Update general.md

hugo/content/manual/troubleshooting/general.md

@@ -16,21 +16,31 @@ Even more likely is human error, such as:
 * ...
 
 #### check the status
-Before anything is restarted or power cycled, check the status of the slaves.
-Either from a dedicated shell, or from within the `iocsh`.
+Before anything is restarted or power cycled, check the status of the system.
+
+A simple way to get an overview of the entire ecmc system is to start the ecmcMain.ui panel. This panel contains, or links to, almost the entire ecmc IOC:
+* thread status
+* EtherCAT master status 
+* EtherCAT slaves status (overview of all configured slaves)
+* motion axes (all axes in the system are reachable)
+* PLC:s
+* ...
 
-If all slaves are in 'OP' state, at least data is exchanged between the hardware and the master. 
+```bash
+caqtdm -macro "IOC=<iocname>" ecmcMain.ui
+```
 
-Depending on the integrator and overview panel might exist.
-Consult this panel for further details.
 Remember, `red` is not necessarily a bad sign!
 It can also indicate that certain channels are not connected.
 Whether those channels _should_ be connected is beyond the scope of this guide.
 
+Next step is to diagnose from a dedicated shell, or from within the `iocsh`.
+
+If all slaves are in 'OP' state, at least data is exchanged between the hardware and the master. 
+
 #### restarting the IOC
 {{% notice warning %}}
 Blindly restarting the IOC, with only partially working EtherCAT hardware, WILL RESULT IN TOTAL FAILURE OF THE IOC!!!
 {{% /notice %}}
 
 Check the hardware BEFORE restarting the IOC!
-