5 Posts
0
5834
Dell R610 - Can not install Windows Server - Black Screen
Hi, I recently got a Dell PowerEdge R610 II Server 2x X5650 6-Core / 96GB RAM / 2x PSU/ SAS RAID on ebay and put two ssd inside. No other drives
I am quiet frustrated because I am spending the last 3 days trying to install any Windows Server (2008 r2 or 2016) with usb stick.
I even tried 3 different USB sticks. What happens it that after booting in UEFI,
I get either Black Screen or Critical Process Died or Crypto Library Internal Error or A few seconds of spinning windows or Auto Config that turns into black.
Most of the time just black screen and computer keeps running without doing anything.
Here is what I tried: 2xSSD in Raid 0 - Set up in Raid Controller and Initialized Successfully.
Updated BIOS to the latest manually ftp.dell.com not available anymore!
Put SSD Drives in different slots First Setup was 1+2 Second Setup was 3+4
Tried 3 different USB Sticks with different OS Different OS: WIndows Server 2008 Windows Server 2016
Re-Created RAID 0 and Initialized Drives 2x
Reset Bios and set things to default in Dell Manager. T
ried BIOS AND UEFI, change settings.
Run Hardware Check without any issues.
Replaced a complete set of monitor, keyboard and mic 2x
Switched CPU 1with2 and 2with1
Switched Memory Banks Bios Battery In/Out 30sec
Hold Button Reset
Used one Power Supply
Not sure what else I can check anymore.
Running out of ideas, getting tired and after reading 20 forums and trying different things for 3 days with over 50 reboots.
Can anyone help? Is there a hardware problem? Software? Or what is going on?
Please advice with detailed steps. Thanks alot!
mauricev
26 Posts
0
February 14th, 2019 10:00
I just did a quick google search and every link I clicked on indicates this is a bad CPU. Try it with one CPU at a time. Does it have a CDROM, trying booting from a bootable ISO. Try Linux.
DELL-Daniel My
Moderator
Moderator
•
6.2K Posts
0
February 11th, 2019 09:00
Hello
It sounds like the only issue is booting from the USB drive. Make sure the drive is formatted as FAT32, and make sure you are using Microsoft's USB utility to copy the files to the drive.
If you are able to boot from the USB drive and start the installation process then it may be another issue. If the process is failing when it attempts to copy to the drives then it may be a compatibility issue with the disks.
Thanks
richardwainthropp
5 Posts
0
February 12th, 2019 17:00
Daniel,
thank you for your quick response!
Instead of using Rufus to copy Windows Server, I have tried the Microsoft USB but the same result again.
After a few spins of booting from the USB and starting the Server Installation Setup, I get a blue screen Critical Process Died followed by a black screen, fans make more noise and nothing happens.
Sometimes it just changes to black and get stuck right there and sometimes an error message with Crypto Library Internal Error.
Please advice.
Thanks alot!
DELL-Daniel My
Moderator
Moderator
•
6.2K Posts
0
February 13th, 2019 09:00
If you are able to enter the system BIOS and make changes then the hardware is likely fine. If the issue is only occurring when you try to boot to an OS then the problem is drivers. There may be hardware installed that the OS does not have a driver. You don't need the storage controller, SSDs, or several other hardware devices to be able to boot from the OS media. I would start disconnecting unnecessary hardware to fault isolate the problem device.
richardwainthropp
5 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 11:00
Mauricev, thanks a lot!
I have followed your advice and used only one CPU at at time and it turned out that the CPU in slot one seems to have an issue even tough it did not show any issues in the hardware diagnostics.
I used the second CPU in the first slot and everything worked fine. No issues during the installation of Windows Server 2016.
Now I am thinking of replacing the faulty CPU. Do I need a matched pair or can I just get any replacement of the same CPU type? What is really the difference of a matched CPU anyways?
Thanks a lot for your help!
richardwainthropp
5 Posts
0
February 16th, 2019 11:00
Thanks Daniel for your help. It was really a faulty CPU that mauricev pointed out in the other post.
It seems that Dell Hardware Diagnostic is not able to determine an issue with the CPU even tough it causes Windows Server installation to crash each time. I have tried different server installations and usb sticks and with the faulty CPU, it always crashed.
Thanks a lot for your efforts!