Solstice DiskSuite[TM]  - Unable to boot from a
DiskSuite-controlled system disk

Document ID: ID18119


Synopsis: Solstice DiskSuite[TM]  - Unable to boot from a DiskSuite-controlled
system disk

Keyword(s):DiskSuite, SDS, error, fail, failure, fails, recovery, recover, mirror

The
following procedure should be used when the system disk is mirrored
under DiskSuite control and the system is unable to boot.

This procedure can be used in conjunction with a full system restore from
ufsdump tape (if that's what's required to get the system to boot), or
in conjunction with restoring just one or two important files to the root
disk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OVERVIEW:

   This procedure removes the root disk from DiskSuite control while
   leaving all other data under DiskSuite intact.

        A. Boot system from CDROM.
        B. Restore or modify necessary files.
        C. Disable ODS on the root partition(s).
        D. Boot system.
        E. Remirror root disk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE:

Please ensure that you substitute your system disk name (i.e., c0t0d0)
in the example commands below.  We use "c0t0d0".

1. Boot from CD-ROM and perform the file recovery necessary to boot
   system.  This may be as drastic as running 'newfs' and 'ufsrestore'
   on each slice of the boot disk, or as simple as editing the
   /etc/passwd file to remove an unknown root password.  Remember that
   if you are restoring the root partition from a backup tape, you'll
   need to install the bootblock as well.  NOTE: you may not have to
   do any recovery here at all... it all depends on WHY your system
   will not boot.

2. Mount the root partition onto /a.  You might have to run 'fsck' on this
   partition before you can mount it.

	# mount /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0 /a

3. Edit the /etc/system file and remove the "rootdev" line shown below:

	# vi /a/etc/system
	*rootdev:/pseudo/md@0:0,0,blk

   Don't comment out this line.  Actually remove it.

4. In the /etc/vfstab file, replace the lines for the system
   file system meta-devices with their underlying partitions.

   For example, change lines from 

	/dev/md/dsk/d0     /dev/md/rdsk/d0    / ufs 1 no -

   to

	/dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0  /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0 / ufs 1 no -

   ONLY change the lines for root (/) and the file systems which were
   affected by the actions you took in step 1, above.  All other
   metadevices may stay as is in this file.

5. Unmount the root and check the root file system.  Then stop the system.

	# cd /
	# umount /a
	# fsck /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0
	# STOP-A (L1-A)

6. Boot to single-user mode.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: YOU MUST
   BOOT TO SINGLE USER MODE TO AVOID FILE SYSTEM CORRUPTION.

	ok boot -sw

   If the system does not boot to single user mode, you may have made a
   mistake in the above steps.

7. Enter the root password when you are prompted.  Once in
   single-user mode, you must clear the metamirrors and all the
   sub-mirrors of all the system file systems.

   For example, if you have to clear the root (/), /usr, and /var
   metamirrors, and they are d0, d1, and d2, respectively, run the
   command

	# metaclear -f -r d0 d1 d2

   This will not only clear the metamirrors but also the
   submirrors which are part of these mirrors.

8. Once the metamirrors are cleared, continue the boot up to multiuser
   mode by issuing either a CTRL-D or entering

	# exit

9. Now everything should be as it was, except that the system
   partitions are on the underlying partitions and are not mirrored.
   You will simply need to re-create the metadevices for the root
   mirror as you had originally.    


Keywords:   DiskSuite, SDS, error, fail, failure, fails, recovery, recover,
mirror