the Format Disk feature of the SCSISelect Utility program.

Depending on the hard disk capacity, the low-level format program could take up to two hours.

When To Use the Format Disk Program: Use the Format Disk program:

•  When you are installing software that requires a low-level format
•  When you get recurring messages from the diagnostic tests directing you to run the Low-Level Format  program on the hard disk
•  As a last resort before replacing a failing hard disk drive.

Starting the Low-Level Format

  Attention The low-level format erases all data and programs.

1.  If the hard disk drive is working, make a backup copy of all the files and programs on the hard disk drive.
2.  Select Format Disk, then, follow the instructions on the screen.

   NOTE: Hard disk drives normally contain more tracks than their stated capacity,  to allow for defective tracks. A message appears on the screen if the defect limit is reached.  If this happens, replace the drive.

3.  To install an operating system after the hard disk drive is formatted, refer to the ServerGuide  information in the 'ServerGuide and Netfinity Manager Information' section of this Server Library that comes  with the server.

Verifying the Disk Media: Select Verify Disk Media to scan the selected hard disk drive for media defects, such as bad tracks. All recoverable defects will be remapped.

The Verify Disk Media program takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

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