poweredge 2300 won't boot to CDROM

Question

I am an IT student and I just bought a used Poweredge 2300 with 5 9.1 gig drives. i cannot get this unit to boot to the SCSI CDROM to load an OS (I want to install Windows 2000 Advanced Server) I have tried resetting the unit to its default settings and still nothing. This is my first attempt at "playing" with a server, but I am knowledgeable with BIOS's, general computer hardware, etc (unfortunately, not knowledgeable enough yet.

At bootup, the memory checks out ok, the RAID adapter loads ok, the firmware spins the drives, and I get these messaes:

No SCSI Boot Device Found
SCSI BIOS Not Installed
Adaptec AIC-7860 SCSI BIOS v2.01 Dell 001
SCSI ID: 5 NEC CD-ROM Drive:466
SCSI BIOS Not Installed
No boot device available-strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility

To me this looks like a configuration problem and not a dead/malfunctioning hardware problem. Any ideas, anyone... Please be as specific as possible. Thanks in advance.

neeboy · Answer

More problems...I just tried putting on the jumper for the ISA_CLR as I read in another post, and NOW I can't get into the system's BIOS!  Plus, now the system keeps telling me it is rescanning for SCSI devices, so I must have done something worse, since this didn't happen before...HELP!

jamesm512 · Answer

First off, remove jumper from isa clr, that is only meant to be used for clearing the isa bus, once complete needs to be moved back or unjumpered to post again.

Second, the CDROM is being seen properly, indicated by SCSI ID5 NEC CDROM designation. The entries about no boot device is normal, basically stating it doesn't have a HDD with OS to boot to. So ignore that for now.

Boot to bios, hit ctrl-p to pull up second page, confim boot to CDROM is first in boot order if not make changes necessary.

Then give it another shot, if still getting errors I would test your media on another system and confirm it is bootable, potentially you have a bad CD.

Also watch the sceen carefully for the "hit any key to boot to CD rom" or it never will, usually standard when w2k CD is in place.

And if you get all that working, remember you will need the RAID drivers on a floppy to load w2k. Will need to hit F6 when intial w2k blue screen come sup to load RAID drivers.\

Hope that helps.

playyas4u · Answer

I am having a similar problem with my PowerEdge 4300.  I can get it to boot to my operating system, but it always says 'No Scsi boot device found'  'Scsi bios not installed!'  'Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility'  How do I get this message to go away?  Do I need to installed some kind of scsi bios?  If I hit F1 it will boot to my operating system.

DELL-Mark A · Answer

Hi playyas4u,

Do you have all 3 power supplies connected to a known good power source? All 3 power supplies must be connected, or you will get the F1 ... F2 message.

FYI: The "SCSI bios not installed" message is a normal informational message. The bios will only install on the first bootable media found at post. Normally this is the hard drive. When you put a bootable cdrom, then the bios will install on that controller. Most PowerEdge 4300 Servers have 3 scsi devices installed. A narrow AIC-7860 which controls the cdrom and tape drive, an LVD AIC-7890, for hard drives when you do not have a raid controller. (This one is unused and can be turned off in the system bios, eliminating one of the messages), and finally your raid controller.

Thanks for using the Dell Community Forums!

playyas4u · Answer

I did not have all three of the power supplies plugged in.  I will try that solution and let you know what happens.  Also I have a yellow light blinking under the green power light.  Why is that blinking and how do I turn it off?

DELL-Mark A · Answer

Hi, The 'System Indicator light' blinks when the System Case is open or when there is a Fan Speed, Power (voltage or amperage), Temperature, Memory or PCI bus problem. At this point it was blinking because you did not have all 3 power supplies plugged in.

playyas4u · Answer

When I plugged in all three power supplies into an outlet, the flashing yellow light turned green and the press F1 or F2 went away on startup.  Thanks for all your help!

leestewart · Answer

I have also just acquired a 2300 and am lookiing to use it as a home Linux server. But can't seem to boot from the CD... I've tried multiple bootable CDs - including the original Dell CDs, and even Windows...

RAID comes up clean with a newly created and initialized logical disk.
The Adaptec AIC-7680 reports it finds the CD drive on SCSI id 5,
then reports that it finds a bootable CD in the drive.
Then I get no boot sector on hard disk, F1 to retry, F2 for setup.

The user guide says you have to have "Boot Sequence" set to "Diskette first", which it is (the only other choice is "Hard disk only"). AND you have to have the "Secondary SCSI" set "ON" which it also is.

And at no time in the boot is there a message saying press anything to boot from CD...

Any suggestions on what I might be missing?
Thanks,
Lee

DELL-Mark A · Answer

Hi Lee,If there is no added hardware, the only thing I can think of which would cause this anomaly is the NVRAM is corrupted. We need to clear the NVRAM via the ISA_CLR jumper on the motherboard, then enter the System BIOS and reset to the default settings.Check the section on System Board Jumpers  in the Installation and Troubleshooting Guide: Once this is complete, enter the System BIOS. Light the 3 keyboard LED's (Caps lock, Num lock and Scroll Lock). Hold the ALT key down and press the E key. The system should beep once. Then hold the ALT key down and press the F key. you will then need to reset the time and turn off any unused peripherals, such as the parallel port, serial ports, etc. Then reboot the system. Thanks for using the Dell Community Forums!

vonix · Answer

also you can try hitting control A for scsi select when you see the cd-rom pop up, just hit enter on the first menu it has 2 options, and then press F6 to reset the scsi select back to manufacture settings. also i think in the regular bios it cannot be set to Embedded System Devices on the second page third option down from the top just make sure it says slots first.

leestewart · Answer

I tried cleaning the NVRAM first, and the Alt-E and Alt-F. Still wouldn't boot by CD...

Then I tried SCSI Select F6 reset, and it booted (and installed!).

But now when it boots, it tells me my firmware is out of date. Do I need to be concerned about that?

Thanks for the help getting it working!!!
Lee

DELL-Mark A · Answer

Hi Lee, The error message, 'System Backplane (or ESM) firmware out of date' at boot can be resolved by re-flashing the System BIOS and ESM Firmware. This error may happen any time the system bios is upgraded or the cable from the motherboard to the hard drive backplane is disconnected. Dell System BIOS, Dell PowerEdge 2300, A15 FileName: PE2300-BIOSA15.exe [513 KB]     &nbspRelease Date: 4/24/2003 Dell ESM Firmware, A40 Filename: a40cust.exe (563 KB) Note: Extract the files to a DOS bootable floppy disk. Boot the server to this floppy disk, and run smflsh.exe. Thanks Mark

briansu · Answer

Hi,

I'm in almost the exact same situation.... Poweredge 2300, First server, O/S has been removed from the system etc. I get the same message indicating it has a CDROM, but in the setup menu I only see the options to boot from the Diskette first OR just the Hard Drive. There is no option to boot from the CDROM.

Please help!

Thanks,

-Brian

DELL-Mark A · Answer

Hi Brian,

There will not be a choice in the System BIOS to boot to CDrom. The system will boot to the CDrom by default, unless there is:

Corruption in the System BIOS
The CDrom has been specifically excluded in the System BIOS
Corruption in the SCSI BIOS
An actual hardware failure

The steps to take to correct the issue are as follows:

Remove, inspect and reseat the SCSI cable on the controller end and at all devices. Ensure there is no chafed insulation, no loose connectors, no bent pins, no extreme creases in the cable which could break individual wires. Temporarily leave any device except the CDrom (usually a Tape Backup Unit) disconnected during troubleshooting.
Clear the NVRAM and reset to defaults as described earlier in this thread.
Reset the SCSI BIOS by pressing CTRL-A when prompted for the Adaptec AIC-7860 controller during boot and press F6 to reset to default configuration.

In most cases the previous steps will resolve the issue.

Thanks for using the Dell Community Forums!

Poohberry · Answer

I have a Poweredge 2400 running A09 and it will not post past the Adaptec controller.  I have done everything you have said to do in this thread with no luck. This is what I get!

PowerEdge Hardware General

poweredge 2300 won't boot to CDROM

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