HP3000/HP 3000 FAQ

Last Updated: Thursday, February 01, 2007 02:38 PM

HP3000/MPE Documentation

12. Documentation

JC

I recently discovered there is a 7 volume set of diagnostic manuals ($80 apiece) that sound like they might have some good information in them. A customer under normal software/doc support can't get a subscription service to these manuals, but can buy them if they wish. They are apparently intended for those sites without a HP service agreement or for HP Channel partners. I don't have the product #'s handy. Although most SYSDIAG tools have fairly good online help, this might just be what some people are looking for.

12.1. Paper vs. CD versions

JW

Our company switched to manuals on CD almost 3 years ago with the purchase of our latest XL box. (The manuals on paper were going to cost fully 30% of the price of the machine). We also use manuals on CD for our HP-UX system.

1) With manuals on CD, we have access to a wider variety of manuals than we would if we used paper only.

2) CD manuals are more difficult to read and learn from, but better to solve a particular problem at the time.

3) The new and improved Windows software driver for the LaserROM is much improved but still not as elegant or useful as *we* would like. For instance, while you can now prepare a subset of manuals to search for by putting them into a "bookshelf", you can not do an ad hoc search on an open manual for a particular phrase. Instead you would need to create a book shelf just for that one document. "FindFile" in Word for Windows is far better for searching (and that's no great piece of software).

4) We get better individual performance from a CD when it is shared over a network by a small workgroup, than on an individual CD alone. Go figure!?

5) Under Unix (and I understand now on under MPE), there is a terminal based access program to the CD-ROM. While useable, it would only ever be a last resort. The Windows interface is *so* much better.

6) Graphics on the CD-ROM are pitifully slow for some reason. Again Word for Windows is able to present more complex graphics in a fraction of the time.

7) Printing of a document works, but often is incorrectly formatted. Also you have little control over the layout.

8) The superceded CDs make great coffee coasters (well probably not great due to their high thermal transfer characteristics, but interesting).

9) The ability to search all documents for a particular phrase is *the best* reason for using CD-ROMs for problem solving.

10) Paper manuals are still easier to use, more portable, easier to add notes to, quicker to load.

In conclusion, we can survive (I guess that's what we're doing?) with CD-ROM manuals alone. But we covet any paper manual we come across. :)

JeB

One thing i *really* like is:
Being in tech support i get a lot of calls from programmers. i use keyword searches to locate the text which answers the programmer's question, copy it to the clipboard, bring up my email, paste the manual's text in, and shoot it off to the caller. Way cool, like a virtual manual set :-)

12.2. How to share setup LaserRom CD manual sets on a network

RCB

The LaserRom CD manual set can be easily set up to be shared over a PC network, including Novell and Windows for Workgroups networks. Under Windows for Workgroups the PC containing the CD drive merely needs to make the CD drive shareable (using the Windows File Manager) - just like any disc drive or directory. You will have to add a "/S" to the MSCDEX line placed in your autoexec.bat file when you installed the CD (this lets other systems share the drive).

On the other PCs you wish to access LaserRom from, merely connect the network drive (using Windows File Manager), making sure to set the box "reconnect at startup" so the drive will be available next time you need to access it. Move to the "pcinstal" directory on the CD in File Manager and launch (double click on) "setup.exe". The software will install on your PC and you'll be able to launch the LaserRom application whenever you need it.

Beware of user license restrictions on concurrent users of the LaserRom software though.

12.3. How to lookup (online) error messages

If you run MSGUTIL without any parms, it gives you a series of menus:

:run msgutil.pub.sys

*******************************************************************************
******      MSGUTIL  --  SYSTEM CATALOG MESSAGE DISPLAY UTILITY          ******
*******************************************************************************

---------------- INTERACTIVE MODE ----------------

                 M - Message display
                 T - Time display
                 E - Exit

Menu Selection >M

Enter SUBSYSTEM # [(cr) = quit] >231

Native mode device file

Enter MESSAGE # [(cr) = quit] >26
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A request was made to NMDF_exercise_device_reservation for a device that was
not reserved.
Native mode device file message 26
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Native mode device file

Enter MESSAGE # [(cr) = quit] >

If you pass the subsys and error (as a positive value) in the info parm,
then MSGUTIL skips the menus:

:msgutil '231,35'
Native mode device file
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
nmdf_create_device was called to create a device that already exists.
Native mode device file message 35
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.4. HP3000 manuals on the 'web

HP has announced that it is putting ALL the HP3000 manuals on the world wide web. See http://www.docs.hp.com/mpeix/