Resetting the Operating System

When a partition is running an operating system and the system hangs, the HMC can be used to restart the operating system.

Note: Using the HMC to reset an operating system can corrupt data. Perform this procedure only after you have attempted to restart the operating system manually.

To restart an operating system using the HMC, you must be a member of one of the following roles:

To reset the operating system that you have installed on a partition, do the following:

  1. In the Contents area, select the partition you want to reset.
  2. From the menu, click Selected.
  3. Select Operating System Reset.
  4. Decide if you want a hard or soft operating system reset (described below).
  5. Select the appropriate check box and click Yes.

Soft and Hard Resets

Using the HMC, you can perform either a "hard" or "soft" operating system reset.

A soft reset's actions are determined by the operating system's policy settings. A hardware interrupt is sent to the operating system. Depending on the policy settings, the operating system may either reboot or perform a dump of system information.

A hard reset acts as a virtual powering off of the system. Issuing a hard reset forces termination, and can corrupt information. Use this option only if the operating system is disrupted and cannot send or receive commands.