PE2650 Won't Boot From CD (No bootable device)

Question

Hello everybody. After a few days of scouring the Internet (and these forums in particular), I still cannot get my PowerEdge 2650 to boot from a CD. Hoping theflash1932 will drop by, s/he seems very knowledgeable.. ;)

Full disclosure: I've been given 3 Dell Poweredge2650s to try and bring back from the dead. They were all scored second-hand, so they may not be in any sort of running shape, but so far I can't even get them to boot from a CD. I have never worked with servers before, but I have pretty extensive knowledge of PC building and repair. I have tried to boot two out of the three 2650s with a plethora of CDs: a legit Windows Server 2003 CD, the Dell SBUU, a Linux Live CD, a Sardu Disk.. nothin'. With each server, I hot-swapped out the CD-ROM/Floppy combo with the others, so a total of three different CD-ROM/Floppy combos have been tried on two of the servers.

I find it highly unlikely that all three of these drive combos are dead. They light up during boot, so I know they're getting power, but I still find myself getting the "No bootable device" error on boot after successful BIOS installation. I have ensured that the CD-ROM drive is present, selected, and first in the boot device order. I have tried with OS Install mode On and Off, and in the RAID configuration utility there is an option for CD-ROM Boot that is disabled by default that I have also tried enabling and disabling again.

At this point, I feel like I must be missing something very basic. Is there some special process that I need to take to ensure that the PE2650 will boot from CD?

-Aaron

EDIT: The server has two 136GB Seagate drives in it that are configured for RAID 1 and have been fully scrubbed if this makes a difference.

theflash1932 · Accepted Answer

Well, there shouldn't be that much to it, but I also find it hard to believe that three optical drives would all be bad (of course, that depends - these servers are over 10 years old, and depending on their condition and use (or non-use), they will be particularly subject to failure).

Just a few things that stood out from your otherwise thorough troubleshooting [description]:

- Does the drive light come on the CD drive when you power on the server?

- In the BIOS, under Boot Sequence, the CD drive should be at the TOP of the boot order (which you said you did), but there may also be a checkmark next to the boot devices in that list that are ENABLED - make sure there is a checkmark by it.

- Check to make sure the cable inside the server, connecting the optical drive to the mother board is there and securely connected (reseat would be better).

- Make sure that CD drive is enabled in the BIOS (which it would be if it is showing up in the boot sequence), but check to see if it is just ON/OFF or if there is an additional option to enable with BIOS support (don't remember if it is an option on this server).

Also, many laptop drives will work in there ... if you have one to swap out.

ascantlin · Answer

The drive lights do come on, there are checkmarks on the boot devices, and I reseated the connection between the drive and the motherboard. The only choices I get for IDE devices in the BIOS is 'Auto' and 'Off", and it is set to 'Auto'.

However.. I got it to boot from a CD! When you mentioned that a laptop drive would work, I did some rummaging and found an old HP that I fried back in '06. I didn't remember having any CD-ROM drive issues before it kicked the bucket, so I pulled it out and slapped it into the PE2650. There was some DIY engineering that had to be done to the hot-swap bay in order to fit it (the bezel for this model's CD-ROM drive is not even) but sure as heck, she booted from the Sardu disk.

I'm still in disbelief that it was three faulty CD-ROM drives, but plugging in the other hot-swap bays results in my no bootable device error. I'll be darned.

Thank you very much for your sage advice!

theflash1932 · Answer

;)

HoustonJack · Answer

Im sorry to crash your thread ... but i have an old 2650 i am rebuilding as an exercise in learning ... and i can not get the bios loaded into the machine from the floppy i prepared ... since i see you did that ... can you kindly tell me the protocal to do that or refer me to an elementary tutorial about"how to install the bios from a floppy"??

My machine will not make it to set up ... (f2 never happens so i cant see the bios settings) ....it first says it had an error trying to "initialize the remote access controller (ie it can not load the ERA (embedded remote access controller) -- it says error there and moves on to firmware ... and says it cant find any firmware ...

i also have the original machine firmware on floppy ... i need to reinstall that too ...i have the original set up cd from dell ... so if i can just get the bios installed ... and the firmware in ... then i know how to do the rest of the installation to make the box work .... i just usually start with a machine that works ... thru set up ... and this one does not do that ...

any help will be appreciated ...

PowerEdge Hardware General

PE2650 Won't Boot From CD (No bootable device)

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