Patent ID: 7308616

Claim:
A method in a data processing system for enhancing the error reporting that is done utilizing fault isolation registers (FIRs) after executing a diagnostic test, said method comprising: designing a diagnostic test that will test for a particular type of error; including, in said diagnostic test, a designation of a particular fault isolation register to use to report said particular type of error; selecting a second fault isolation register that is not designated in said diagnostic test to use to report said particular type of error reporting a result of executing said diagnostic test utilizing said particular fault isolation register and said second fault isolation register, wherein said particular fault isolation register and said second fault isolation register are used to determine said result; including, in said diagnostic test, a designation of a first group of bits to use to report said particular type of error; selecting a second group of bits that is not designated in said diagnostic test to be used to report said particular type of error; reporting said result utilizing said first and second groups of bits; prioritizing all bits from said first and second groups by creating a list of said bits in a particular order; determining said result of executing said diagnostic test by checking each bit in said list in said particular order; prioritizing said bits by creating said list of said bits in order of seriousness of fault; listing one of said bits that indicates a most serious fault first; storing said list; in response to selecting said diagnostic test to be executed, retrieving said list; determining said result of executing said diagnostic test utilizing said retrieved list; designing a plurality of diagnostic tests; prioritizing said plurality of diagnostic tests in a particular order giving a higher priority to ones of said plurality of diagnostic tests that test individual hardware components and a lower priority to ones of said plurality of diagnostic tests that test combinations of multiple hardware components; executing said plurality of diagnostic tests in said particular order wherein said ones of said plurality of diagnostic tests that test individual hardware components are executed first and said ones of said plurality of diagnostic tests that test said combinations of multiple hardware components are executed last.