Troubleshooting Miscellaneous Software Problems (Tasks)

This chapter describes miscellaneous software problems that may occur occasionally and are relatively easy to fix. Troubleshooting miscellaneous software problems includes solving problems that aren't related to a specific software application or topic, such as unsuccessful reboots and full file systems. Resolving these problems are described in the following sections.

This is a list of the information in this chapter.

• "What to Do If Rebooting Fails"

• "What to Do if a System Hangs"

• "What to Do if a File System Fills Up"

• "What to Do if File ACLs Are Lost After Copy or Restore"

• "Troubleshooting Backup Problems"

What to Do If Rebooting Fails

If the system does not reboot completely, or if it reboots and then crashes again, there may be a software or hardware problem that is preventing the system from booting successfully.

If none of the above suggestions solve the problem, contact your local service provider.

SPARC: Troubleshooting 64-bit Solaris Boot Problems

After the 64-bit Solaris release is installed on an UltraSPARC system, the 64-bit kernel will be booted automatically unless any of the following conditions are true:

• A FLASH PROM upgrade might be required on an UltraSPARC system before it can successfully boot the 64-bit kernel. Refer to your hardware manufacturer's documentation to determine whether your UltraSPARC system requires a firmware upgrade.

• The Open Boot PROM boot-file parameter is set to kernel/unix. If booting the 64-bit kernel fails and this parameter is set, unset it, and reboot the system.

• On some UltraSPARC systems, the 64-bit Solaris kernel is not booted by default, even when the system is completely installed with all the 64-bit Solaris components and the correct firmware is installed. Without booting the 64-bit Solaris kernel, 64-bit applications are unable to run.

  To find out more about this issue, and how to enable booting the 64-bit Solaris kernel by default, see boot(1M).

  You can always discover which Solaris kernel the system is currently running by using the isainfo -kv command.

  $ isainfo -kv 64-bit sparcv9 kernel modules

  This output means the system is running the 64-bit Solaris kernel.

You cannot boot the 64-bit Solaris operating environment on a 32-bit Solaris system.

What to Do if You Forgot Root Password

If you forget the root password and you cannot log into the system, you will have to:

• Stop the system by using the keyboard stop sequence.

• Boot from a boot or install server or from a local CD-ROM.

• Mount the root (/) file system.

• Remove the root password from the /etc/shadow file.

• Reboot the system.

• Log in and set root's password.

This procedure is fully described in "SPARC: Booting a System" in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration and "IA: Booting a System" in System Administration Guide: Basic Administration.

The following examples describe how to recover from a forgotten root password on both SPARC and IA systems.

SPARC: Example--What to Do if You Forgot Root Password

The following example shows how to recover when you forget the root password by booting from the network. This example assumes that the boot server is already available. Be sure to apply a new root password after the system has rebooted.

(Use keyboard abort sequence--Press Stop A keys to stop the system)
ok boot net -s
# mount /dev/dsk/c0t3d0s0 /a
# cd /a/etc
# TERM=vt100
# export TERM
# vi shadow
(Remove root's encrypted password string)
# cd /
# umount /a
# init 6

IA: Example--What to Do if You Forgot Root Password

The following example shows how to recover when you forget root's password by booting from the network. This example assumes that the boot server is already available. Be sure to apply a new root password after the system has rebooted.

(Use keyboard abort sequence to stop the system
Type any key to continue

SunOS Secondary Boot version 3.00


Solaris Intel Platform Edition Booting System

Running Configuration Assistant...
Autobooting from Boot path: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@0/cmdk@0,0:a

If the system hardware has changed, or to boot from a different
device, interrupt the autoboot process by pressing ESC.

Press ESCape to interrupt autoboot in 5 seconds.
      .
      .
      .
Boot Solaris

Select one of the identified devices to boot the Solaris kernel and
choose Continue.

To perform optional features, such as modifying the autoboot and property
settings, choose Boot Tasks.

An asterisk (*) indicates the current default boot device.

> To make a selection use the arrow keys, and press Enter to mark it [X].

[X]  NET : DEC 21142/21143 Fast Ethernet
on Board PCI at Dev 3                                                
[ ]  DISK: (*) Target 0, QUANTUM  FIREBALL1280A
on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1
[ ]  DISK: Target 1:ST5660A
on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1
[ ]  DISK: Target 0:Maxtor 9 0680D4
on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1
[ ]  CD  : Target 1:TOSHIBA  CD-ROM XM-5602B  1546
on Bus Mastering IDE controller on Board PCI at Dev 7, Func 1

F2_Continue   F3_Back   F4_Boot Tasks   F6_Help
      .
      .
      .
               <<< Current Boot Parameters >>>
Boot path: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@7,1/ide@0/cmdk@0,0:a
Boot args: kernel/unix -r

Select the type of installation you want to perform:

1 Solaris Interactive
2 Custom JumpStart
3 Solaris Web Start
 
Enter the number of your choice followed by <ENTER> the key.
 
If you enter anything else, or if you wait for 30 seconds,
an interactive installation will be started.
 
Select type of installation:  b -s
      .
      .
      .
# mount /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0 /a
      .
      .
      .
# cd /a/etc
# vi shadow
(Remove root's encrypted password string)
# cd /
# umount /a
# init 6