Technical data

Starting Up and Shutting Down the System
4.2 Booting with Modified System Parameter Values
4.2.1 Booting After Showing or Modifying Individual System Parameter Values
In a conversational boot operation, you can show and modify values for individual
parameters.
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The system modifies the values both in memory and in the system
parameter file.
How to Perform This Task
1. Follow the instructions for performing a conversational boot in one of the
following manuals:
• On VAX systems, refer to the most recent versions of the OpenVMS
VAX Upgrade and Installation Manual and the upgrade and installation
supplement for your VAX computer.
• On Alpha systems, refer to the most recent version of the OpenVMS
Alpha Upgrade and Installation Manual.
2. At the SYSBOOT> prompt, enter SHOW and SET commands to show and
change the value of system parameters. For example:
SYSBOOT> SET UAFALTERNATE 1
For information about SET and SHOW commands, refer to the OpenVMS
System Management Utilities Reference Manual (SYSGEN).
3. Enter the CONTINUE command to continue booting:
SYSBOOT> CONTINUE
Example
SYSBOOT> SHOW UAFALTERNATE
Parameter Name Current Default Min. Max. Unit
Dynamic
-------------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ----
UAFALTERNATE 0 0 0 1 Boolean
SYSBOOT> SET UAFALTERNATE 1
SYSBOOT> CONTINUE
4.2.2 Booting with an Alternate System Parameter File
In programming research and development environments where you must alter
operating conditions for experimentation, testing, and debugging, you might
want to temporarily boot your system using system parameter values stored in
a parameter file other than the default parameter file. The conversational boot
operation lets you reset active values using a different parameter file.
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How to Perform This Task
1. Follow the instructions for performing a conversational boot in one of the
following manuals:
• On VAX systems, refer to the most recent versions of the OpenVMS
VAX Upgrade and Installation Manual and the upgrade and installation
supplement for your VAX computer.
• On Alpha systems, refer to the most recent version of the OpenVMS
Alpha Upgrade and Installation Manual.
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In most cases, Compaq recommends that you use AUTOGEN to modify system
parameters. In special cases, however, you can use a conversational boot to modify a
parameter value temporarily. To change a parameter value permanently, you must edit
MODPARAMS.DAT and run AUTOGEN. For instructions, see Section 15.5.
Starting Up and Shutting Down the System 4–7