Unsolved
3 Posts
0
3060
Help to Wipe Dell T110 PowerEdge
Hi All,
I have a Dell T110 PowerEdge here and I would like to wipe its contents, and re-install the OS if possible. My issue is that I know nothing of servers, the IT expert that originally set up the server at our small business has now retired so it is up to us to try clear the server so we can get rid of it. All of the information I can find on doing this is beyond my knowledge of servers (which isn't difficult). I am hoping, though I realise it might be challenging, that someone could guide me through how to wipe the server in a language that the lay-man could understand (I have no idea what RAID is or how to access it).
Things I have managed to discover so far:
This server uses Unified Server Configurator, not Lifecycle Controller
The ctrl-R shortcut during boot does not appear to work on this device.
Thanks in advance!
DELL-Chris H
Moderator
Moderator
•
8.4K Posts
0
September 21st, 2018 06:00
Ryan52,
If your intent is to dispose of the server then I would suggest destroying the hard drives, as that is the simplest guaranteed way of making sure the data is safely destroyed. If that isn't an option because you want someone else to be able to use the system then we can look at formatting the drives. If you have the SAS6/ir controller installed in the server you wouldn't see a CTRL-R prompt, but instead would see a CTRL-C prompt. The CTRL-R prompt would be if you were using the embedded controller (S100). So when you reboot look for the term
"Press CTRL-C to run SAS Configuration Utility..."
After hitting CTRL-C and it takes you to the utility, you would need to hit enter on the controller, then from the next page you will select Raid Properties - View Existing Array - Manage Array - Delete Array. That will delete the array configuration, but not the data. In order to delete the data on the drives we would need to create a new array to allow it to format the drives. So you would need to back out of that page back to the View Existing Array page (which is now gone since the array was deleted), and select Create IM Volume, then select the drives by scrolling to RAID Disk column and put YES for the drives, once that is done then hit C to create the volume. Then you will need to save the volume, then hit F3 to confirm. Once that is completed the back up to View Existing Array - Manage Array - Activate Array, then you're done.
This is all presuming that you have a SAS6/ir installed.
Let me know if you see any of this, if not then let me know what you see under SATA SETTINGS - SATA CONTROLLER in the BIOS (F2 at startup).
Thanks.
Ryan52
3 Posts
0
September 24th, 2018 21:00
Hi Chris, thanks for your detailed reply!
There is also no ctrl-C prompt on startup, only a ctrl-S one which seems to be for something else.
I have been able to get to the BIOS screen (F2) but there doesn't appear to be a SATA controller listed under SATA settings. Is it under the name "SATA Controller"? Or is it one of the listed Ports? Nothing here is called SATA Controller. Thanks again for your help.
DELL-Chris H
Moderator
Moderator
•
8.4K Posts
0
September 25th, 2018 04:00
It should look like this;
Which you should be able to set that field to OFF, ATA Mode, AHCI mode, or RAID Mode.
What revision is the BIOS, is it and the rest of the server up to date?
Anna-CLP
2 Posts
0
March 22nd, 2021 08:00
Hello,
This is an old thread, but I'm having the same problem with needing to wipe our T310 PowerEdge server but having very little knowledge of how to go about it, I've only dealt with PCs, not servers. We're a charity hoping to pass it on to another charity, and would like to avoid having to pay anyone else to do this if possible.
I've tried the above, I see a ctrl-S and Ctrl-C prompt, but no Ctrl-R or mention of an 'SAS Configuration Utility'. I did find the SATA Controller and mine looks like the screenshot above.
Ctrl-S goes to a light blue menu with 'PERC 6/i Adaptor BIOS Configuration Utility 1.22.32-1371' at the top.
I'm not sure if this is the BIOS version, but when it boots I see 'BIOS Revision 1.9.2'
As I said, I'd like to wipe our data but I'm not sure where to start. Any help would be very much appreciated!
Dell-DylanJ
2.9K Posts
1
March 22nd, 2021 12:00
Hello,
If you're data is sensitive, the recommendation I would make is to keep your drives, then donate the remainder of the server. There is still significant value in the system, even if who ever receives it just needs to add a bit of storage. This is a practice I've seen implemented on several occasions.
If you want to donate the whole server, storage included, then you can use your PERC menu to delete all the virtual disks, then create one large RAID 0 volume of all the disks, and have it initialize. This would probably be the best way to remove all your data with just what the server would have natively.
One call out I'd like to mention - you said that your SATA menu looked like in the screenshot. Does that include the top line where it says AHCI mode? If so, then you won't have a raid volume to be concerned with. You could use something like the Windows installer to delete the old partitions, then cancel the install.
JSz
42 Posts
1
March 23rd, 2021 06:00
There are a number of ways to do that -- there are many utilities that can wipe the disks.
Here is one:
Anna-CLP
2 Posts
0
March 25th, 2021 04:00
Hello,
Thank you for the very sensible suggestion! For some reason it didn't occur to me that the hard drives weren't an integral part of the server itself, and that I could use a more brute-force method to wipe them without rendering the server useless. I actually have a physical hard drive eraser, so we'll just do this for the hard drives in the server and pass them on.
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond, it's saved me a big headache!!