NX3230 stuck on device initialization phase

Question

Hello!

I had to reboot NX3230 after a very long time as a result of some changes I had made in its configuration, unfortunately, the server stuck during the initialization phase:

What is more, two disks started blinking orange indicating that there's a problem. I'm wondering if the two disks are the cause of the server not being able to boot properly.

Unfortunately, I cannot enter System Setup (F2), the same with Lifecycle Controller (F10), CTRL+S and CTRL+R don't work either.

I tried shutting it down, unplugging cables, pressing power button for around 20 seconds - it keeps stucking at the same point.

Fortunately, I have access to iDRAC via HTTP and it says that one virtual disk (RAID-6) is degraded. If two disks are down, the entire virtual disk should still be accessible but I'm not able to verify that since I cannot start Windows.

I'd be grateful for any piece of advice.

Rgards,

DELL-Charles R · Accepted Answer

Hello,

I'll first recommend make sure you have a good backup. If you don't and this is critical data you may consider a data recovery company.

What changes were made before rebooting?

Is the system firmware up to date or were you updating firmware?

A RAID6 should be degraded still be able to boot with two drives missing.

What is the PERC controller?

Have you checked the System Event Log (SEL) and LifeCycle log in the iDRAC for any related entries?

Are any other drives indicated with a problem?

What does the Storage section of the iDRAC show you?

Virtual disk and physical disk section. Can you post images?

What do the drive LED's show?

See reference page 11

https://dell.to/3YdkwC6

If just two drives failed you may try shut down, unseat those two drives then power up to see if it boots.

msiem · Answer

@DELL-Charles R​  After removing the faulty disks, the device initialization phase completed and the OS was able to boot properly. Now, we have to quickly order new disks and rebuild the raid-6 virtual disk (no redundancy at the moment). Thanks Charles, we'll take it from here :-) Regards,

PowerEdge HDD/SCSI/RAID

NX3230 stuck on device initialization phase

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