Users Guide
Table Of Contents
- Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Troubleshooting Guide
- Contents
- Introduction
- Diagnostic indicators
- Status LED indicators
- System health and system ID indicator codes
- iDRAC Quick Sync 2 indicator codes
- iDRAC Direct LED indicator codes
- NIC indicator codes
- Power supply unit indicator codes
- Non-redundant power supply unit indicator codes
- Hard drive indicator codes
- uSATA SSD indicator codes
- Internal dual SD module indicator codes
- Running diagnostics
- Troubleshooting hardware issues
- Troubleshooting system startup failure
- Troubleshooting external connections
- Troubleshooting the video subsystem
- Troubleshooting a USB device
- Troubleshooting a serial Input Output device
- Troubleshooting a NIC
- Troubleshooting a wet system
- Troubleshooting a damaged system
- Troubleshooting the system battery
- Troubleshooting cooling problems
- Troubleshooting cooling fans
- Troubleshooting an internal USB key
- Troubleshooting a micro SD card
- Troubleshooting expansion cards
- Troubleshooting processors
- Troubleshooting a storage controller
- OMSA flagging PERC driver
- Importing or clearing foreign configurations using the foreign configuration view screen
- Importing or clearing foreign configurations using the VD mgmt menu
- RAID controller L1, L2 and L3 cache error
- PERC controllers do not support NVME PCIe drives
- 12 Gbps hard drive does not support in SAS 6ir RAID controllers
- Hard drives cannot be added to the existing RAID 10 Array
- PERC battery discharging
- PERC battery failure message is displayed in ESM log
- Creating non-raid disks for storage purpose
- Firmware or Physical disks out-of-date
- Cannot boot to Windows due to foreign configuration
- Offline or missing virtual drives with preserved cache error message
- Expanding RAID array
- LTO-4 Tape drives are not supported on PERC
- Limitations of HDD size on H310
- System logs show failure entry for a storage controller even though it is working correctly
- Troubleshooting hard drives
- Troubleshooting an optical drive
- Troubleshooting a tape backup unit
- Troubleshooting no power issues
- Troubleshooting power supply units
- Troubleshooting RAID
- RAID configuration using PERC
- RAID configuration using OpenManage Server Administrator
- RAID configuration by using Unified Server Configurator
- Downloading and installing the RAID controller log export by using PERCCLI tool on ESXi hosts on Dell’s 13th generation of PowerEdge servers
- Configuring RAID by using Lifecycle Controller
- Starting and target RAID levels for virtual disk reconfiguration and capacity expansion
- Replacing physical disks in RAID1 configuration
- Thumb rules for RAID configuration
- Reconfiguring or migrating virtual disks
- Foreign Configuration Operations
- Viewing Patrol Read report
- Check Consistency report
- Virtual disk troubleshooting
- Rebuilding of virtual disk does not work
- Rebuilding of virtual disk completes with errors
- Cannot create a virtual disk
- A virtual disk of minimum size is not visible to Windows Disk Management
- Virtual disk errors on systems running Linux
- Problems associated with using the same physical disks for both redundant and nonredundant virtual disks
- Enable the alarm on PERC 5/E adapter to alert in case of physical disk failures
- RAID controller displays multibit ECC errors
- PERC goes offline with an error message
- Reconfiguring the RAID level and virtual disks
- Lost shared storage access
- Troubleshooting memory or battery errors on the PERC controller on Dell PowerEdge servers
- Slicing
- RAID puncture
- Troubleshooting thermal issue
- Input/Output errors while reseating SAS IOM storage sled on hardware configurations
- Server management software issues
- What are the different types of iDRAC licenses
- How to activate license on iDRAC
- Can I upgrade the iDRAC license from express to enterprise and BMC to express
- How to find out missing licenses
- How to export license using iDRAC web interface
- How to set up e-mail alerts
- System time zone is not synchronized
- How to set up Auto Dedicated NIC feature
- How to configure network settings using Lifecycle Controller
- Assigning hot spare with OMSA
- Storage Health
- How do I configure RAID using operating system deployment wizard
- Foreign drivers on physical disk
- Physical disk reported as Foreign
- How to update BIOS on 13th generation PowerEdge servers
- Why am I unable to update firmware
- Which are the operating systems supported on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers
- Unable to create a partition or locate the partition and unable to install Microsoft Windows Server 2012
- JAVA support in iDRAC
- How to specify language and keyboard type
- Message Event ID - 2405
- Installing Managed System Software On Microsoft Windows Operating Systems
- Installing Managed System Software On Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Server
- Installing Systems Management Software On VMware ESXi
- Processor TEMP error
- PowerEdge T130, R230, R330, and T330 servers may report a critical error during scheduled warm reboots
- SSD is not detected
- OpenManage Essentials does not recognize the server
- Unable to connect to iDRAC port through a switch
- Lifecycle Controller is not recognizing USB in UEFI mode
- Guidance on remote desktop services
- Troubleshooting operating system issues
- How to install the operating system on a Dell PowerEdge Server
- Locating the VMware and Windows licensing
- Troubleshooting blue screen errors or BSODs
- Troubleshooting a Purple Screen of Death or PSOD
- Troubleshooting no boot issues for Windows operating systems
- No POST issues in iDRAC
- Troubleshooting a No POST situation
- Migrating to OneDrive for Business using Dell Migration Suite for SharePoint
- Windows
- Installing and reinstalling Microsoft Windows Server 2016
- FAQs
- Why are the USB keyboard and mouse not detected during the Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 installation
- Why does the installation wizard stop responding during the Windows OS installation
- Why does Windows OS installation using Lifecycle Controller, on PowerEdge Servers fail at times with an error message
- Why does Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 display a blank screen in UEFI mode after installation
- Symptoms
- Troubleshooting system crash at cng.sys with watchdog Error violation
- Host bus adapter mini is missing physical disks and backplane in Windows
- Converting evaluation OS version to retail OS version
- Partitions on disk selected for installation of Hyper-V server 2012
- Install Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 with the Internal Dual SD module
- VMware
- Linux
- Installing operating system through various methods
- Getting help
○ Ctrl + R for SAS/SATA controllers (PERC 5, PERC 6 and newer controllers).
○ Wait for five minutes to allow contents of cache to purge.
○ Reboot back to controller BIOS.
○ If error is eliminated, boot to OS.
○ If OS boot is still not successful and/or the error persists, this may indicate a problem with the OS. Contact Technical
Support for further troubleshooting steps.
● Check the Physical PERC Controller.
1. Inspect the DIMM and DIMM Socket for Damage.
a. Turn off the system and remove the power cable(s) from the system.
b. Let the system sit for 30 seconds to allow any remaining flea power to drain.
c. Remove the PERC controller. For information about removing and replacing parts in this system, refer to the user
guide located at www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals.
d. Remove the RAID memory battery. Ensure to reinstall the memory battery after inserting the DIMM.
e. Remove the memory DIMM from the controller, if applicable.
f. Check DIMM socket for any bent pins or other damage. Check the edge connector of the memory DIMM for any
damage.
2. If the controller has embedded memory or the memory socket is damaged, contact Dell Technical Support.
3. If the memory is damaged, the controller memory may need to be replaced, contact Dell Technical Support.
4. If there is no damage, replace the memory DIMM and reinstall the controller.
5. Swap the controller memory a with known good memory, if possible.
a. If there is no known good memory available, contact Dell Technical Support.
b. if the error does not occur with the known good memory, contact Dell Technical Support.
c. If the error remains with a known good memory, contact Dell Technical Support.
NOTE:
If error persists, the likelihood of a hardware error is increased. Contact Dell Technical Support for further
troubleshooting steps.
Additional information for troubleshooting memory or battery errors on the
PERC controller
A RAID Controller error message is displayed during POST to indicate that the controller's cache does not contain all of the
expected information, or it contains data destined for a hard drive that cannot be or has not been written to the drive. The most
common reasons why this error may occur are:
● Server did not perform a normal shutdown process – Power loss and/or spontaneous restarts can result in incomplete or
corrupted data to remain in cache that cannot be written to a drive.
● Cache memory is defective – Bad cache memory can cause data to become corrupted. This can cause OS-related issues and
spontaneous reboots.
● Loss of battery power while server is shutdown – Controllers that do not use NVCACHE (Non-Volatile Cache) memory
utilize batteries that can retain the contents of cache for a limited time (24-72 hours) while the server is not powered on.
Once the battery drains, the entire contents of cache is lost and the controller recognizes that the cache memory does
not contain all of the information expected. Controllers that do utilize NVCache (some H700/H800 controllers and newer
controllers such as H710, H710P, H810) are very unlikely to encounter this issue since the battery only needs to maintain
power for 30 seconds or less in most cases.
● PERC Battery Maintenance
A PERC battery that is suspected to have failed or has a warning symbol displayed in OpenManage Server Administrator
should have a manual Learn Cycle performed. A Learn Cycle causes the battery to discharge and recharge, and restores
the battery to a fully functional condition. In some cases, multiple Learn Cycle procedures may be required to restore the
battery to an effectively charged state. To perform a manual Learn Cycle, select Start Learn Cycle from the Battery
Tasks drop-down menu in Open Manage Server Administrator (OMSA).
Troubleshooting hardware issues
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