Technical data

Installing, Upgrading, and Updating Software
3.5 Recovering from a System Failure
• The system disk or a library used by the installation was corrupted. In this
case, VMSINSTAL.COM instructs you to restore either the system disk or the
corrupted library from the backup copy and to restart the installation.
• VMSINSTAL.COM continues the installation. In this case, the procedure
performs most of the installation. In addition, VMSINSTAL.COM might tell
you that you must perform some tasks manually to complete the installation.
3.6 Selecting VMSINSTAL.COM Options
When you use VMSINSTAL.COM, the command procedure allows you to select
up to six options (summarized previously in Table 3–2.) The following sections
describe those VMSINSTAL.COM options in detail.
3.6.1 Using the Autoanswer Option (A ) (Layered Products Only)
The Autoanswer option makes it easier to reinstall a product by providing
responses to VMSINSTAL.COM questions and prompts during the reinstallation.
You use the Autoanswer option most often to reinstall products after an upgrade.
If you specify the Autoanswer option when you install a product initially, an
answer file is created in the form product.ANS in the SYS$UPDATE directory,
where product is the product name parameter that you provide when you start
VMSINSTAL.COM.
The answer file contains a record of your responses to questions and prompts
from VMSINSTAL.COM. For example, if you install the product NEWAID010
with the Autoanswer option, VMSINSTAL.COM creates an answer file called
NEWAID010.ANS.
When you reinstall the product and specify the Autoanswer option (typically
after upgrading your operating system), VMSINSTAL.COM reads the answer file
instead of asking you questions.
If you want to create a new answer file when you reinstall a product, you must
first delete the existing answer file.
Example
To use the Autoanswer option, specify the following command:
$ SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL.COM NEW$PRODUCT010 CSA1: OPTIONS A
You can then examine the file:
$ TYPE SYS$COMMON:[SYSUPD]NEW$PRODUCT010.ANS;1
* Do you want to install the entire kit [Y]? \
* Are these selections correct [Y]? \
* Does this product have an authorization key registered and loaded? \Y
* Will you allow a system shutdown after this product is installed [YES]? \
* How many minutes for system shutdown [0]: \
* Do you want to do an automatic system reboot [YES]? \
$
3.6.2 Using the Alternate Working Device Option (AWD=)
Restriction
Before using this option, check with the product’s installation guide to be
sure this option is supported by that product.
3–10 Installing, Upgrading, and Updating Software