  (Unspecified) system bootstrap problems? 
 The Question is:
 
Normally, I use a monitor and keyboard with the CONSOLE variable set to
 GRAPHICS.  Right now the monitor is acting up, so I transferred the console
 control to SERIAL with the command SET CONSOLE SERIAL and then INIT, which is
 required by our level of firm
ware.  The transfer of control worked fine;  my terminal, which is plugged into
 TTA0, received the control prompt.  I even tried SHOW CONSOLE to make sure
 that I could get a response, and it replied that the console was in SERIAL mode.
 
But it won't boot.  When I enter the B command, it just sits there and tries to
 read off the CD-ROM drive.  I have tried this twice with the same result.  I
 have done this before, successfully, with my current level of VMS (7.2-1) so I
 have no idea why it
 won't work now.  Any ideas?  Thanks -- Glen.
 
 The Answer is:
 
  The choice of console interface has little to do with the success or
  failure of the CD-ROM bootstrap sequence, this may be related to a
  hardware problem with the system itself or with the graphics
  controller (if a controller failure happens to be the cause of the
  unspecified problem with the monitor), or a problem with the CD-ROM
  drive or SCSI (or IDE) bus.
 
  This could potentially be a problem with the CD-ROM media itself
  or the CD-ROM drive firmware, obviously.
 
  With SCSI drives that require longer settling times, you may need
  to increase the value specified in the SCSI_RESET console environment
  variable -- certain older CD-ROM drives can potentially require
  settling time value settings as high as 6 in SCSI_RESET.
 
  You have not provided the (critical) details on the error message(s)
  reported (if any) and the specific model of Alpha system involved,
  the firmware revision, and the specific model of SCSI or IDE CD-ROM
  drive involved here.
 
  Please contact your hardware support organization for assistance.
 
