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May 12th, 2010 14:00
Dell Poweredge 2550 Perc 3i Raid Controller
I have a small issue with home lab poweredge 2550 server that I used to run vmware esxi on; all of a sudden the Perc 3i Raid controller card is not being recognized in the BIOS and I lost all Raid 5 configuration. I have tried to troubleshoot and I noticed that the date and time were Jan 25 2002 so I assumed that the CMOS is not working properly so I just ordered a new also I ordered a new Battery Power pack that comes with Perc Raid controller card. I have posted some pics below of my problem; as you can see when the server boots up all it shows is the individual SCSI drives also I shut this server off for days and only turn it on when I need it. If anyone else has come across this please let me know what other steps I should take.
VeGeTa-X
2 Posts
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May 12th, 2010 15:00
I have not done to much I have taken out the drives and back them in the correct order; I have reset the raid key and memory chip. Once the CMOS batteries arrive I will follow your instructions and I will let you know how it goes. Thx for your advice and help
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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May 12th, 2010 15:00
Most likely is your CMOS battery is going bad. Hopefully you haven't done too much experimenting, as your RAID array should still be fine. Time-of-Day not correct, RAID reverting to SCSI mode ... both are BIOS DEFAULTS, meaning your BIOS was reset. If this happens without removing the battery or clearing the NVRAM using the motherboard jumpers, it is usually a bad CMOS battery. It could be the motherboard or a corrupt BIOS, but most likely the battery. The CMOS battery is NOT the same as the RAID battery that you mentioned ordering, and unless you have also seen messages regarding the status of the RAID cache and/or battery, they you do not need to replace it for the problem you have described.
After replacing the CMOS battery (coin battery on the motherboard), go into the BIOS, to Integrated Devices and set Embedded RAID to RAID Enabled instead of SCSI Enabled. After so doing, the controller kernel will load during POST and will probably tell you it has detected a mismatch between drives and NVRAM. Enter the Configuration Utility and ACCEPT the configuration. This will save the RAID configuration that was stored on the drives and it should be operational again.
If you are in the States or Canada, I would advise you to call technical support, as the call and support (in OR out of warranty) are free and the call will be fielded by someone in the States. It is much easier to walk through different problems that may arise on the phone rather than through a forum.
Let us know how it goes.