IBM AIX 7.3 – Common Problem 128 – 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

After `alt_disk_copy`, the LPAR fails to LED `0c31` or rootvg won’t boot from altinst_rootvg.

Environment & Reproduction

AIX 7.3 with `alt_disk_copy -B -d hdiskN` used for a TL pre-upgrade snapshot.

Root Cause Analysis

`bosboot` was not refreshed on the alternate disk or `bootlist` order is wrong.

Quick Triage

Check `bootlist -m normal -o` and run `lspv | grep altinst_rootvg`.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Boot to SMS, select the alternate disk, and capture LED codes from the HMC console.

Solution – Primary Fix

Run `bosboot -ad /dev/ipldevice` on the active rootvg, then `alt_rootvg_op -W -d hdiskN` and rebuild.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Recreate the clone: `alt_disk_install -C -B -P all hdiskN` after `alt_rootvg_op -X`.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

LPAR boots cleanly from altinst_rootvg and `oslevel -s` matches the source rootvg.

Rollback Plan

Set `bootlist -m normal hdiskOriginal` and reactivate to fall back to the original rootvg.

Prevention & Hardening

Always run `bosboot` and verify `bootlist` immediately after every alt_disk operation.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Related to LED `0c33`, `0c32` and `0517-065` from `bosboot` on AIX 7.3.

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

IBM Docs: `alt_disk_install`, `alt_rootvg_op`, `bosboot`, SMS boot recovery.