Using patches for problem determination

This topic provides information about using DFSMShsm-supported patches for problem determination.

For instances where it is necessary to determine problem causes, such as when an installation exit abnormally ends, the problem determination patches might offer the needed assistance. These DFSMShsm supported patches remain supported from release to release without modification.

Before applying these patches to your system, understand the following:

Some of the PATCH commands listed in this topic include the VERIFY parameter or comments about the patch. The VERIFY parameter and comments are optional. However, when you patch full bytes of data from a terminal, it is recommended that you use the VERIFY parameter to help catch any errors in the command entry. To see the current value of a byte before changing it, use the DISPLAY command.
If you are using the PATCH command to change only part of a byte, you should use the BITS parameter.
If you need to see the output data from a PATCH command online, before DFSMShsm is shut down, you can specify the OUTDATASET parameter of the PATCH command.

For more information on using the PATCH and DISPLAY commands, see Using DFSMShsm maintenance commands.