Athena Dormitory Cluster Information


Basic Troubleshooting Procedures

Some Common Symptoms
  • Windows appear frozen or really slow, but the mouse pointer moves. The network connection may be down or slow, or a large program may be hanging the machine. Try Step 2 and then Step 3.
  • Everything works but typing on the keyboard does nothing. The keyboard may be unplugged or loose and may need to be reset. Try Step 1 and then Step 3.
  • Commands I type and programs I run seem to hang. Eventually they time out. The network connection may be down or slow, or the machine may be bogged down by a large program. Try Step 2 and then Step 3.
  • The screen is black. In order of severity: The machine may be in screen saving mode, the monitor may be turned off or disconnected, or the machine may be hung. Try pressing any key, check the power light on the monitor, and then try Step 1 and then Step 3.
  • The machine is at the monitor screen (white background, black text showing system messages, no windows). There may be a prompt on the screen reading "Type 'go' to resume. Type 'help' for more information. OK". The keyboard or mouse may have been unplugged, or the machine may have crashed. If it says so, type GO to resume. If that does not work, try Step 1 and then Step 3.
  • The machine is at the monitor screen (see above) and displaying a PANIC error message. The machine has crashed, most likely due to hardware problem. Execute Step 4.


Steps Which May Fix the Problem

  1. Check the cable connections. Make sure that the monitor, mouse and keyboard cables are plugged into the correct ports on the back of the machine, and seated firmly. If any component does not have power, also check the power cords. If all cables are connected but the keyboard or mouse is not functioning, or the machine does not have power, you should report the problem. See Step 4.
  2. Check the network cable on both the machine side and the wall side. If the machine does not boot, you can check whether it is receiving network traffic by going to the monitor prompt (hold down the STOP key and press the A key). At the monitor prompt (OK), issue the command watch-net and press RETURN. If a series of dots appear on the screen, the machine is receiving network traffic. If not, the machine is not seeing the network. You should report this problem. See Step 4.
  3. Reboot the machine. Hold down the STOP key and press the A key, if you are not already at the monitor prompt (OK). At the monitor prompt, type the command RESET. The machine will reboot. If it does so without errors, it should be safe to use. If it does not reboot sucessfully, you should report this problem. See Step 4.
  4. Any other problems. They will either take time or additional equipment to fix. You should take down any error messages and make a note of the nature of the failure. Then report the problem as outlined in the next section, Reporting Problems.


Reporting Problems

  1. (Preferred) Open a trouble ticket by pointing your web browswer at: http://rcc.mit.edu . Use your username to open a new Help Request. One of the McCormick RCC's will investigate the problem as soon as they can. Include as much information about the problem as you can, especially the name of the machine and the nature of the problem. Once you have done this, put a note on or near the machine indicating that the problem has been reported.
  2. Only in case of an extremely serious problem (an example being if none of the machines in the cluster were working, or if a machine or monitor were physcially damaged) contact the Athena Hardware Hotline directly by sending electronic mail to: hotline@mit.edu or by calling x3-1410 to report the problem. Make sure you include the information outlined above, in Step 4. Once you have done this, put a note on or near the machine indicating that the problem has been reported.