Poweredge R620 RAID controller disapeared!

Hi,

I have an R620 which I have been using to learn how to use VMware. It worked very well, but then I went off to sea for a few months, leaving it powered down.

I turned it back on when I returned from work, and it no longer booted.

On logging into the iDRAC, I could see that it wasn't booting because it could no longer see a boot volume. Looking further it could not see the RAID controller.

I powered it down and re-seated the RAID controller (a PERC H710p), powered up and still no controller. Someone suggested disconnecting the battery on the RAID controller, so I tried that, and it still doesn't see the controller.

I can see some of these controllers on eBay for not very much, and I'm wondering if I should just buy one, or if there is something else I should try first, or should I just give up on the R620 and get something a little newer.

Any opinions or suggestions welcome

Thanks!

Paul.