The "battery backup" message was not about the power source that the server is plugged into ... it is talking about the RAID battery, which is battery backup for the RAID cache (single stick of memory) - cache stores writes in memory rather than writing directly to the disk to optimize writes and improve performance - in the event the server loses power, the battery keeps these writes that have not yet been committed to disk alive in the memory, so when the system regains power, the writes can be committed to disk, thus preventing that data from being lost.
It is completely safe to power off and/or reboot during a "rebuild" (not called "recovery" or "backup") ... the controller keeps track of where the rebuild is and simply resumes upon reboot.
Servers do not support video cards, so it is likely that you will have a hard time finding one that actually works, as it is very hit/miss.
I would start by reseating all the RAID components - RAID memory, RAID key, and RAID battery, and check the RAID battery for bulging (means its bad):
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
After that, try clearing the NVRAM using the jumpers on the motherboard - this will clear the BIOS of any corruption in its hardware list. You will need to go into BIOS Setup (F2) to re-enable RAID. You may see a scary message about data loss - it doesn't sound like that would be a big deal to you at this point, but just ignore the message and accept the change as there will be no data loss because of the change from SCSI [back] to RAID:
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
If that doesn't work, then I would recommend removing all non-essential hardware and seeing if it will boot to BIOS in a minimal configuration. Even try removing all RAID components for this test.
Then, if that doesn't work, I would remove the second processor (if two are installed) and reseat the first - swap the first with the second if still no luck.
At this point, if it still is not working, there is a very good chance that your motherboard will need replacing.
It has helped me nail-down a lot of the pieces of the documentation for my machine, and now I have a better idea of what my machine is actually configured to do!
There is no RAID configured in this board. No RAID DIMM, no RAID battery or RAID key. I was confusing one of the two VRMs with the RAID key. Live and learn!
It has tape drive SCSI expansion cards in slots 1 and 2. There's a cable labeled "CONTROLLER" connecting to the SCSI backplane. I'm not sure if these are vital, however I've tried with and without these cards. I've also tried booting with and without the drives connected to the backplane. I know nothing about tape drives.
The NVRAM jumper is on right now until(if) I get it to boot with video.
There is no daughter SCSI expansion install if that makes a difference in finding the problem from here. I would hope none of the expansion cards or backplane itself are damaged.
As for the CPUs, I have not yet tried them. I was wondering if I should remove the VRMs when trying to boot with a single processor?
Sorry for misdirecting the prognosis!
Also, I used an installation CD of the OS to change out the bootloader. Could it be a bootloader issue? The drives won't spin up, but this may just be a sign it doesn't get that far in the boot process?
Reseating/swapping Processor 1 and Processor 2 did not work.
One more thing to make sure!
This system was configured with 2 external SCSI tape-drive expansion cards. There was a SCSI cable running from SCSI-A to one of these two expansion cards. Aside from the proprietary connector from the motherboard to SCSI backplane, no other SCSI cables were attached the motherboard. To route SCSI back to the motherboard I connect the backplane SCSI-A directly to the SCSI-A connector on the motherboard, correct?
I'm officially in the market for a replacement motherboard. :emotion-15:
The server is up an booting again, thanks to a replacement motherboard as the first post suggested.
I just figured I'd update anyone that has a motherboard related issue with things not working, hopefully this thread will now give them some general guidance for troubleshooting.
I found a great deal on the system board, including some extra parts that were sold as a part of the auction! 4x512MB DIMMs, a RAID key and RAID DIMM. Soon I will reinstall the previous 2x1.4GHz processors instead of the 2x1.0GHz processors the new board shipped with.
This will in effect be an upgrade to my machine, now having 3GB total system RAM and the board's RAID capabilities. All for $14 dollars+shipping.
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
1
August 25th, 2011 08:00
First, a couple of things to keep in mind:
I would start by reseating all the RAID components - RAID memory, RAID key, and RAID battery, and check the RAID battery for bulging (means its bad):
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/pe2500/en/sm/remove.htm#raid
After that, try clearing the NVRAM using the jumpers on the motherboard - this will clear the BIOS of any corruption in its hardware list. You will need to go into BIOS Setup (F2) to re-enable RAID. You may see a scary message about data loss - it doesn't sound like that would be a big deal to you at this point, but just ignore the message and accept the change as there will be no data loss because of the change from SCSI [back] to RAID:
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
If that doesn't work, then I would recommend removing all non-essential hardware and seeing if it will boot to BIOS in a minimal configuration. Even try removing all RAID components for this test.
Then, if that doesn't work, I would remove the second processor (if two are installed) and reseat the first - swap the first with the second if still no luck.
At this point, if it still is not working, there is a very good chance that your motherboard will need replacing.
Lugner
4 Posts
0
August 25th, 2011 22:00
Thank you for your thorough response!
It has helped me nail-down a lot of the pieces of the documentation for my machine, and now I have a better idea of what my machine is actually configured to do!
There is no RAID configured in this board. No RAID DIMM, no RAID battery or RAID key. I was confusing one of the two VRMs with the RAID key. Live and learn!
It has tape drive SCSI expansion cards in slots 1 and 2. There's a cable labeled "CONTROLLER" connecting to the SCSI backplane. I'm not sure if these are vital, however I've tried with and without these cards. I've also tried booting with and without the drives connected to the backplane. I know nothing about tape drives.
The NVRAM jumper is on right now until(if) I get it to boot with video.
There is no daughter SCSI expansion install if that makes a difference in finding the problem from here. I would hope none of the expansion cards or backplane itself are damaged.
As for the CPUs, I have not yet tried them. I was wondering if I should remove the VRMs when trying to boot with a single processor?
Sorry for misdirecting the prognosis!
Also, I used an installation CD of the OS to change out the bootloader. Could it be a bootloader issue? The drives won't spin up, but this may just be a sign it doesn't get that far in the boot process?
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
0
August 25th, 2011 22:00
Yes, the VRM's for any removed processors should also be removed. Good luck.
Lugner
4 Posts
0
August 27th, 2011 19:00
Reseating/swapping Processor 1 and Processor 2 did not work.
One more thing to make sure!
This system was configured with 2 external SCSI tape-drive expansion cards. There was a SCSI cable running from SCSI-A to one of these two expansion cards. Aside from the proprietary connector from the motherboard to SCSI backplane, no other SCSI cables were attached the motherboard. To route SCSI back to the motherboard I connect the backplane SCSI-A directly to the SCSI-A connector on the motherboard, correct?
I'm officially in the market for a replacement motherboard. :emotion-15:
Lugner
4 Posts
0
September 9th, 2011 03:00
The server is up an booting again, thanks to a replacement motherboard as the first post suggested.
I just figured I'd update anyone that has a motherboard related issue with things not working, hopefully this thread will now give them some general guidance for troubleshooting.
I found a great deal on the system board, including some extra parts that were sold as a part of the auction! 4x512MB DIMMs, a RAID key and RAID DIMM. Soon I will reinstall the previous 2x1.4GHz processors instead of the 2x1.0GHz processors the new board shipped with.
This will in effect be an upgrade to my machine, now having 3GB total system RAM and the board's RAID capabilities. All for $14 dollars+shipping.
Happy day! Thanks to theflash1932!
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
0
September 9th, 2011 08:00
Wow, that is a great deal ... good luck!