HP-UX System Administrator's Guide: Overview

Use the /sbin/crashconf command to configure these options. See the crashconf(1M)
for details on how to configure the various options.
Operator Override Options
When a HP-UX panics, the current dump control option settings are displayed at the
system console during a crash. You then have 10 seconds to interact with the system
console before the current settings are used to proceed with dump processing.
If you choose to interact with the system during the 10-second override period, follow
the on-screen prompts.
You can choose to do the following:
C option
[CURRENT] Proceed with the current settings. Use this to immediately
proceed with the current settings, not waiting for the 10-second override
period to automatically expire.
S option
[SELECTIVE] Proceed with a selective dump with both compression
and concurrency turned off, regardless of what was previously
configured.
F option
[FULL DUMP] This option is available if enough dump space has been
configured to hold the contents of the entire physical memory. Select this
option to dump the contents of all physical memory. With this option,
compression and concurrency are off.
P option
[PARTIAL DUMP] This option is available instead of the full dump
option if there is not enough dump space configured to hold a full dump.
The amount of memory that will be dumped is displayed on the console.
With this option, compression and concurrency are off.
N option
[NO DUMP] Do not perform a dump. Immediately reboot the system.
Use this option if you know the cause of the panic and do not need a
dump.
The Dump
After the operator is given a chance to override the current dump level, or the 10-second
override period expires, HP-UX writes the physical memory contents to the dump
devices until one of the following conditions is true:
• The entire contents of memory are dumped (if a full dump was configured or
requested by the operator)
• The entire contents of selected memory pages are dumped (if a selective dump
was configured or requested by the operator)
• Configured dump device space is exhausted
Depending on the amount of memory being dumped, and a number of other factors,
this process can take from a few seconds to hours.
104 Major Components of HP-UX