System information

Power-Up Diagnostics and Display
2-19
2.6 PCI Bus Problems
PCI bus failures at power-up are usually indicated by the inability of the system to
see the device. Table 2-7 provides steps for troubleshooting PCI bus problems. Use
the table to diagnose the likely cause of the problem.
NOTE: Some PCI devices do not implement PCI parity, and some have a parity-
generating scheme in which parity is sometimes incorrect or is not
compliant with the PCI Specification. In such cases, the device functions
properly as long as parity is not checked.
The pci_parity environment variable for the SRM console, or the PCI Parity
Checking option on the Advanced CMOS Setup Menu for the AlphaBIOS
console, allow you to turn off parity checking so that false PCI parity errors
do not result in machine check errors.
When you disable PCI parity, no parity checking is implemented for any
PCI device. The default setting is off, no parity checking.
Table 2-7 PCI Troubleshooting
Step Action
1 Confirm that the PCI module and cabling are properly seated.
2 Run ROM-based diagnostics for the type of option:
• Storage adapter—Run test to exercise the storage devices off
the PCI controller option (Chapter 3).
• Ethernet adapter—Run test to exercise an Ethernet adapter
(Chapter 3).
3 Check for a bad slot by moving the last installed controller to a
different slot.
4 Call the option manufacturer or support for help.