PERC 4 SCSI RAID Adapter Malfunctions With Multiple HDDs Attached

Question

Hello,

Here is a summary of the issue:

I have a PowerEdge 700 server with a PERC 4/SC SCSI RAID adapter (J4588). If more than one hard disk drive is attached, the adapter will not function correctly. If I can even enter the configuration utility (Ctrl + M), it frequently freezes or locks up when I try to view information about the physical drives. If only a single HDD is attached, the configuration utility is responsive and the status of the attached drive is displayed as OK/ready..

More details: Recently, the server failed to boot with an error about a failed logical drive. Upon accessing the RAID configuration screen, I saw that two of the three HDDs in the RAID-5 had failed.

I ordered three new drives, but found the controller would not recognize the drives if all three were connected at the same time. So I ordered a new controller (same model). Unfortunately, this new controller is behaving similar to the first.

PERC4 Firmware: Up to date (352D)
SCSI drive cable: I do not have another cable to test, but I have confirmed that each SCSI port on the cable works, as long as only a single drive is attached.
Power supply: I tested with another power supply, but it made no difference.
Warranty support: The warranty on this server has expired.

I will appreciate any suggestions on where to go from here. What else can I troubleshoot?

tommo666 · Accepted Answer

Don't forgewt on cable scsi, the id jumper needs to be set. The 1st disk in normally set to id0. There should be a jumper layout on the drive label. If not download the data sheet from the makers site.

theflash1932 · Answer

Just as a note ... support on Dell servers is always available and always free in the US/Canada. Do ANY two drives work together?  I would suspect the cable, if not.

theflash1932 · Answer

Good call ... I work with so few cabled SCSI drives, but I should have though of that too :)

Josh2012 · Answer

Thank you tommo666.

I failed to notice that there are jumper pins on both the front and rear sections of these HDDs. After adding jumpers to assign unique SCSI IDs, all three drives now spin up and display "READY" status in the configuration utility.

I hate that I missed something so basic, but the issue I mentioned above is just one several I'm dealing with at the moment.

Thanks again - I appreciate your assistance!

tommo666 · Answer

I had a similar situation and spent ages tring to fix it and tech support mentioned the id jumpers. You'll find now that you will never forget about id's

PowerEdge HDD/SCSI/RAID

PERC 4 SCSI RAID Adapter Malfunctions With Multiple HDDs Attached

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