Dell Poweredge R900 does not start loading OS

Hi aaronmackie,

It is trying to do a PXE boot from the network rather than boot to the local hard drives. Try pressing F11 during post to bring up the boot menu and try to select hard drive c:. You can also try going into system setup with F2 and make sure that the boot sequence goes to the PERC first.

I am actually having a difficult time getting to any screen. Pressing F2, I can get to the configuration screen but only after waiting for about 20 to 30 minutes. Once I'm there, I cannot control the interface to change any settings. That is excatly the same scenario for any other of the F keys during boot up.

Try disconnecting all external devices except the monitor, including mouse and keyboard and see if that changes the boot time. It sounds like some device is causing everything to run slowly. The next step would be to remove any pci-e cards.

I've removed the pci-e cards as requested. There was only one (a nic card), and I have also removed the mouse and keyboard. I did not see any improvements. Additinally, I have removed 8 sticks of memory that now bring the server to its OEM specifications. Still, no improvements.

Try resetting the motherboard nvram. Page 154 ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_poweredge/poweredge-r900_Owner%27s%20Manual_en-us.pdf

I've placed the NVRam jumper in position 1-3 and powered on the system. I receive the screen in the attached shot.

I've pressed F2 to go into setup. It is very slow still. What should I do next?

I've set the NVRam into position 1-3 and powered the machine on. I get a message from the machine during boot suggesting to enter into Setup. I've pressed F2 and entered setup. What should I do next?

Try going into F10 and running platform updates, reflashing the BIOS may help.