Troubleshooting Terminal, Printer, and Serial Device Connections - Edition 5 (32022-90058)

General Information
Troubleshooting Responsibilities
Chapter 1
22
Troubleshooting Responsibilities
Many problems encountered with terminals and serial printers can be solved by the end
user. Even more can be solved by a system manager. If the system manager cannot solve
a problem, they should contact an HP support representative.
Each of the above groups has a specific role to play in the troubleshooting process. Each
person needs to fulfill this role for troubleshooting to be completed quickly.
Basic Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting usually begins with recognizing that the device is not working. The
device might be “hung” (port not responding), transmission might be “garbled”, or the
device might not work at all (screen or printer is “dead”). Record the following
information to make troubleshooting easier:
• The ldev number of the device.
• The time that the problem began.
• The environment of the device when the problem occurred, including:
— What application was running on the device.
— Whether the device was in character or block mode (for terminals only).
— What specific task was being attempted when the problem began.
• Symptoms of the problem and when each originated.
• Steps already taken to correct the problem.
• Whether the problem has occurred before.
More Troubleshooting
A system manager has many troubleshooting responsibilities. They need to know how to
collect information, analyze information, and (maybe most importantly) know when it is
time to call an HP support representative. When an HP support representative is
contacted, the system manager should have collected as much information as possible so
that the HP representative has enough information to solve the problem or consult with
other HP personnel.
A system manager should:
• Collect as much information as possible from the user.
• Check each device that is malfunctioning.
• Check configuration values for the malfunctioning devices.
• Perform a modem check (if modems are used).
• Run TermDSM to collect more information. At this point, it is usually possible to
return specific devices or the whole subsystem to a state where new sessions can be
started and new device opens can occur.