Alternative Method of Initialization

Use the following initialization method to avoid use of the /LIMIT qualifier or, for OpenVMS Integrity servers, to prevent creation of the diagnostic partition.


NOTE: When you initialize your target disk using the following method, you must use the PRESERVE option during the installation of OpenVMS on the disk. If you use the INITIALIZE option, the disk is reinitialized using the defaults.


  1. After booting the operating system media, and before installing the operating system, select option 8 (“Execute DCL commands and procedures”) on the main menu.

  2. Initialize the intended target disk with the following command:

    $ INITIALIZE /SYSTEM /HEADERS=150000 /STRUCTURE=ods-level target-disk target-label

    where:

    • ods-level is 2 (for ODS-2) or 5 (for ODS-5).

    • target-disk is the device for the target disk (such as DKA100:).

    • target-label is the label for the target disk (you can change the label later).

    If you specified ODS-5 and you want support for hard links, include the /VOLUME_CHARACTERISTICS=HARDLINKS qualifier with the INITIALIZE command.

    If you are using this method of initialization to prevent creation of a diagnostic partition, and you do not intend to mount the disk on an OpenVMS system prior to version 7.2, include the /LIMIT qualifier with the INITIALIZE command. If you do not use the /LIMIT qualifier, your new system disk might be initialized with a relatively large minimum allocation size. This can cause small files to use more space than necessary.

  3. Exit DCL (log off), and then select option 1 (“Upgrade, install or reconfigure OpenVMS”) on the main menu.

  4. When you are asked whether to initialize or preserve the target disk, choose PRESERVE (the default).

  5. Continue with the installation.