IBM AIX 7.3 – Common Problem 63 – Diagnosis and Fix

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

alt_disk_copy fails with ‘0505-113 Cannot find target disk’ or bootlist not set.

Environment & Reproduction

Selected hdisk smaller than rootvg or used by another VG.

Root Cause Analysis

Target hdisk lacks free PPs or already belongs to a VG.

Quick Triage

Check lspv to confirm target hdisk is None and lsvg rootvg PP totals.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Run alt_disk_copy -B -d hdiskN with -V verbose option.

Solution – Primary Fix

Clear target with chpv -c hdiskN then alt_disk_copy -B -d hdiskN.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Use mksysb -i to a NIM resource as a fallback clone.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

bootlist -m normal -o lists altinst_rootvg and lsvg shows altinst_rootvg.

Rollback Plan

alt_rootvg_op -X altinst_rootvg removes the clone cleanly.

Prevention & Hardening

Pre-validate target size and document bootlist before TL upgrades.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

0516-1234 chpv errors, missing altinst_rootvg.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for aix-7.3.

View all aix-7.3 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

AIX alt_disk_install reference.