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Booting with Controlled Startup  



System Startup and STARTUP.COM explains the site-independent startup command procedure, SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP.COM. By default, when your system boots, it automatically executes STARTUP.COM to execute startup events. Under special circumstances, you might want to control site-independent startup when you boot the system. For example, you might want to perform one of the following tasks:

Task For More Information
Boot with an alternate site-independent startup procedure
Booting with an Alternate Site-Independent Startup Procedure
Boot with an alternate site-independent startup command procedure by default
Specifying an Alternate Default Startup Command Procedure
Boot with minimum startup
Booting with Minimum Startup
Display startup procedure commands as they execute
Booting While Displaying Startup Procedure Commands


CautionDo not modify STARTUP.COM. The system requires this procedure to correctly start up the system. For information about modifying site-specific startup procedures to perform site-specific operations, see Modifying Site-Specific Startup Command Procedures.

Booting with an Alternate Site-Independent Startup Procedure  

The default system startup procedure is SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP.COM. HP recommends you do not modify STARTUP.COM. However, in special environments, you might want the system to perform special startup commands. The conversational boot lets you specify that the system temporarily use an alternate startup procedure.

You can also perform site-specific startup events by adding commands to the site-specific startup command procedures. For more information, see Modifying Site-Specific Startup Command Procedures.

How to Perform This Task

  1. Follow the instructions for performing a conversational boot in one of the following manuals:
  2. Enter the following command to show the current startup file:
    SYSBOOT> SHOW/STARTUP
  3. Enter a command in the following format to specify the alternate site-independent startup command procedure: SET/STARTUP file-specwhere file-spec specifies the entire file specification for the startup file to be used, including the device and directory. For example:
    SYSBOOT> SET/STARTUP SYS$SYSTEM:XSTARTUP.COM
    If the startup file specified as file-spec does not exist, the system displays the following message:
    Error opening primary input file SYS$INPUT
    File not found
    Check the file name you entered. Make sure you specified it correctly.
  4. Enter the following command to verify the change:
    SYSBOOT> SHOW/STARTUP
  5. Enter the following command to continue booting:
    SYSBOOT> CONTINUE

To make your alternate site-independent startup procedure the default startup procedure, see Specifying an Alternate Default Startup Command Procedure.

Example

SYSBOOT> SHOW/STARTUP
Startup command file = SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP.COM
SYSBOOT> SET/STARTUP SYS$SYSTEM:XSTARTUP.COM
SYSBOOT> SHOW/STARTUP
Startup command file = SYS$SYSTEM:XSTARTUP.COM
SYSBOOT> CONTINUE

Specifying an Alternate Default Startup Command Procedure  

The default system startup procedure is SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP.COM. However, in special environments, you might want the system to perform special startup commands. If you frequently require a startup command procedure other than SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP.COM, you can specify that the alternate procedure be used by default.

How to Perform This Task

  1. Edit the file SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT. AUTOGEN uses this file to modify parameters.
  2. Add a line to MODPARAMS.DAT assigning the name of your alternate procedure to the symbol STARTUP. For example:
    STARTUP = "SYS$SYSTEM:MY_STARTUP.COM"
  3. At a convenient time, invoke AUTOGEN. When the system reboots, the procedure specified in step 2 becomes the default startup command procedure.

Example

$ EDIT SYS$SYSTEM:MODPARAMS.DAT
.
.
.
[Insert the following line in MODPARAMS.DAT:]
STARTUP = "SYS$SYSTEM:MY_STARTUP.COM"
.
.
.
$ @SYS$SYSTEM:AUTOGEN SAVPARAMS REBOOT

Booting with Minimum Startup  

In special cases, you might want to boot your system without performing the full sequence of startup events. For example, if a startup event prevents you from logging in, you might want to boot the system without executing the startup, so that you can log in and fix the problem.

When you boot with minimum startup, the system starts only the components that are absolutely required to run the system. These tasks can vary between different releases of the operating system.


NoteWhen you boot with minimum startup, the CONFIGURE process is not created. If external devices are needed on this boot, add the following line to SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGICALS.COM:
$IF P1 .NES. "FULL" THEN @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP CONFIGURE

How to Perform This Task

  1. Follow the instructions for performing a conversational boot in one of the following manuals:
  2. At the SYSBOOT> prompt, enter the following command:
    SYSBOOT> SET STARTUP_P1 "MIN"
  3. Enter the following command to continue booting:
                
    SYSBOOT> CONTINUE
  4. After the system boots, log in and enter the following commands to invoke SYSMAN and clear the STARTUP_P1 parameter you set in step 2:
    $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
    SYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE CURRENT
    SYSMAN> PARAMETERS SET STARTUP_P1 ""
    SYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE CURRENT

Example

[perform a conversational boot]
SYSBOOT> SET STARTUP_P1 "MIN"
SYSBOOT> CONTINUE
[system completes booting]
Username: [Return]
Password: [Return]
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
SYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE CURRENT
SYSMAN> PARAMETERS SET STARTUP_P1 ""
SYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE CURRENT

CautionIf you boot with minimum startup with the VAXCLUSTER system parameter set to 0, the only HSC or DSSI devices that will be accessible will be the boot device and then only if the boot device is controlled by an HSC or a DSSI controller.

To make HSC and DSSI devices accessible, perform one of the following actions:

  • Use this command:
    $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:CONFIGURE/DETACH
    This makes the devices accessible without rebooting the system.


  • Reboot the system setting the STARTUP_P1 system parameter to "".


  • Reboot the system with the VAXCLUSTER system parameter set to 1 or 2.

Booting While Displaying Startup Procedure Commands  

In some cases--for example, when you are trying to test a startup command procedure, or when troubleshooting startup problems--it is helpful to display the startup commands as they are executed.

How to Perform This Task

  1. Follow the instructions for performing a conversational boot in one of the following manuals:
  2. At the SYSBOOT> prompt, enter the following command:
    SYSBOOT> SET STARTUP_P2 "YES"
  3. Enter the following command to continue booting:
    SYSBOOT> CONTINUE
  4. After the system boots, log in and enter the following commands to invoke SYSMAN and clear the STARTUP_P2 parameter you set in step 2:
    $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
    SYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE CURRENT
    SYSMAN> PARAMETERS SET STARTUP_P2 ""
    SYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE CURRENT

Example

[perform a conversational boot]
SYSBOOT> SET STARTUP_P2 "YES"
SYSBOOT> CONTINUE
[system completes booting]                                
Username:[Return] 
Password: [Return] 
$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
SYSMAN> PARAMETERS USE CURRENT
SYSMAN> PARAMETERS SET STARTUP_P2 ""
SYSMAN> PARAMETERS WRITE CURRENT

Displaying Startup Procedure Commands with SYSMAN  

In addition to performing a conversational boot to display startup procedures, you can use SYSMAN to display startup status with the STARTUP SET OPTIONS command. The advantage of using SYSMAN is that you can obtain verification and logging for multiple nodes at a time.

SYSMAN startup logging redefines STARTUP_P2 to specify:

The STARTUP SET OPTIONS command provides the options shown in Startup Logging Options.

Table 2   Startup Logging Options
Option Function
/VERIFY=FULL
Displays every line of DCL executed by component startup procedures and by STARTUP.COM.
/VERIFY=PARTIAL
Displays every line of DCL executed by component startup procedures, but does not display DCL executed by STARTUP.COM.
/OUTPUT=FILE

/OUTPUT=CONSOLE
Creates SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSEXE]STARTUP.LOG, which contains all of the output generated by startup procedures. Alternatively, you can display the output on the console.
/CHECKPOINTING
Displays informational messages describing the time and status of each startup phase and component file.

How to Perform This Task

  1. At the DCL prompt ($), enter the following command:
    $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
  2. At the SYSMAN> prompt, enter the following command:
    SYSMAN> STARTUP SET OPTIONS/[qualifier]
    Qualifiers can be any of the options specified in Startup Logging Options. These options take effect the next time you boot the system.

Example

$ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
SYSMAN> STARTUP SET OPTIONS/VERIFY=FULL/OUTPUT=FILE/CHECKPOINTING
This example requests startup logging with:

To show the current startup options, enter the following command:

SYSMAN> STARTUP SHOW OPTIONS
For more information, refer to the HP OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
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