Apple Workgroup Server 95: Recovering From a Crash

Apple's Workgroup Server 95 is based on the A/UX operating system. A/UX integrates the Macintosh System 7 Finder interface with industry-standard UNIX. Because the Workgroup Server 95 is running A/UX, the procedure for recovering from a system crash is different than that used to recover a Macintosh running the Macintosh operating system.

Restarting the Server

The System 7 Finder runs as an A/UX process. Therefore it is possible for the Finder to be "locked up" but still have other A/UX processes running within the server.

Complete the following steps, in the order they are given, to reduce the chance of worsening the existing problem or causing further problems with A/UX during system shutdown and restart.

1. Simultaneously press and release the three keys: COMMAND-CONTROL-E. The COMMAND-CONTROL-E key sequence forces a restart of the Macintosh Finder process running within A/UX. After pressing and releasing the keys, wait for at least one minute for the Finder to restart before proceeding. If you are able to successfully restart the Finder process, it is recommended that you immediately restart the WS 95 by selecting the Restart option under the Special menu and go to the section on Running fsck.

2. If no response is generated by COMMAND-CONTROL-E, turn the Workgroup Server 95 off using the key switch on its front panel. Turn the key counter-clockwise to the "Off" position sends a signal to the main logic board to perform an orderly shutdown of A/UX processes. As before, wait at least one minute for this action to complete before assuming it was unsuccessful. If you are successful in shutting down the server, turn the key back to the "On" position, restart the server, and go to the section on Running fsck.

The last option for restarting the server is to press the Reset button on the front panel of the server. Do this only if both the previously mentioned steps were not successful.

Running fsck

When restarting the server after a system crash, it is recommended that you perform a manual file system check (fsck) from the A/UX Startup shell. Any file system inconsistency is made worse if you continue to use the file system (thus modifying it further) without running fsck.

To enter A/UX Startup, watch for the status box that says "Welcome to the Apple Workgroup Server 95" * it appears when you turn on the system. Click the Cancel button or press Command-. (period) to cancel the A/UX startup process and display the A/UX Startup shell. Once the A/UX Startup shell window is displayed, this command-line prompt appears:

startup#

At the prompt, type this UNIX command (using lower case):

fsck -y /dev/default

Press Return to start fsck. The fsck program lets you know which phase and what file system it is in at any given time. It may take several minutes to complete the check. For a complete description of all the phases of fsck, refer to the "Server Administration with A/UX" manual that came with your Workgroup Server 95.

On completion of fsck, if you see a message that says "FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED" it is recommended that you run fsck again using the same command. You want fsck to make a complete check without changing anything.

Launching A/UX

Once the file system has been checked, you need to launch A/UX. At the startup prompt type this command and press Return:

launch

The server should now launch normally.

You may want to consider manually running fsck periodically (every 2 weeks) as part of your normal server maintenance. This could help to prevent system crashes or poor server performance.