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When I start up my machine, I get a message that says: ‘mfg-options’ environment variable invalid How do I fix this?

A: From the OK prompt (a.k.a. OBP or OpenBoot PROM) you need to setenv mfg-options to the right value.

Summary:

  1. Get to the OK prompt.
  2. Set the mfg-options variable to the appropriate value.
  3. Set defaults and check that the value worked.
  4. Reset the machine.

Detailed:
1) Get to the OK prompt.
If you are still at the OBP level, hit STOP+A to get to the OK prompt. If you are already in the OS, bring it down to the OK prompt by typing:

init 0 (that’s a zero, not the letter “O”)

2) Set the mfg-options variable to the appropriate value.

I have only encountered this error on workgroup servers, such as an E250 or E450. If you encounter it on another type of machine, the value will/may be different.

At the OK prompt, type:

setenv mfg-options server

3) Set defaults and check that the value worked.

set-defaults

The machine should respond with:

Setting NVRAM parameters to default values.
Platform is configured as a Server

3) Reset the machine.
Type:

reset-all

You should not see the message again. If you get the repeatedly after this, it may be an indication that the battery in your NVRAM chip going bad, causing all the OBP variables to lose their values; if this is the case, the NVRAM chip should be replaced.

PS: Don’t forget to stop by AnySystem.com for all your Sun hardware and consulting needs.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 at 12:38 am and is filed under Configuration, Hardware, OBP, Troubleshooting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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