  Miscellaneous VAX hardware questions? 
 The Question is:
 
1)  we have vax 4000/90A machine using as server with 3 hard disks, (RZ25A and
 RZ26)with VMS loaded in DKA200: when the system is running the errors of the
 hard disk are increasing and after some it is booting on its own.  Initially I
 suspected power supp
ly, but it is not so.  Can you advise me what could be problem and how to see
 what causing the errors in the disk and how to fix the problem.
2)  If the screen is frozen (for the same type of machine (used as server), but
 not the above machine and the monitor connected directly to that) what are
 different ways other than shutting down the server.
3) Is it required that the hard disk is to be formatted once in certain period
 and reload all programs?
 
4) If any machine (VAX 4000/60, VAX 4000/90)started once in a while (say once
 in a month) whether it is advisable for any machine to keep some time idle
 (because of much redundancy)? environmental conditions are good.  Can you
 please advise me in this reg
ard?
 
 
 The Answer is:
 
  1: Please contact your hardware support organization -- this could
     be most anything from a CPU problem to memory problem to a SCSI
     problem to a disk problem.
 
     This does not appear to be an OpenVMS-specific problem, this
     appears to be a hardware problem.
 
  2: Details on the particular problem causing the windows to be
     frozen would be interesting.  DECwindows version, DECwindows
     ECO level, OpenVMS ECO level, hardware errors, etc., would
     all be interesting.
 
     Please consult with the Compaq Customer Support Center.
 
  3: Nope, you would be confusing OpenVMS with some other operating
     system.  Complete OpenVMS system disk reloads are commonly
     needed only after a central failure of the storage hardware.
 
     There are occasions when a reinstallation of OpenVMS can be
     desirable, particularly when there is no clear idea of what
     is installed, what needs to be installed, and what sort of
     customizations have occured -- the most common example of this:
     when an OpenVMS system is bought, sold, or otherwise transfered.
 
  4: No clue.  If a system is not connected to power for a sufficiently
     long interval, certain system settings (eg: time) can be lost.
     The system should function normally.
 
     The particular system can also potentially be configured into an
     OpenVMS Cluster with the other local system(s), and thus the
     system off-line time can be reduced -- the general usefulness
     of any powered-up system is obviously better than that of a
     system that is powered down.  (And a hardware or configuration
     failure to a system that is powered up and running applications
     is far more likely to be noticed than an in a system that is
     powered down.)
 
     Note that frequent power and thermal cycling can potentially
     reduce component lifetime.  Whether or not you see any adverse
     affects as a result is outside the scope of the OpenVMS Wizard.
 
     Please consult with your hardware service organization.
 
