"Lexical Error" Message from installp

In AIX 3.2.x, the installp command will return the following error message if the required version of installp is not on the system.

   0503-211 installp: A lexical error occurred for ... 
      on line ..., column ... 
      An unexpected character, ... was found (hexadecimal value ...). 
      The character will be treated as a SPACE. 
      Use local problem reporting procedures. 

You can correct this error by loading the installp PTF from the installation or update media.

Your install/update media will contain the necessary installp PTF. You can find the PTF number by getting the table of contents from the media and searching it. To get the table of contents from the media, run:

   installp -qld<norewind device> > /tmp/tape.toc 

Now search /tmp/tape.toc for the string "Application Installation Utilities". If the string is found, the install/update media is at level 3.2.4 or post-3.2.4. If the string is not found, the media is at a pre-3.2.4 level. Follow the steps in the section below that corresponds to the media level.

1. The number for the installp PTF will be on the line directly above "Application Installation Utilities" (found in the last section).
2. If the number for the installp PTF is U428228 and the RISC System/6000 machine is at a pre-3.2.4 level, you will get a lexical error if you try to install the PTF. (U428288 will only be on some tapes sent out around May 1994.) To fix this problem, do one of the following:
   • Reorder the installp PTF in order to get the latest version. <OR>
   • If you have one of the following PTFs on media for other fixes that you have received, you can install that PTF to fix the problem.
     • U418283 (the installp fix on 3.2.4 media)
     • U422467 (the installp fix on 3.2.5 media from approximately November 1993 to April 1994)
3. Install the installp PTF from the tape by running the following command from a Korn shell while logged on as the root user.

    installp -BNXacgq -d<norewind_device>.1 bos.obj 3.2.0.0.UXXXXXX 2>&1 |   \ 
    tee /tmp/installptf.log 
   

   where:

      <norewind_device> is the name to the tape drive in no-rewind mode. 
                        Example:  /dev/rmt0.1 
      UXXXXXX           is the PTF number. 
      |                 is the pipe character. 
      \                 is the backslash character used for line 
                        continuation.
   

4. After the installp PTF is loaded, use SMIT to load the PTF(s) that were ordered.

1. Check to see if U403173 is on the system. Do this by running

      lslpp -A U403173 | pg 
   

   If U403173 is already on the system, skip to step 2. If it is not already on the system, install U403173 from the PTF tape using the procedures in the Service Updates chapter of the AIX 3.2 Installation Guide (SC23-2341). Be sure to answer "yes" to the "automatically install prerequisites" prompt.

2. Check the Vital PTF Information section of the documentation that you received with the install/update media. Look for the PTF that has "INSTALLP and INSTCLIENT UPDATES". This will give you the number of the installp PTF.
3. Load the installp PTF from the media using the procedures in the Service Updates chapter of the AIX 3.2 Installation Guide (SC23-2341). Be sure to answer "yes" to the "automatically install prerequisite software" prompt.

   Note: If you cannot find the number for the installp PTF on your tape, use the following chart as a guideline for locating the installp PTF.

      U418610 (shipped after 5-26-93) 
      U417395 (shipped after 4-22-93) 
      U416878 (shipped after 4-14-93) 
      U416450 (shipped after 4-2-93) 
      U414603 (shipped after 3-11-93) 
      U414085 (shipped after 3-3-93) 
      U413425 (shipped after 2-5-93) 
      U413366 (shipped after 1-28-93) 
      U412397 (shipped after 12-4-92) 
      U411711 (shipped after 11-25-92) 
      U410179 (shipped after 11-9-92) 
      U409490 (shipped after 9-23-92) 
      U406852 (shipped after 8-4-92) 
   

After applying the installp PTF, you should be able to install your other PTFs without receiving the lexical error message.