Certify Media
This task allows the selection of diskette, DVD-RAM media or hard files to be certified.
Normally, this is done for the following two conditions:
vTodetermine the condition of the drive and media.
vToverify that the media is error free after a Format Service Aid has been run on the
media.
Normally, one would run certify if after running diagnostics on a drive and its media, no
problem is found, but one still suspects that a problem still does exist.
Hard files can be connected either to a SCSI adapter (non-RAID) or a PCI SCSI RAID
adapter. The usage and criteria for a hard file connected to a non-RAID SCSI adapter
are different from those for a hard file connected to a PCI SCSI RAID adapter.
Certify may be used in the following ways:
vCertify Diskette
This selection enables you to verify the data written on a diskette. When you select
this service aid, a menu asks you to select the type of diskette being verified. The
program then reads all of the ID and data fields on the diskette one time and
displays the total number of bad sectors found.
vCertify DVD-RAM media
This selection reads all of the ID and data fields. It checks for bad data and counts
all errors encountered. If an unrecovered error occurs, or recovered errors exceed
the threshold value, the data on the media should be transferred to other media and
the original media should be discarded.
The Certify service aid will display the following information:
– Capacity in bytes
– Number of Data Errors Not Recovered
– Number of Equipment Check Errors
– Number of Recovered Errors
If the drive is reset during a certify operation, the operation is restarted.
If the drive is reset again, the certify operation is terminated and the user is asked to
run diagnostics on the drive.
This task can be run directly from the AIX command line. See the following command
syntax: diag -c -d -T certify
Flag Description
-c No console mode
-d Specifies a device
-T Specifies the certify task
vCertify Hardfile Attached to a Non-RAID SCSI Adapter
This selection reads all of the ID and data fields. It checks for bad data and counts
all errors encountered. If there are unrecovered data errors that do not exceed the
threshold value, then the hard file needs to be formatted and certified. If the
Chapter 6. Introduction to Tasksand Service Aids 97