System information

6-4
AlphaServer 800 Service Guide
6.1.2 Switching Between Interfaces
For a few procedures it is necessary to switch from one console interface to the
other.
• The test command and other diagnostic commands are run from the SRM
interface.
• The EISA Configuration Utility (ECU) and the RAID Configuration Utility
(RCU) are run from the AlphaBIOS interface, as are some option-specific
configuration utilities.
Switching from SRM to AlphaBIOS
Two SRM console commands are used to temporarily switch to the AlphaBIOS
console:
• The alphabios command loads the AlphaBIOS firmware and displays the
AlphaBIOS menu interface.
• The ecu command loads the AlphaBIOS firmware and then loads and starts the
EISA configuration utility from the diskette.
The console environment variable determines where AlphaBIOS firmware is
displayed. To force the AlphaBIOS output to the graphics display, use the -g
qualifier with the alphabios or ecu command.
For systems that boot the Windows NT operating system, return to the AlphaBIOS
console by setting the os_type environment variable to NT, then enter the init
command:
>>> set os_type NT
>>> init
Switching from AlphaBIOS to SRM
Switch from the AlphaBIOS console to the SRM console as follows:
1. From the CMOS Setup menu, press F6 to enter Advanced CMOS setup.
2. From the Advanced CMOS Setup menu, select OpenVMS (SRM).
3. Press F10 to save the change.
4. When the “Power cycle the system to implement change” message is displayed,
press the Reset button. Once the console firmware is loaded and device drivers
are initialized, you can boot the operating system.
NOTE: For information on AlphaBIOS, refer to the AlphaServer 800 User's
Guide.