Stopping the system

Turning off your system needs careful attention. If you turn off the system without following this topic, data might be damaged, or the system might behave in unpredictable ways.

Before you turn off your system, complete the following steps:

Make sure that all batch jobs are finished and that users are signed off the system.
1. Send a message that interrupts all users that are signed on to the system, telling them to sign off. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On any command line, type GO MANAGESYS and press Enter.
  2. Select option 12 (Work with signed-on users) on the Manage Your System, Users, and Devices (MANAGESYS) menu.
    Note: If the Work with User Jobs display is shown, you need to switch to basic assistance level using F21 (Select assistance level).
  3. Press F10 (Send message to all) on the Work with Signed-On Users display.
  4. Type the message in the Message text field on the Send a Message display and press F10 (Send).
2. Wait for the users to sign off.
3. Check to make sure that all users have signed off by pressing F5 (Refresh) on the Work with Signed-On Users display. When everyone is signed off the system, the display shows only your job. To sign someone off the system, use option 4 (Sign off).
  Note: If you have separate interactive subsystems other than the controlling subsystem, you might want to stop the interactive subsystems when the users have signed off. This prevents them from signing on again before you stop the system. To work with each active subsystem in the system, use the Work with Subsystems (WRKSBS) command. To end the specified subsystem (or all active subsystems), use the End Subsystem (ENDSBS) command.
Check the status of any batch jobs that might be affected if the system is powered down.
1. On any command line, type GO MANAGESYS and press Enter.
2. Select option 11 (Work with jobs) on the Manage Your System, Users, and Devices (MANAGESYS) menu.
  Note: If the Work with User Jobs display is shown, you need to switch to basic assistance level using F21.
3. Press F14 (Select other jobs) on the Work with Jobs display.
4. Type *all in the User field.
5. Type an N in every field except the Message waiting, Running, and Running job held fields. The Work with Jobs display is shown again with the batch jobs listed.
6. If any job queues have jobs waiting to run, press F22 (Work with job queues) to see the Work with Job Queues display.
7. Hold any job queues that have jobs waiting to run on the Work with Job Queues display. Release these job queues when you start the system again.
8. Press F12 (Cancel) to return to the Work with Jobs display.
9. Press F5 (Refresh) every few minutes until all batch jobs have completed processing.
Check for removable media.
1. Check to see if there are any tapes in any tape units or CD-ROMs in any optical units.
2. Remove any tapes or CD-ROM currently in the unit.

The IBM® i operating system provides several ways to safely turn off your system:

Use the Power Down System (PWRDWNSYS) command to either perform a controlled shutdown operation or to shut down the system immediately.
You can stop the system using the Power On and Off Tasks (POWER) menu. To get to the Power On and Off Tasks menu, type go power on any command line and press Enter.
You can set up a schedule that automatically turns your system on and off. You can determine the time of day that you want the system turned on and off. You can also specify special circumstances that change the normal daily schedule, such as a holiday or special closing.
In emergencies you can stop the system by using the Power button. However, using the Power button might cause errors with your data files and other objects on the system.