🟠 High   ⏱ 5–30 min  Last verified: 20 May 2026
Affected versions: IBM AIX 7.3

📖 ~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_install fails or alternate rootvg will not boot for migration testing.

Environment & Reproduction

Disk geometry differs, bootlist not updated, or fileset mismatch on cloning.

alt_disk_copy -d hdisk2
bootlist -m normal -o
lspv

Root Cause Analysis

Target disk size or boot image is incompatible with the cloned rootvg.

Quick Triage

Verify disk capacity and ensure no existing altinst_rootvg blocks the operation.

lspv
bootinfo -s hdisk2
lsvg | head

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Run alt_disk_copy with verbose mode and review tee logs.

alt_disk_copy -d hdisk2 -B -V
tail /var/adm/ras/alt_disk_inst.log
lsvg altinst_rootvg
Illustrative mockup for aix-7.3 — terminal_or_shell
Running alt_disk_copy on AIX — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Clean previous altinst_rootvg, recreate the clone, and update bootlist.

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alt_rootvg_op -X altinst_rootvg
alt_disk_copy -d hdisk2 -B
bootlist -m normal hdisk2 hdisk0
Illustrative mockup for aix-7.3 — log_or_config
Managing altinst_rootvg with bootlist — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Use alt_disk_migration with a higher SP/TL bundle to combine cloning with upgrade.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

System boots from altinst_rootvg and oslevel reflects expected state.

oslevel -s
lspv
lsvg rootvg

Rollback Plan

Reset bootlist to original rootvg disk if the alternate disk has problems.

bootlist -m normal hdisk0 hdisk1
shutdown -Fr
lspv

Prevention & Hardening

Run alt_disk_copy before patching and document bootlist standards.

Related to bosboot failures, multibos issues, and LVM mirror copies.

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 AIX 7.3 alt_disk_install reference.

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