Problems booting from CD or DVD
AIX, Linux, and Solaris platforms use a common bootable CD or DVD format (ISO-9660). HP-UX uses Logical Interchange Format (LIF). If a system cannot boot from the CD or DVD, place it in a system that has a CD drive and examine the contents. (Either UNIX or Windows platforms can read ISO format.)
Do the following:
If the CD or DVD contents consist of a single file, the CD or DVD was written as a data CD or DVD instead of an ISO-9660 CD or DVD image. Repeat the burning procedure but use the options that are required to burn an ISO image file.
If the CD or DVD is blank or unreadable, remove it from the drive and examine it closely to determine if it has been written to. Some CD or DVD burning software by default simulates the burning of a CD or DVD to test the capabilities of the CD or DVD burning hardware. It does not burn the CD or DVD until the test-only option is turned off. Repeat the burning procedure with the test-only option disabled.
If the boot was partially successful, or if it appears that some files are not present or some are corrupted, then one of the following occurred:
The burning process failed. A partially burned CD may be bootable but may not contain significant portions of its content. Lower the CD writing speed to allow a successful burn. Use the test after writing or use the option to verify that some CD writing software offers may help detect unsuccessful CD writes.
The file transfer from the BMR boot server to the computer with the CD writer failed.
A common cause of corruption occurs when the file is transferred with FTP in ASCII transfer mode rather than binary mode.
If the CD boots successfully on another similar computer, the drive on the restore system may be damaged or dirty. Similarly, the CD itself may be easily damaged or made unreadable by surface contamination after writing. Examine the physical media and the environment in which it is read.
Verify that you use the correct procedures to boot the client computer from CD.
Try booting the client from the installation media to ensure that the computer does not have a hardware problem when it boots from the CD.