Here's how to troubleshoot a No POST issues on your PowerEdge server. No POST describes a situation where the system powers on, but fails a check during Power On Self Test, or POST. Depending on your system and issue you may see a POST error message on your monitor if present, or see that diagnostic LEDs are on, or blinking. If this does not describe your issue refer to the KB linked below for help with other startup issues like No Power, No Boot and No Video.
Here's how to troubleshoot a No POST issue on your PowerEdge server. No POST describes a situation where the system powers on, but fails a check during Power On Self Test, or POST. Depending on your system and issue you may see a POST error message on your monitor if present, or see that diagnostic LEDs are on, or blinking. If this does not describe your issue, go to dell.com/support and refer to KB article 152161 for help with other startup issues like No Power, No Boot and No Video.
If you have a specific POST error displayed on a monitor, front panel display or indicated by motherboard LEDs, search for support on that issue. You'll find an explanation of the motherboard LED codes in the manual for your system. If you don't have a specific error follow these steps to identify which component is causing the POST failure. We'll be removing parts in groups, and testing. If we find that removing a part allows the system to POST we can then troubleshoot the suspect part.
First, power down the system and remove any external devices except for a monitor connected to the onboard video port. Remove both power cables, then hold down the power button for 10 seconds to drain any residual power. Reconnect the power cables then wait two minutes for the iDRAC to initialize before attempting to power on. If this allows the system to POST, re-add the peripherals one at a time to identify which is causing the issue. If possible, two way swap the faulty part with one you know is working correctly with another system.
If the part is faulty, we'd expect to see the POST issue move with it to the other system, and the original system to work correctly with the known-good part. If you're still seeing the same issue, repeat the procedure, this time removing any third party components that have been added to the system. Remember to drain residual power and allow iDRAC time to initialize. If the fault persists, next try disconnecting hard drives, then optical drives and internal tape drives, then PCI cards. If it still fails with all these removed, reseat the control panel connector. Check your system manual for specific guidance on doing this.
Also refer to your manual for the systems Minimum to POST' hardware requirement. Remove all other components from the system, leaving only those in the 'Minimum to POST list'. When performing this test please remember to disconnect components like the backplane and integrated NICs such as OCP or NDCs, and anything else not explicitly mentioned in the list. As before, if disconnecting components allows the system to POST, reconnect them one at a time to identify the problem part.
If your server has multiple instances of the same part - CPUs for example - but only requires one to POST, try replacing the single part being used. If the system still fails POST with CPU1 in Socket 1, try with CPU2 in Socket 1 instead. Depending on the minimum hardware to POST required you may be able to narrow the issue down to either the motherboard or a given component in this way, or you may be left with several possibilities such as motherboard, CPU or RAM.
You can also swap known good parts from other systems for testing, if these are available. Thanks for Watching Ensuring the IO has been stopped and you are prepared for the downtime while the update is in progress, check the boxes next to all the drives this update applies to and begin the firmware update. And that's it.
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