How To Prepare for Ab-end Messages

Articles and Tips: qna

01 Aug 2001

Dear Ab-end: This is a preventative question. I have recently installed my first NetWare 5.1 server on a high-end computer. I realize that at some point in my working with this server, it will probably experience an Ab-end (Abnormal End) or two. What advice can you offer me for those times when my server decides to deviate? -- Cautious in Casablanca

Dear Cautious: It is a good thing to be prepared for possible problems, but it is also good to know that NetWare is generally very reliable. Did yo hear the NetWare 3.12 server that was sealed up in a closet at the University of North Carolina for four years without missing a single packet? Anyway, to get back to answering your question, here are some tips on how to proceed after a server Abend:

Copy down everything you see on the server console (Abend information). Especially note the type of Abend.
Select "Y" to copy the diagnostic image to disk. This is a process that will dump all of the server's memory to the server's DOS partition.
Call Novell Technical Support to report the Abend. (They will ask you to perform steps 1 and 2, which you will have already done.) They will search their databases to see if they have a solution or patch for the Abend. If they do not, they will probably want you to send in the diagnostic image of your server's memory. They will keep the incident open, working with you until a solution is found.

* Originally published in Novell AppNotes

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