Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers

Troubleshooting Guide
Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

© 2017 - 2018 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other
trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.

2018 - 11

Rev. A11
 Contents

1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................8
Audience..............................................................................................................................................................................8
Recommended tools.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Documentation resources................................................................................................................................................. 9
Safety instructions............................................................................................................................................................10

2 Diagnostic indicators.....................................................................................................................................11
Status LED indicators........................................................................................................................................................11
System health and system ID indicator codes.............................................................................................................. 12
iDRAC Quick Sync 2 indicator codes............................................................................................................................. 12
iDRAC Direct LED indicator codes..................................................................................................................................13
NIC indicator codes.......................................................................................................................................................... 13
Power supply unit indicator codes..................................................................................................................................14
Non-redundant power supply unit indicator codes...................................................................................................... 16
Hard drive indicator codes............................................................................................................................................... 17
uSATA SSD indicator codes.............................................................................................................................................18
Internal dual SD module indicator codes........................................................................................................................18

3 Running diagnostics.....................................................................................................................................20
Receiving automated support with SupportAssist ..................................................................................................... 20
PSA/ePSA Diagnostics................................................................................................................................................... 20
Running the PSA Diagnostics...................................................................................................................................20
PSA and ePSA Diagnostics error codes..................................................................................................................20
Debugging mini crash dump files using by WinDbg in Windows operating system................................................. 37

4 Troubleshooting hardware issues................................................................................................................. 42

Troubleshooting system startup failure......................................................................................................................... 42
No bootable device found.........................................................................................................................................42
Troubleshooting external connections...........................................................................................................................43
Troubleshooting the video subsystem........................................................................................................................... 43
Troubleshooting a USB device........................................................................................................................................43
Troubleshooting iDRAC Direct - USB XML configuration..................................................................................... 44
Troubleshooting iDRAC Direct - Laptop connection..............................................................................................44
Troubleshooting a serial Input Output device............................................................................................................... 45
Troubleshooting a NIC..................................................................................................................................................... 45
NIC teaming on a PowerEdge Server..................................................................................................................... 45
Troubleshooting a wet system........................................................................................................................................46
Troubleshooting a damaged system.............................................................................................................................. 46
Troubleshooting the system battery.............................................................................................................................. 47
Troubleshooting cooling problems..................................................................................................................................47
Troubleshooting cooling fans.......................................................................................................................................... 48
Troubleshooting an internal USB key............................................................................................................................. 48

Contents 3
 Troubleshooting a micro SD card................................................................................................................................... 49
Troubleshooting expansion cards................................................................................................................................... 49
Troubleshooting processors............................................................................................................................................50
Troubleshooting a CPU Machine Check error .......................................................................................................50
Troubleshooting a storage controller.............................................................................................................................. 51
OMSA flagging PERC driver..................................................................................................................................... 51
Importing or clearing foreign configurations using the foreign configuration view screen................................51
Importing or clearing foreign configurations using the VD mgmt menu............................................................. 53
RAID controller L1, L2 and L3 cache error.............................................................................................................. 53
PERC controllers do not support NVME PCIe drives........................................................................................... 53
12 Gbps hard drive does not support in SAS 6ir RAID controllers....................................................................... 54
Hard drives cannot be added to the existing RAID 10 Array................................................................................ 54
PERC battery discharging.........................................................................................................................................54
PERC battery failure message is displayed in ESM log......................................................................................... 56
Creating non-raid disks for storage purpose.......................................................................................................... 56
Firmware or Physical disks out-of-date...................................................................................................................57
Cannot boot to Windows due to foreign configuration......................................................................................... 57
Offline or missing virtual drives with preserved cache error message ............................................................... 57
Expanding RAID array................................................................................................................................................58
LTO-4 Tape drives are not supported on PERC.....................................................................................................58
Limitations of HDD size on H310 ............................................................................................................................ 58
System logs show failure entry for a storage controller even though it is working correctly...........................58
Troubleshooting hard drives............................................................................................................................................59
Troubleshooting multiple Drive failure......................................................................................................................59
Checking hard drive status in the PERC BIOS...................................................................................................... 60
FAQs.............................................................................................................................................................................61
Symptoms................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Drive timeout error.................................................................................................................................................... 62
Drives not accessible................................................................................................................................................. 63
Troubleshooting an optical drive.....................................................................................................................................63
Troubleshooting a tape backup unit...............................................................................................................................64
Troubleshooting system memory................................................................................................................................... 64
Correctable memory errors in the system logs...................................................................................................... 65
Memory errors after system reboots...................................................................................................................... 65
Memory errors after upgrading memory modules................................................................................................. 65
Troubleshooting memory module issues................................................................................................................. 66
Troubleshooting no power issues...................................................................................................................................69
Troubleshooting power supply units.............................................................................................................................. 70
Troubleshooting power source problems................................................................................................................ 70
Troubleshooting power supply unit problems......................................................................................................... 70
Troubleshooting RAID.......................................................................................................................................................71
RAID configuration using PERC................................................................................................................................ 71
RAID configuration using OpenManage Server Administrator............................................................................. 74
RAID configuration by using Unified Server Configurator.....................................................................................77

4 Contents
 Downloading and installing the RAID controller log export by using PERCCLI tool on ESXi hosts on
Dell’s 13th generation of PowerEdge servers.........................................................................................................80
Configuring RAID by using Lifecycle Controller......................................................................................................84
Starting and target RAID levels for virtual disk reconfiguration and capacity expansion..................................85
Replacing physical disks in RAID1 configuration.....................................................................................................86
Thumb rules for RAID configuration........................................................................................................................ 87
Reconfiguring or migrating virtual disks.................................................................................................................. 87
Foreign Configuration Operations............................................................................................................................88
Viewing Patrol Read report.......................................................................................................................................90
Check Consistency report......................................................................................................................................... 91
Virtual disk troubleshooting ..................................................................................................................................... 92
Troubleshooting memory or battery errors on the PERC controller on Dell PowerEdge servers.................... 95
Slicing.......................................................................................................................................................................... 98
RAID puncture............................................................................................................................................................ 98
Troubleshooting thermal issue...................................................................................................................................... 100

5 Server management software issues...........................................................................................................101

What are the different types of iDRAC licenses..........................................................................................................101
How to activate license on iDRAC................................................................................................................................102
Can I upgrade the iDRAC license from express to enterprise and BMC to express.............................................. 102
How to find out missing licenses.................................................................................................................................. 103
How to export license using iDRAC web interface.....................................................................................................103
How to set up e-mail alerts........................................................................................................................................... 103
System time zone is not synchronized........................................................................................................................ 104
How to set up Auto Dedicated NIC feature................................................................................................................ 104
How to configure network settings using Lifecycle Controller.................................................................................104
Assigning hot spare with OMSA...................................................................................................................................105
Assigning And Unassigning Global Hot Spare.......................................................................................................105
Storage Health................................................................................................................................................................106
How do I configure RAID using operating system deployment wizard.................................................................... 106
Foreign drivers on physical disk.................................................................................................................................... 107
Importing Foreign Configurations .......................................................................................................................... 107
Physical disk reported as Foreign................................................................................................................................. 107
Clearing the foreign configuration..........................................................................................................................108
Resetting storage-controller configuration........................................................................................................... 108
How to update BIOS on 13th generation PowerEdge servers..................................................................................108
Why am I unable to update firmware........................................................................................................................... 108
Which are the operating systems supported on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers.................................................... 109
Unable to create a partition or locate the partition and unable to install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 .......109
JAVA support in iDRAC..................................................................................................................................................109
How to specify language and keyboard type...............................................................................................................110
Message Event ID - 2405.............................................................................................................................................. 110
Description................................................................................................................................................................. 110
Installing Managed System Software On Microsoft Windows Operating Systems ...............................................110
Installing Managed System Software On Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Server................110
Installing Systems Management Software On VMware ESXi.................................................................................... 111

Contents 5
 Processor TEMP error.....................................................................................................................................................111
PowerEdge T130, R230, R330, and T330 servers may report a critical error during scheduled warm reboots.. 111
SSD is not detected.........................................................................................................................................................111
TRIM/UNMAP and Dell Enterprise SSD Drives Support......................................................................................111
OpenManage Essentials does not recognize the server............................................................................................ 112
Unable to connect to iDRAC port through a switch................................................................................................... 112
Lifecycle Controller is not recognizing USB in UEFI mode.........................................................................................112
Guidance on remote desktop services ........................................................................................................................ 112

6 Troubleshooting operating system issues.................................................................................................... 114

How to install the operating system on a Dell PowerEdge Server............................................................................114
Locating the VMware and Windows licensing.............................................................................................................114
Troubleshooting blue screen errors or BSODs.............................................................................................................114
Troubleshooting a Purple Screen of Death or PSOD..................................................................................................115
Troubleshooting no boot issues for Windows operating systems............................................................................. 115
No boot device found error message is displayed.................................................................................................116
No POST issues in iDRAC.............................................................................................................................................. 117
“First Boot Device cannot be set” error message is displayed when configuring a boot device during
POST........................................................................................................................................................................... 117
“Alert! iDRAC6 not responding.. Power required may exceed PSU wattage...” error message is
displayed at POST during a reboot..........................................................................................................................117
Troubleshooting a No POST situation...........................................................................................................................117
Migrating to OneDrive for Business using Dell Migration Suite for SharePoint.......................................................118
Windows...........................................................................................................................................................................119
Installing and reinstalling Microsoft Windows Server 2016.................................................................................. 119
FAQs........................................................................................................................................................................... 121
Symptoms..................................................................................................................................................................123
Troubleshooting system crash at cng.sys with watchdog Error violation .........................................................123
Host bus adapter mini is missing physical disks and backplane in Windows..................................................... 124
Converting evaluation OS version to retail OS version........................................................................................ 124
Partitions on disk selected for installation of Hyper-V server 2012.................................................................... 124
Install Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 with the Internal Dual SD module...................................................125
VMware........................................................................................................................................................................... 125
FAQs...........................................................................................................................................................................125
Rebooting an ESXi host...........................................................................................................................................126
Unable to allocate storage space to a VM.............................................................................................................126
Configuration backup and restore procedures......................................................................................................126
Can we back up 2012 r2 as a VM........................................................................................................................... 127
Install, update and manage Fusion-IO drives in Windows OS ............................................................................ 127
Symptoms..................................................................................................................................................................128
Linux................................................................................................................................................................................. 128
FAQs...........................................................................................................................................................................128
Symptoms..................................................................................................................................................................128
Installing operating system through various methods................................................................................................128

7 Getting help................................................................................................................................................ 131

6 Contents
Contacting Dell EMC...................................................................................................................................................... 131
Downloading the drivers and firmware......................................................................................................................... 131
Locating Service Tag of your system........................................................................................................................... 132

Contents 7
 1
Introduction
Use this guide to learn how to identify and troubleshoot the Dell PowerEdge server issues.
In particular, this guide:

• Provides troubleshooting procedures for issues related to Server Operating System, Server Hardware, and Server Management
Software.
• Provides an overview of diagnostic indicators and describes how to use the indicator codes to facilitate troubleshooting.
• Lists Dell PowerEdge server error messages and their probable causes, and provides the actions recommended to correct them.

NOTE: This guide does not cover every possible issue that might occur on Dell PowerEdge servers, however focuses on issues
that are frequently encountered or are frequently asked questions.

Topics:

• Audience
• Recommended tools
• Documentation resources
• Safety instructions

Audience
The information in this troubleshooting guide is intended primarily for administrators, who are responsible for managing the Dell PowerEdge
servers, however might be useful for all users of Dell servers.

Recommended tools
Lists the basic tools and equipment necessary to perform troubleshooting tasks on the Dell PowerEdge servers.

• Key to the bezel lock

The key is needed only if your system includes a bezel.
• Phillips #1 screwdriver
• Phillips #2 screwdriver
• Torx #T30 screwdriver
• 1/4 inch flat head screwdriver
• #4 nut driver
• Plastic scribe
• Wrist grounding strap
• ESD mat

You need the following tools to assemble the cables for a DC power supply unit:

• AMP 90871-1 hand-crimping tool or equivalent

• Tyco Electronics 58433-3 or equivalent
• Wire-stripper pliers to remove insulation from size 10 AWG solid or stranded, insulated copper wire

NOTE: Use alpha wire part number 3080 or equivalent (65/30 stranding).

8 Introduction
Documentation resources
This section provides information about the documentation resources for your system.
To view the document that is listed in the documentation resources table:

• From the Dell EMC support site:

a Click the documentation link that is provided in the Location column in the table.
b Click the required product or product version.

NOTE: To locate the product name and model, see the front of your system.
c On the Product Support page, click Manuals & documents.
• Using search engines:
– Type the name and version of the document in the search box.

Table 1. Additional documentation resources for your system

Task Document Location

Setting up your system For more information about installing and securing Dell.com/poweredgemanuals
the system into a rack, see the Rail Installation
Guide included with your rack solution.

For information about setting up your system, see

the Getting Started Guide document that is
shipped with your system.

Configuring your system For information about the iDRAC features, Dell.com/poweredgemanuals
configuring and logging in to iDRAC, and managing
your system remotely, see the Integrated Dell
Remote Access Controller User's Guide.
For information about understanding Remote
Access Controller Admin (RACADM)
subcommands and supported RACADM interfaces,
see the RACADM CLI Guide for iDRAC.

For information about Redfish and its protocol,

supported schema, and Redfish Eventing
implemented in iDRAC, see the Redfish API Guide.

For information about iDRAC property database

group and object descriptions, see the Attribute
Registry Guide.

For information about earlier versions of the iDRAC Dell.com/idracmanuals

documents.

To identify the version of iDRAC available on your

system, on the iDRAC web interface, click ? >
About.

For information about installing the operating Dell.com/operatingsystemmanuals

system, see the operating system documentation.

For information about updating drivers and Dell.com/support/drivers

firmware, see the Methods to download firmware
and drivers section in this document.

Introduction 9
Task Document Location
Managing your system For information about systems management Dell.com/poweredgemanuals
software offered by Dell, see the Dell OpenManage
Systems Management Overview Guide.

For information about setting up, using, and Dell.com/openmanagemanuals > OpenManage
troubleshooting OpenManage, see the Dell Server Administrator
OpenManage Server Administrator User’s Guide.

For information about installing, using, and Dell.com/openmanagemanuals > OpenManage

troubleshooting Dell OpenManage Essentials, see Essentials
the Dell OpenManage Essentials User’s Guide.

For information about installing and using Dell Dell.com/serviceabilitytools

SupportAssist, see the Dell EMC SupportAssist
Enterprise User’s Guide.

For information about partner programs enterprise Dell.com/openmanagemanuals

systems management, see the OpenManage
Connections Enterprise Systems Management
documents.

Working with the Dell For information about understanding the features Dell.com/storagecontrollermanuals
PowerEdge RAID controllers of the Dell PowerEdge RAID controllers (PERC),
Software RAID controllers, or BOSS card and
deploying the cards, see the Storage controller
documentation.

Understanding event and error For information about the event and error Dell.com/qrl
messages messages generated by the system firmware and
agents that monitor system components, see the
Error Code Lookup.

Troubleshooting your system For information about identifying and Dell.com/poweredgemanuals

troubleshooting the PowerEdge server issues, see
the Server Troubleshooting Guide.

Safety instructions
WARNING: Whenever you need to lift the system, get others to assist you. To avoid injury, do not attempt to lift the system by
yourself.

WARNING: Opening or removing the system cover while the system is powered on may expose you to a risk of electric shock.

CAUTION: Do not operate the system without the cover for a duration exceeding five minutes.

CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.

CAUTION: Operating the system without the system cover can result in component damage.

NOTE: It is recommended that you always use an antistatic mat and antistatic strap while working on components inside the
system.

NOTE: To ensure proper operation and cooling, all bays in the system and system fans must be populated always with a
component or with a blank.

10 Introduction
 2
Diagnostic indicators
The diagnostic indicators on the system indicates operation and error status.

Status LED indicators

The status LED indicators on the system front panel display error status during system startup.

NOTE: No status LED indicators are illuminated when the system is turned off. To start the system, plug it into a working power
source and press the power button.
NOTE: Status LED indicators are always off and only turn solid amber if any error occurs.

Table 2. Status LED indicators

Icon Description Condition Corrective action

Hard drive The indicator turns solid amber if Check the System Event Log to determine if the hard
indicator there is a hard drive error. drive has an error. Run the appropriate Online Diagnostics
test. Restart the system and run embedded diagnostics
(ePSA). If the hard drives are configured in a RAID array,
restart the system and enter the host adapter
configuration utility program.

Temperature The indicator turns solid amber if the Ensure that none of the following conditions exist:
indicator system experiences a thermal error
• A cooling fan has been removed or has failed.
(for example, the ambient
temperature is out of range or fan • System cover, air shroud, EMI filler panel, memory
module blank, or back filler bracket is removed.
failure).
• Ambient temperature is too high.
• External airflow is obstructed.

If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Electrical indicator The indicator turns solid amber if the Check the System Event Log or system messages for the
system experiences an electrical error specific issue. If it is due to a problem with the PSU, check
(for example, voltage out of range, or the LED on the PSU. Reseat the PSU. If the problem
a failed power supply unit (PSU) or persists, see the Getting help section.
voltage regulator).

Memory indicator The indicator turns solid amber if a Check the System Event Log or system messages for the
memory error occurs. location of the failed memory. Reseat the memory module.
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

PCIe indicator The indicator turns solid amber if a Restart the system. Update any required drivers for the
PCIe card experiences an error. PCIe card. Reinstall the card. If the problem persists, see
the Getting help section.

NOTE: For more information about the supported

PCIe cards, see the Expansion card installation
guidelines section.

Diagnostic indicators 11
System health and system ID indicator codes

Figure 1. System health and system ID indicators

Table 3. System health and system ID indicator codes

System health and system ID indicator code Condition

Blue solid Indicates that the system is turned on, system is healthy and system
ID mode is not active. Press the system health and system ID button
to switch to system ID mode.

Blinking blue Indicates that the system ID mode is active. Press the system health
and system ID button to switch to system health mode.

Amber solid Indicates that the system is in fail-safe mode. If the problem persists,
see the Getting help section.

Blinking amber Indicates that the system is experiencing a fault. Check the System
Event Log or the LCD panel, if available on the bezel, for specific error
message. For information about the event and error messages
generated by the system firmware and agents that monitor system
components, see the Error Code Lookup page, at qrl.dell.com

iDRAC Quick Sync 2 indicator codes

NOTE: iDRAC Quick Sync 2 module (optional) is located on the left control panel of your system.

Figure 2. iDRAC Quick Sync 2 indicators

Table 4. iDRAC Quick Sync 2 indicators

Wireless indicator code Condition Corrective action

Off (default state) Indicates that the iDRAC Quick Sync 2 If the LED fails to turn on, reseat the left control panel
feature is turned off. Press the iDRAC Quick flex cable and check again. If the problem persists,
Sync 2 button to turn on the iDRAC Quick see the Getting help section.
Sync 2 feature.

White solid Indicates that iDRAC Quick Sync 2 is ready If the LED fails to turn off, restart the system. If the
to communicate. Press the iDRAC Quick problem persists, see the Getting help section.
Sync 2 button to turn off.

Blinks white rapidly Indicates data transfer activity. If the indicator continues to blink indefinitely, see the
Getting help section.

12 Diagnostic indicators
Wireless indicator code Condition Corrective action
Blinks white slowly Indicates that firmware update is in If the indicator continues to blink indefinitely, see the
progress. Getting help section.

Blinks white five times rapidly and Indicates that the iDRAC Quick Sync 2 Check if iDRAC Quick Sync 2 feature is configured to
then turns off feature is disabled. be disabled by iDRAC. If the problem persists, see the
Getting help section. For more information, see
Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's
Guide at Dell.com/poweredgemanualsor Dell
OpenManage Server Administrator User’s Guide at
Dell.com/openmanagemanuals

Amber solid Indicates that the system is in fail-safe Restart the system. If the problem persists, see the
mode. Getting help section.

Blinking amber Indicates that the iDRAC Quick Sync 2 Restart the system. If the problem persists, see the
hardware is not responding properly. Getting help section.

iDRAC Direct LED indicator codes

The iDRAC Direct LED indicator lights up to indicate that the port is connected and is being used as a part of the iDRAC subsystem. iDRAC
Direct LED indicator is located below the iDRAC Direct port on the front panel.
The following table describes iDRAC Direct activity when configuring iDRAC Direct by using your laptop or tablet and USB to micro USB
(type AB) cable:

Table 5. iDRAC Direct LED indicator codes

iDRAC Direct LED Condition

indicator pattern
Solid green for two seconds Indicates that the laptop or tablet is connected.

Flashing green (on for two Indicates that the laptop or tablet connected is recognized.
seconds and off for two
seconds)

Turns off Indicates that the laptop or tablet is unplugged.

NIC indicator codes

Each NIC on the back panel has indicators that provide information about the activity and link status. The activity LED indicator indicates if
data is flowing through NIC, and the link LED indicator indicates the speed of the connected network.

Figure 3. NIC indicators

1 Link LED indicator 2 Activity LED indicator

Diagnostic indicators 13
Table 6. NIC indicators
Status Condition
Link and activity indicators are off The NIC is not connected to the network.

Link indicator is green and activity indicator is blinking green The NIC is connected to a valid network at its maximum port speed and
data is being sent or received.

Link indicator is amber and activity indicator is blinking The NIC is connected to a valid network at less than its maximum port
green speed and data is being sent or received.

Link indicator is green and activity indicator is off The NIC is connected to a valid network at its maximum port speed and
data is not being sent or received.

Link indicator is amber and activity indicator is off The NIC is connected to a valid network at less than its maximum port
speed and data is not being sent or received.

Link indicator is blinking green and activity is off NIC identify is enabled through the NIC configuration utility.

Power supply unit indicator codes

AC power supply units (PSUs) have an illuminated translucent handle that serves as an indicator and DC PSUs have an LED that serves as
an indicator. The indicator shows whether power is present or a power fault has occurred.

Figure 4. AC PSU status indicator

1 AC PSU status indicator or handle

Table 7. AC PSU status indicator

Power indicator codes Condition
Green A valid power source is connected to the PSU and the PSU is operational.

Blinking amber Indicates a problem with the PSU.

Not illuminated Power is not connected.

Blinking green When the firmware of the PSU is being updated, the PSU handle blinks green.

CAUTION: Do not disconnect the power cord or unplug the PSU when updating firmware. If
firmware update is interrupted, the PSUs do not function.

Blinking green and turns off When hot-plugging a PSU, the PSU handle blinks green five times at a rate of 4 Hz and turns off. This
indicates a PSU mismatch with respect to efficiency, feature set, health status, or supported voltage.

CAUTION: If two PSUs are installed, both the PSUs must have the same type of label. For
example, Extended Power Performance (EPP) label. Mixing PSUs from previous generations of
PowerEdge servers is not supported, even if the PSUs have the same power rating. This results
in a PSU mismatch condition or failure to turn the system on.

14 Diagnostic indicators
Power indicator codes Condition

CAUTION: When correcting a PSU mismatch, replace only the PSU with the blinking indicator.
Swapping the PSU to make a matched pair can result in an error condition and unexpected
system shutdown. To change from a high output configuration to a low output configuration or
vice versa, you must turn off the system.

CAUTION: AC PSUs support both 240 V and 120 V input voltages with the exception of Titanium
PSUs, which support only 240 V. When two identical PSUs receive different input voltages, they
can output different wattages, and trigger a mismatch.

CAUTION: If two PSUs are used, they must be of the same type and have the same maximum
output power.

CAUTION: Combining AC and DC PSUs is not supported and triggers a mismatch.

Figure 5. DC PSU status indicator

1 DC PSU status indicator

Table 8. DC PSU status indicator codes

Power indicator codes Condition

Green A valid power source is connected to the PSU and the PSU is operational.

Blinking amber Indicates a problem with the PSU.

Not illuminated Power is not connected.

Blinking green When hot-plugging a PSU, the PSU indicator blinks green. This indicates that there is a PSU mismatch
with respect to efficiency, feature set, health status, or supported voltage.

CAUTION: When correcting a PSU mismatch, replace only the PSU with the blinking
indicator. Swapping the PSU to make a matched pair can result in an error condition and
unexpected system shutdown. To change from a High Output configuration to a Low Output
configuration or vice versa, you must turn off the system.

CAUTION: If two PSUs are used, they must be of the same type and have the same
maximum output power.

CAUTION: Combining AC and DC PSUs is not supported and triggers a mismatch.

Diagnostic indicators 15
Non-redundant power supply unit indicator codes
Press the self-diagnostic button to perform a quick health check on the non-redundant power supply unit (PSU) of the system.

Figure 6. Non-redundant AC PSU status indicator and self-diagnostic button

1 Self-diagnostic button 2 AC PSU status indicator

Table 9. Non-redundant AC PSU status indicator

Power Indicator Pattern Condition

Not lit Power is not connected or PSU is faulty.

Green A valid power source is connected to the PSU and the PSU is operational.

16 Diagnostic indicators
Hard drive indicator codes
Each hard drive carrier has an activity LED indicator and a status LED indicator. The indicators provide information about the current status
of the hard drive. The activity LED indicator indicates whether the hard drive is currently in use or not. The status LED indicator indicates
the power condition of the hard drive.

Figure 7. Hard drive indicators

1 Hard drive activity indicator 2 Hard drive status LED indicator

3 Hard drive

NOTE: If the hard drive is in the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) mode, the status LED indicator does not turn on.

Table 10. Hard drive indicator codes

Drive-status indicator pattern Condition

Flashes green twice per second Identifying drive or preparing for removal.

Off Drive ready for insertion or removal.

NOTE: The drive status indicator remains off until all hard
drives are initialized after the system is turned on. Drives are
not ready for removal during this time.

Flashes green, amber, and then turns off Predicted drive failure.

Flashes amber four times per second Drive failed.

Flashes green slowly Drive rebuilding.

Steady green Drive online.

Flashes green for three seconds, amber for three seconds, and Rebuild stopped.
then turns off after six seconds

Diagnostic indicators 17
uSATA SSD indicator codes

Figure 8. uSATA SSD indicators

1 uSATA SSD activity indicator 2 uSATA SSD status indicator

3 uSATA SSD

NOTE: If the SSD is in the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) mode, the status indicator (on the right side) does not
function and remains off.

Table 11. Drive status indicator codes

Drive-status indicator pattern Condition

Flashes green twice per second Identifying drive or preparing for removal.

Off Drive ready for insertion or removal.

NOTE: The drive status indicator remains off until all hard
drives are initialized after the system is turned on. Drives are
not ready for insertion or removal during this time.

Flashes green, amber, and turns off Predicted drive failure.

Flashes amber four times per second Drive failed.

Steady green Drive online.

Flashes green for three seconds, amber for three seconds, and Rebuild stopped.
turns off after six seconds

Internal dual SD module indicator codes

The Internal Dual SD module (IDSDM) provides you with a redundant SD card solution. You can configure the IDSDM for storage or as the
OS boot partition. The IDSDM card offers the following features:

• Dual card operation — maintains a mirrored configuration by using SD cards in both the slots and provides redundancy.

NOTE: When the Redundancy option is set to Mirror Mode in the Integrated Devices screen of System Setup, the information
is replicated from one SD card to another.
• Single card operation — single card operation is supported, but without redundancy.

The following table describes the IDSDM indicator codes:

18 Diagnostic indicators
Table 12. IDSDM indicator codes

Convention IDSDM indicator code Description

A Green Indicates that the card is online.

B Flashing green Indicates rebuild or activity.

C Flashing amber Indicates card mismatch or that the card has failed.

D Amber Indicates that the card is offline, has failed, or is write-protected.

E Not lit Indicates that the card is missing or is booting.

Diagnostic indicators 19
 3
Running diagnostics
Running diagnostics help you to identify the cause for a system issue. The diagnostics test your system hardware without requiring
additional equipment or risking data loss.

Topics:

• Receiving automated support with SupportAssist

• PSA/ePSA Diagnostics
• Debugging mini crash dump files using by WinDbg in Windows operating system

Receiving automated support with SupportAssist

Dell EMC SupportAssist is an optional Dell EMC Services offering that automates technical support for your Dell EMC server, storage, and
networking devices. By installing and setting up a SupportAssist application in your IT environment, you can receive the following benefits:

• Automated issue detection — SupportAssist monitors your Dell EMC devices and automatically detects hardware issues, both
proactively and predictively.
• Automated case creation — When an issue is detected, SupportAssist automatically opens a support case with Dell EMC Technical
Support.
• Automated diagnostic collection — SupportAssist automatically collects system state information from your devices and uploads it
securely to Dell EMC. This information is used by Dell EMC Technical Support to troubleshoot the issue.
• Proactive contact — A Dell EMC Technical Support agent contacts you about the support case and helps you resolve the issue.

The available benefits vary depending on the Dell EMC Service entitlement purchased for your device. For more information about
SupportAssist, go to Dell.com/supportassist.

PSA/ePSA Diagnostics
Run the Embedded System Diagnostics (ePSA) if your system does not boot.

Running the PSA Diagnostics

1 While the system is booting, press <F11> to enter Boot Manager. Alternatively, press <F10> to enter Lifecycle Controller.
2 Use the up and down arrow keys to select System Utilities → Hardware Diagnostics.

NOTE: For systems that do not have Lifecycle Controller, press <F10> to launch the Utility Mode (diags) option.
3 Note down the error code.
The following table describes the PSA/ePSA diagnostics error messages.

PSA and ePSA Diagnostics error codes

NOTE: For information about the event and error messages generated by the system firmware and agents that monitor system
components, see the Error Code Lookup page, at qrl.dell.com

20 Running diagnostics
Table 13. PSA/ePSA error codes

Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps

PSA NA CPU - exception occurred An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
tests that may involve the version.
ePSA 2000-0111
system board. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA CPU - machine check exception An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
detected tests that may involve the version.
ePSA 2000-0112
system board. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA CPU - Cache integrity test An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
discrepancy tests that may involve the version.
ePSA 2000-0114
system board. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 Check temperatures in
system health and check
that no airflow obstructed.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA CPU - Stress Thermal condition. An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
Limit (d)C. Actual (d)C tests that may involve the version.
ePSA 2000-0115
system board. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 Check temperatures in
system health and check
that no airflow obstructed.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Memory - memory errors were An error occurred during the 1 Turn off the system and
detected and repaired tests that may involve the reseat the memory
ePSA 2000-0121 modules.
system board or memory of the
system. However, the system 2 Update to the latest BIOS
has self repaired. version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA 1000-0122 PSA Memory - test initialization An error occurred during the 1 Turn off the system and
failure tests that may involve the reseat the memory
ePSA 2000-0122 modules.
ePSA Memory - memory errors system board or memory of the
were detected and excessive system. However, the system 2 Update to the latest BIOS
errors were detected has self repaired. version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

Running diagnostics 21
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
PSA 1000-0123 Memory - integrity test failed An error occurred during the 1 Turn off the system and
tests that may involve the reseat the memory
ePSA 2000-0123 modules.
system board or memory of the
system. However, the system 2 Repeat the PSA
has self repaired. diagnostics.

PSA NA System Log - <Timestamp>, This is information in the system 1 Clear the system log.
<Log message> log to show time and messages
ePSA 2000-0124 2 Repeat the PSA
related to system events. diagnostics.

PSA NA Event Log The IPMI system event log is full 1 Clear the IPMI system
for various reasons or logging event log.
ePSA 2000-0125
has stopped because too many 2 Repeat the PSA
ECC errors have occurred. diagnostics.

PSA NA Event Log The event log(s) must be cleared 1 Clear the system event log.
before testing can continue.
ePSA 2000-0126 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.

PSA NA Battery - the battery is not An error occurred during the 1 Turn off the system and
installed tests that may involve the main reseat the system battery.
ePSA 2000-0131
system board or battery of the 2 Update to the latest BIOS
system. version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support.

PSA NA Battery - the battery is reaching An error occurred during the 1 Turn off the system and
the end of its usable life tests that may involve the main reseat the system battery.
ePSA 2000-0132
system board or battery of the 2 Update to the latest BIOS
system. version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support.

PSA NA Battery - the battery cannot An error occurred during the 1 Turn off the system and
supply sufficient power tests that may involve the main reseat battery.
ePSA 2000-0133
system board or battery of the 2 Update to the latest BIOS
system. version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support.

PSA 2000-0141 Hard Drive - no drive detected Your system BIOS is reporting 1 If you don't have a hard
that no Hard Disk Drive is being disk drive (HDD), this may
ePSA 2000-0141 be an automatic message
reported. If a Portable, reseat
and requires no action.
the hard drive, if a Desktop,
reseat both ends of the data 2 If you have an HDD,
reconnect your HDD to the
cable and reseat the power cable system board.
to the drive. Repeat the PSA 3 Update to the latest BIOS.
diagnostics. If a known good 4 Repeat the PSA
hard drive is available, see if the diagnostics.

22 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
good drive can be detected in 5 If failure continues, contact
the system or try the suspect Technical Support
drive in a working system.
PSA 1000-0142 PSA Hard Drive - drive self test Your hard disk drive has
1 Update to the latest BIOS.
failed indicated a failure.
ePSA 2000-0142 2 Turn off your computer and
ePSA Hard Drive - self test reconnect your hard disk
unsuccessful drive (HDD) to the system
board for instructions.)
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.

PSA 1000-0143 Hard Drive - SMART read Your hard disk drive has
command unsuccessful indicated a failure.
ePSA 2000-0143

PSA 1000-0144 Hard Drive - no support for drive Your hard disk drive has
self test indicated a failure.
ePSA 2000-0144

PSA 1000-0145 PSA Hard Drive - timeout The hard drive test did not 1 Check www.dell.com/
waiting for Drive Self Test to complete the last test support for a firmware
ePSA 2000-0145 update for your hard drive.
complete attempted.
Update the firmware if one
ePSA Hard Drive - self test did is available.
not complete
2 Reseat the drive, reseat the
data cable and power
connection at both ends if
it is desktop.
3 Turn off your computer and
reconnect your hard disk
drive (HDD) to the system
board. For more
information, see your
systems Owners Manual at
Dell.com/
poweredgemanuals.
4 Update to the latest BIOS.
5 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
6 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA 1000-0146 Hard Drive - self test log Your hard drive has indicated a 1 Update to the latest BIOS
contains previous errors failure. version.
ePSA 2000-0146
2 Run a Chkdsk /r or format
your hard drive and reinstall
your operating system.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA 1000-0147 PSA Optical Drive - IDE status Your CD or DVD drive has 1 Update to the latest BIOS
failed. indicated a failure. version.
ePSA 2000-0147
ePSA Optical Drive - self test -- 2 Turn off your computer and
(s) reconnect your optical drive
to the system board.

Running diagnostics 23
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps

3 Repeat the PSA

diagnostics.

PSA 1000-0148 PSA Optical Drive - BIST --(s) Your CD or DVD drive has 1 Update to the latest BIOS
ePSA Optical Drive - incorrect indicated a failure. version.
ePSA 2000-0148 replaced by
status 2 Turn off your computer and
2000-0151, 2000-0152
reconnect your optical drive
to the system board.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.

PSA NA Optical Drive - no drive detected Your CD or DVD drive has 1 Update to the latest BIOS
indicated a failure. version.
ePSA 2000-0149
2 Turn off your computer and
reconnect your optical drive
to the system board.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.

PSA NA Hard Drive - No drive detected. Your system BIOS is reporting 1 If you don't have a hard
that no Hard Disk Drive is being disk drive (HDD), this may
ePSA 2000-0150 replaced be an automatic message
reported. If a Portable, reseat
2000-0141 and requires no action.
the hard drive, if a Desktop,
reseat both ends of the data 2 If you have an HDD,
reconnect your hard disk
cable and reseat the power cable drive (HDD) to the system
to the drive. Repeat the PSA board.
diagnostics. If a replacement 3 Update to the latest BIOS
working hard drive is available, version.
see if the working hard drive is 4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
detected by the system or try
the suspect drive in a working 5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support
system.
PSA NA Hard Drive - BIST --(s) The hard drive is showing an 1 If you have a replacement
incorrect status in the hard drive, install it.
ePSA 2000-0151
diagnostic. Check for a firmware 2 Update to the latest BIOS
update for your hard drive. version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Optical Drive - BIST --(s) The CD or DVD Drive is showing 1 Update to the latest BIOS.
an incorrect status in the
ePSA 2000-0152 2 Remove and reinstall your
diagnostic. optical drive.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support

PSA NA Hard Drive - Removable Hard Check the installation of the 1 If you have an HDD,
Drive [d] - Incorrect status = [x] removable drive, cables, and reconnect your hard disk
ePSA 2000-0153 drive (HDD) to the system
[s] connections.
board.
2 Update to the latest BIOS
version.

24 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps

3 Repeat the PSA

diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support

PSA NA Tape Drive - Tape Drive [s] - S/N Check installation of the tape 1 Update to the latest BIOS.
[d], incorrect status = [d] [d] drive, cables and connections. If
ePSA 2000-0154 2 Remove and reinstall your
the error persists, ensure that tape drive.
the drive firmware is current. 3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support

PSA NA Hard Drive - Not Installed This is an error displayed when 1 Update to the latest BIOS
HDD is not inserted in the version.
ePSA 2000-0155
notebooks. 2 Remove and reinstall your
Hard drive.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA 1000-0212 System board - CMOS, Location An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
= (x), Expected = (x), Found = tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0212 (Not used with
(x) system board of the system. 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support.

PSA 1000-0213 System board - CMOS battery An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
failure detected tests involving the CMOS version.
ePSA 2000-0213 (Not used with
battery (This maintains all the 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
settings in the BIOS when there diagnostics.
is no power to the system) On 3 Remove and replace your
desktop systems this is a easily CMOS battery.
replaceable watch size battery, 4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support
some portable systems may have
a replaceable battery too.
PSA 1000-0221 PSA System board - Interval An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
timer Channel 0 (mode 0) is not tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0221 (Not used with
generating interrupts system board of the system. If a 2 Reseat the CMOS battery.
UEFI BIOS)
ePSA Timer - Interval timer not memory error is detected, try 3 Repeat the PSA
functional memory modules individually. If diagnostics
no 2000-0123 memory error & If 4 If failure continues, contact
diagnostics fail again after the Dell Technical Support
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0222 PSA System board - Interval An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
timer Channel 0 (mode 0) is not tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0222 (Not used with
generating interrupts system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
ePSA Timer - Interval timer not memory error is detected, try diagnostics
functional memory modules individually. If

Running diagnostics 25
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
no 2000-0123 memory error & If 3 If failure continues, contact
diagnostics fail again after the Dell Technical Support
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0223 System board - Timer - Interval An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
timer initial clock output level tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0223 (Not used with
incorrect system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
memory error is detected, try diagnostics
memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0224 System board - Interval timer An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
had wrong time period in mode tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0224 (Not used with
system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
memory error is detected, try diagnostics
memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0231 System board - Failure in Interval An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
timer in mode tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0231 (Not used with
system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
memory error is detected, try diagnostics
memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 2000-0232 System board - the RTC did not An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
generate periodic ticks tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0232 (Not used with
system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
memory error is detected, try diagnostics
memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 2000-0233 PSA System board - RTC An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
'seconds' count is not updating tests that involve the Real Time version.
ePSA 2000-0233 (Not used with
ePSA RTC - 'seconds' count is Clock (RTC) of the main system 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
not updating board in the system. If a memory diagnostics
error is detected, try memory
modules individually. If no

26 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
2000-0123 memory error & If 3 If failure continues, contact
diagnostics fail again after the Dell Technical Support
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0234 PSA System board - timeout An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest
waiting for RTC update flag to tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0234 (Not used with
set system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
ePSA System board - HPET memory error is detected, try diagnostics
incorrect time period. memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0235 System board - PM timer 1 had An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
wrong time period. tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA NA
system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
memory error is detected, try diagnostics
memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0241 BIOS - A20 gate not enabled An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0241 (Not used with
system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
UEFI BIOS)
memory error is detected, try diagnostics.
memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA 1000-0242 PSA System board - no interrupt An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
detected for IRQ. tests that may involve the main version.
ePSA 2000-0242 (Not used with
UEFI BIOS) ePSA- System board - Interrupt system board of the system. If a 2 Repeat the PSA
controller - IRQ (d) - %s not memory error is detected, try diagnostics
detected memory modules individually. If 3 If failure continues, contact
no 2000-0123 memory error & If Dell Technical Support
diagnostics fail again after the
BIOS is current, contact
Technical Support to resolve the
problem.
PSA NA System board - USB device, IO An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
board, Daughter Card tests that may involve the USB version.
ePSA 2000-0243
controller or ports of the main 2 Repeat the PSA
system board of the system. diagnostics
Disconnect any USB devices and
run the diagnostic again. Test

Running diagnostics 27
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
USB devices in a different port. 3 If failure continues, contact
Try a known good USB device. Dell Technical Support

PSA NA System board - USB device An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
tests that may involve the USB version
ePSA 2000-0244
controller or ports of the main 2 Repeat the PSA
system board of the system. diagnostics
Disconnect any USB devices and 3 If failure continues, contact
run the diagnostic again. Test Dell Technical Support
USB devices in a different port.
Try a known good USB device.
PSA NA System board - USB device An error occurred during the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
tests that may involve the USB version.
ePSA 2000-0245
controller or ports of the main 2 Repeat the PSA
system board of the system. diagnostics.
Disconnect any USB devices and 3 If failure continues, contact
run the diagnostic again. Test Dell Technical Support
USB devices in a different port.
Try a known good USB device.
PSA NA Event Log - the log contains This relates to BIOS events in 1 Update to the latest BIOS
failing records. servers only. version.
ePSA 2000-0251
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.

PSA NA System board - Data errors. Multiple memory DIMMs failed, 1 Update to the latest BIOS
presumed to be caused by version.
ePSA 2000-0261
motherboard issues. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Touchpad - pointing stick/ The mouse, touchpad, or 1 Update to the latest BIOS
touchpad not detected trackstick is not being detected version.
ePSA 2000-0313
by the diagnostic tools. Power 2 If your mouse, touchpad, or
the system off, reseat any cable pointing stick is
connection and check the BIOS disconnected, reconnect it.
to ensure that the touchpad or 3 For laptops, make sure that
your touchpad is active.
mouse has not been disabled.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Thermal - the (s) reading (dc) The system board, heat sink, fan, 1 Update to the latest BIOS
exceeds the thermal limit. or processor are failing the version.
ePSA 2000-0314
diagnostic tools. 2 Check the logs, the fan and
for any other signs of
overheating.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Sensor - the (s) reading (dc) is The system board or sensor is 1 Update to the latest BIOS
lower than expected failing the diagnostic tools. version
ePSA 2000-0315
2 Check the system logs.
3 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support

28 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
PSA 1000-0321 PSA LCD EDID - unable to LCD Extended Display 1 Update to the latest BIOS
access EDID EEPROM Identification Data (EDID) - version.
ePSA 2000-0321
ePSA Unable to detect LCD unable to access the EDID 2 Turn off your computer and
Electrically Erasable reconnect your LCD cable.
Programmable Read-Only 3 Repeat the PSA
Memory (EEPROM) in the LCD diagnostics..
display is indicating a data failure. 4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support
If there is video on the LCD, then
the Display does not need
replacement.
PSA 1000-0322 PSA LCD Panel - Error accessing LCD panel - unable to modify 1 Update to the latest BIOS
the LCD inverter brightness. Try to adjust the version.
ePSA 2000-0322
ePSA LCD panel - unable to brightness in Windows using the 2 Turn off your computer and
modify brightness hotkeys. Boot to the BIOS and reconnect your LCD cable.
see if brightness can be adjusted 3 Repeat the PSA
at that point outside of Windows diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA LCD panel - Unable to detect Check LCD connector and 1 Update to the latest BIOS
inverter lamp status. cables. version.
ePSA 2000-0323
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA LCD panel - user reported LCD You may get this error if you 1 Update to the latest BIOS
BIST colors were not displayed answered No to the LCD version.
ePSA 2000-0324
BIST test instead of Yes. If you 2 Turn off your computer and
were able to clearly see red, blue, reconnect your LCD cable.
green white and white screen 3 Repeat the LCD BIST
with text without distortion, diagnostics.
lines, or color problems, re-run 4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support
the diagnostic and if the screens
appear normal, click Yes
PSA NA LCD panel - user provided no You may get this error if you 1 Update to the latest BIOS
input for LCD BIST answered No to the LCD version.
ePSA 2000-0325
BIST test instead of Yes. If you 2 Turn off your computer and
were able to clearly see red, blue, reconnect your LCD cable.
green white and white screen 3 Repeat the PSA
with text without distortion, diagnostics.
lines, or color problems, re-run 4 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support
the diagnostic and if the screens
appear normal, click Yes
PSA 1000-0326 LCD panel - unable to turn lamp The backlight lamp was not able 1 Update to the latest BIOS.
on or off to be turned on or off during the
ePSA 2000-0326 2 Turn off your computer and
diagnostic testing reconnect your LCD cable.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support

Running diagnostics 29
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
PSA NA LCD panel - unable to use BIOS The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) 1 Update to the latest BIOS.
interface panel does not display the BIOS
ePSA 2000-0327 2 Turn off your computer and
screen correctly and the BIOS reconnect your LCD cable.
screen is not visible on the LCD. 3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA LCD panel - unable to detect The Ambient light sensor that 1 Update to the latest BIOS
variance in ambient light sensor automatically dims the LCD in version.
ePSA 2000-0328
low light did not respond during 2 Turn off your computer and
the diagnostics. reconnect your LCD cable.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Video controller - no video The system is not detecting the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
controller detected graphics adapter. If you are using version.
ePSA 2000-0331
a desktop system and if a PCIe 2 Desktop: Turn off your
expansion card is installed, reseat computer and if equipped
the card and reconnect any with PCIe expansion card,
reseat the card.
internal power connections to
3 Reconnect your LCD cable.
the card. Then reconnect the
4 Repeat the PSA
video cable and repeat the PSA diagnostics..
diagnostic.
5 If failure continues,, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Video memory - Video memory PSA diagnostics detected a 1 Update to the latest BIOS
integrity test discrepancy video memory failure. Please version.
ePSA 2000-0332
reset the system memory and 2 Reseat the system memory
update the BIOS to most current 3 Turn off your computer and
version. reconnect your LCD cable.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
5 If failure continues,, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA 1000-0333 PSA Video - Graphics test timed PSA diagnostics did not record
1 Error occurs when a
out waiting for keyboard the user input (Y or N) after the graphics test times out
ePSA 2000-0333 response while waiting for you to
video test. Ensure that you
enter a response.
ePSA Video - User provided no accurately answer queries that
are prompted during the 2 Update to the latest BIOS
input for graphics test version.
diagnostic.
3 Turn off your computer and
reconnect your LCD cable.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA 1000-0334 Video - user reported the You may get this error if you 1 You may get this error if
patterns were not displayed answered No to the color test you answered No to the
ePSA 2000-0334 color test instead of Yes.
correctly instead of Yes. If you were able
to clearly see both the vertical 2 Update to the latest BIOS
version.

30 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
and horizontal color bars without 3 Turn off your computer and
distortion, lines, or color reconnect your LCD cable.
problems, re-run the diagnostic 4 Repeat the PSA
and if the bar appears normal, diagnostics..
click Yes. 5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Cables - not detected Normally, the cable involved in 1 Update to the latest BIOS.
the error (LCD LVDS CABLE for
ePSA 2000-0411 2 Turn off your system and
example) is indicated in the error reconnect the cable,
message. Reseat the cable jumper, or connection
connection and inspect the cable indicated in the error
message.
and connections for damage.
3 Replace damaged cables or
devices.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Cables - auxiliary cable not Normally, the cable involved in 1 Update to the latest BIOS
detected the error (LCD LVDS CABLE for version.
ePSA 2000-0412
example) is indicated in the error 2 Turn off your system and
message. Reseat the cable reconnect the cable,
connection and inspect the cable jumper, or connection
indicated in the error
and connections for damage. message.
3 Replace damaged cables or
devices.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Cables - LCD cable not detected Normally, the cable involved in 1 Update to the latest BIOS
the error (LCD LVDS CABLE for version.
ePSA 2000-0413
example) is indicated in the error 2 Turn off your system and
message. Reseat the cable reconnect the cable,
connection and inspect the cable jumper, or connection
indicated in the error
and connections for damage. message.
3 Replace damaged cables or
devices.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Cables - Invertor cable not Normally, the cable involved in 1 Update to the latest BIOS
detected the error (LCD LVDS CABLE for version.
ePSA 2000-0414
example) is indicated in the error 2 Turn off your system and
message. Reseat the cable reconnect the cable,
connection and inspect the cable jumper, or connection
indicated in the error
and connections for damage. message.
3 Replace damaged cables or
devices.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.

Running diagnostics 31
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps

5 If failure continues, contact

Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Cables - Check the following Normally, the cable involved in 1 Update to the latest BIOS
cables, jumper, connection, or the error (LCD LVDS CABLE for version.
ePSA 2000-0415
sensors: [s] example) is indicated in the error 2 Turn off your system and
message. Reseat the cable reconnect the cable,
connection and inspect the cable jumper, or connection
indicated in the error
and connections for damage. message.
3 Replace damaged cables or
devices.
4 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
5 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Fan - the (s) fan failed to The cooling fan is not responding 1 Update to the latest BIOS
respond correctly to the diagnostics tool. Please version.
ePSA 2000-0511
check nothing is obstructing the 2 Check your system for any
fan. obstructions to the air
vents or cooling fan.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Fan - the (s) fan is running faster This could be an issue with the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
than expected. system board, temperature version.
ePSA 2000-0512
sensor, or cooling fan. Please 2 Check for any loose
check everything is firmly connections, any
seated. obstructed air vents, and
for any other signs of
overheating.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Network - Network [d] - The Network (Ethernet) device 1 Update to the latest BIOS/
{Vendor supplied error} may be faulty. Depending on the Firmware versions.
ePSA 2000-0620
system, this may be on the 2 Check for any loose
motherboard, an adapter, or a connections or any bent
daughter card. Errors include pins in the connectors.
Register test failed or 3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
Packet loopback test
4 If failure continues, contact
failed. Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Network - Network [d] - Driver The Network (Ethernet) device 1 Update to the latest BIOS/
version [x] outdated. Version [x] Firmware may be out of date. Firmware versions.
ePSA 2000-0621
or newer required for "[s]" 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Technical Support

32 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
PSA NA BIOS - No BIOS support for The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
software interrupt [x] function[x] may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-8001
[x] BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - No BIOS support for SMI The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
interface function(x) or Sensor may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-8002
[x] exceeded thermal zone [d]. BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
Peak zone was [d]. and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Fan - Unable to set The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
Manufacturing Mode may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-8003
BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Fan - Unable to The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
determine fan speeds may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-8004
BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA LCD - LCD BIST not supported The LCD BIST may not exist on 1 Update to the latest BIOS
all systems. version.
ePSA 2000-8005
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Fan - Unable to set fans The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
to ([d], [d], or [d]) speed or No may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-8006
chipset event timer. BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Log contains Fan events This message is informational 1 Clear Log.
or Timer expected [d] observed only - it provides a record of fan
ePSA 2000-8007 2 Repeat the PSA
[d] events. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - A. Out of memory! The system may be unstable and 1 Update to the latest BIOS
fMalloc() Failed! should be rebooted. version.
ePSA 2000-8008
B. Unable to allocate memory for 2 Repeat the PSA
object data. Unable to [s] diagnostics.
testable memory 3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

Running diagnostics 33
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
C. Unable to start application
processors

D. Unable to stop all APs

PSA NA Diagnostics - Software Error The System may be unstable and 1 Update to the latest BIOS
should be rebooted. version.
ePSA 2000-8009
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Retrieve vendor ID The system may be unstable. 1 Update to the latest BIOS
function error version.
ePSA 2000-800B
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Get/Set inverter mode The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
function error. Vendor: [s] may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-800C
Revision: [d] BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Set lamp off function The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
error. Vendor: [s] Revision: [d] may not be current. Update the version.
ePSA 2000-800D
BIOS to the most current version 2 Repeat the PSA
and the issue should resolve. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Set lamp on function The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
error. Vendor: [s] Revision: [d] may not be current. version.
ePSA 2000-800E
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Restore function error. The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Update to the latest BIOS
Vendor: [s] Revision: [d]. may not be current. version.
ePSA 2000-800F
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA System Board High-Precision event timer not 1 Update to the latest BIOS
found. version.
ePSA 2000-8010
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

34 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
PSA NA USB Device Diagnostics - Invalid The attached USB device is 1 Reseat the USB Device.
status returned from the device returning an invalid status to the
ePSA 2000-8011 2 Repeat the PSA
BIOS. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - Invalid parameter An unexpected parameter was 1 Update to the latest BIOS
passed to the device. Unknown passed to a device under test. version.
ePSA 2000-8012
test [d] selected 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - LCD [s] doesn't Update the BIOS to the most 1 Update to the latest BIOS
support test commands current version and the issue version.
ePSA 2000-8013
should resolve. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - ADDF module ([s]) The diagnostics program has run 1 Update to the latest BIOS.
device ([s]) failed with error an external module, which has
ePSA 2000-8014 2 Repeat the PSA
code [x], number [x]. No EPSA reported an unusual error. diagnostics.
beep code mapped! 3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - Battery - unable to The motherboard BIOS revision 1 Reseat the Battery
retrieve battery health may not be current.
ePSA 2000-8016 2 Update to the latest BIOS
version.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA BIOS - Battery - BIOS has no This optional feature may not be 1 Update to the latest BIOS
support for battery health supported. version.
ePSA 2000-8017
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - Fatal: The module The system may be unstable. 1 Update to the latest BIOS
reported multiple test results!! version.
ePSA 2000-8018
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - Unable to log to The system may be unstable. 1 Update to the latest BIOS
NVRAM version.
ePSA 2000-8019
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

Running diagnostics 35
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps
PSA NA Diagnostics - Low memory. [d]k The system may be unstable. 1 Update to the latest BIOS
bytes free! version.
ePSA 2000-8020
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Diagnostics - Unable to stop all The system may be unstable. 1 Update to the latest BIOS
APs version.
ePSA 2000-8115
2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Tape Drive - Tape Drive [d] - S/N Install the correct tape drive 1 Use correct tape drive
[s], ULTRIUM [d] media found media. media.
ePSA 2000-8154
but drive. Requires ULTRIUM [s] 2 Repeat the PSA
for [s] diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Tape Drive - Tape Drive [d] - S/N Try different tape drive media. 1 Use different tape drive
[s], data read does not match media.
ePSA 2000-8155
data written 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Tape Drive - Tape Drive [d] - S/N Insert writable tape drive media. 1 Insert writable media.
[s], no media cannot test drive
ePSA 2000-8156 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Tape Drive - Tape Drive [d] - S/N Tape drive model is unknown and 1 Reseat the Drive.
[s], drive is not a supported drive not supported by diagnostics.
ePSA 2000-8157 2 Test with a known good
drive if possible.
3 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Backplane - [DRIVE] Drive [d] - The string indicates the 1 Reseat the drives/cables/
incorrect status = [x], [s] backplane, expander, or connections.
ePSA 2000-8158
removable hard drive is reporting 2 Repeat the PSA
an incorrect status. diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA PERC - PERC Battery [d] - The [s] string may be one of the 1 Reseat parts.
incorrect status = [x], [s] following messages:
ePSA 2000-8160 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
• Battery missing or
disconnected 3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support
• Replace battery pack

36 Running diagnostics
Error number (PSA and ePSA) Error message Description Steps

• Remaining capacity low

PSA NA OS - MBR code is unknown, The Master Boot Record on the 1 Update and run your anti-
possibly infected by a virus Hard Disk Drive has virus software.
ePSA 2000-8165
unrecognized code present 2 Update or reinstall your OS.
which is an indication of a virus
infecting the system. It is
recommended that you scan
your system with an up-to-date
antivirus application.
PSA NA OS - Detected virus (s) A virus appears to be infecting 1 Update and run your anti-
the system. It is recommended virus software.
ePSA 2000-8166
that you scan your system with
an up-to-date antivirus
application.
PSA NA PCIe - Training error on device The system is reporting an error 1 Reseat the PCIe adapter.
PciTag [s] VendorID [x] DeviceID on a PCIe adapter.
ePSA 2000-8170 2 Repeat the PSA
[x] SVid [x] SDid [x] Link diagnostics.
Degraded, maxLinkWidth = x[d], 3 If failure continues, contact
negotiatedLinkWidth = x[d] Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Cables - BIOS reports no An internal failure of the 1 Update to the latest BIOS
testable cable/jumper/ diagnostic tool, not a hardware version.
ePSA 2000-8415
connector/sensor failure. 2 Repeat the PSA
diagnostics.
3 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support

PSA NA Audio - User reported not If the beep was not heard, verify 1 Unplug all external Audio
hearing speaker tones that the internal speakers are Jacks.
ePSA 2000-8611
connected properly. On some 2 Reseat the internal speaker
systems, internal speakers are a connector.
purchased option. For a given 3 Repeat the PSA
system, if the speaker is optional, diagnostics.
it might not exist on that system. 4 If failure continues, contact
Dell Technical Support
If audio is not heard, make sure
to unplug anything plugged into
an external headphone jack and
re-run the test. External HP
jacks can mute the internal
speakers at the hardware level.

Debugging mini crash dump files using by WinDbg in

Windows operating system
Prerequisites

1 Click Start > Control Panel > System.

Running diagnostics 37
 Figure 9. Opening the Systems page

2 In the System page, click Advanced system settings in the left pane.

Figure 10. Advanced system settings page

3 In the System Properties window, click Settings under the Startup and Recovery section.

38 Running diagnostics
 Figure 11. System Properties window

4 In the Startup and Recovery window, System failure section, do the following:
a Select Write an event to the system log to ensure that the minidump file is created in the event of a system failure.
b Select Automatically restart to restart the system after a blue screen of death (BSOD) occurs.

NOTE: For servers, it is recommended that you select the Automatically restart option so that the server can function
if the error is not critical.
c Verify that the Overwrite any existing file option is not selected. This ensures that a record of failures is maintained if there are
repeated occurrences of system failures.

Running diagnostics 39
 Figure 12. Startup and Recovery window

5 When a BSOD occurs, collect the minidump files by navigating to C:\windows\minidump.

6 Download and install the Windows Debugger (WinDbg) tool from https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/
hh852365.aspx.

Steps
1 Open WinDbg.
2 Click File → Symbol File Path or press Ctrl + S on the keyboard.
3 In the Symbol Path field, enter SRV*<local path>*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols where, <local path> is the path
where you want to download the symbol files.
4 Click OK.
5 Click File → Open Crash Dump or press Ctrl + D.
6 Navigate to the folder where the mini dump file is saved.
7 Select the mini dump file and click OK.
8 Click No when the system prompts to save information for workspace.
Debugging starts.
9 Click !analyze –v to get detailed debugging information.
10 Note down the values for the following parameters:
a DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID
b MODULE_NAME

40 Running diagnostics
 c IMAGE_NAME
11 Call Dell Technical Support for further assistance.

Running diagnostics 41
 4
Troubleshooting hardware issues
This section helps you troubleshoot hardware issues in your system.
NOTE: If the issue still persists, contact Dell Technical Support for assistance.

Topics:

• 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
• Troubleshooting hard drives
• Troubleshooting an optical drive
• Troubleshooting a tape backup unit
• Troubleshooting system memory
• Troubleshooting no power issues
• Troubleshooting power supply units
• Troubleshooting RAID
• Troubleshooting thermal issue

Troubleshooting system startup failure

If you boot the system to the BIOS boot mode after installing an operating system from the UEFI Boot Manager, the system stops
responding. To avoid this issue, you must boot to the same boot mode in which you installed the operating system.

For all other startup issues, note the system messages that appear on the screen.

No bootable device found

Troubleshooting a no bootable device found issue.

42 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Resolution: To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

1 Switch off the system.

2 Disconnect all power cables to the server’s power supply units.
3 Remove the system cover.
4 Reseat all the cables of hard drive backplane at both ends.
5 Reseat all the drives.
6 Replace the system cover.
7 Connect the power cables to the server’s power supply units.
8 Power on the system
9 To enter UEFI, Press F2.
10 Verify that all installed drives are detected in controller BIOS, if not detected refer to the Troubleshooting Hard drive issues section.
11 Ensure that in BIOS the RAID setting is set to RAID mode for SATA drives.
12 Save the setting, and reboot the server.
13 If the issue persists, contact Dell Technical Support for assistance.

Troubleshooting external connections

Before troubleshooting any external devices, ensure that all external cables are securely attached to the external connectors on your
system.

• Compare the technical specification of the system with the external device to check the compatibility.
• Check the external device functionality with some other similar system so that we are sure that the device is working fine.
• Check any other similar external device with this system so that we are sure that the system port is working fine.

For any further queries contact, Global Technical Support.

Troubleshooting the video subsystem

Prerequisite
NOTE: Ensure the Local Server Video Enabled option is selected in the iDRAC Graphical User Interface (GUI), under Virtual
Console. If this option is not selected, local video is disabled.
Steps
1 Check the cable connections (power and display) to the monitor.
2 Check the video interface cabling from the system to the monitor.
3 Run the LCD Built-in Self Test (BIST).

If the tests run successfully, the problem is not related to video hardware.

Next step
If the tests fail, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting a USB device

Prerequisite
NOTE: Follow steps 1 to 5 to troubleshoot a USB keyboard or mouse. For other USB devices, go to step 6.

Steps
1 Disconnect the keyboard and/or mouse cables from the system and reconnect them.
2 If the problem persists, connect the keyboard and/or mouse to another USB port on the system.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 43

3 If the problem is resolved, restart the system, enter System Setup, and check if the non-functioning USB ports are enabled.
4 In iDRAC Settings Utility, ensure that USB Management Port Mode is configured as Automatic or Standard OS Use.
5 If the problem is not resolved, replace the keyboard and/or mouse with a known working keyboard or mouse.
If the problem is not resolved, proceed to step 6 to troubleshoot other USB devices attached to the system.
If the problem is not resolved, proceed to troubleshoot other USB devices attached to the system.
6 Turn off all attached USB devices, and disconnect them from the system.
7 Restart the system.
8 If your keyboard is functioning, enter System Setup, verify that all USB ports are enabled on the Integrated Devices screen. If your
keyboard is not functioning, use remote access to enable or disable the USB options.
9 If the system is not accessible, reset the NVRAM_CLR jumper inside your system and restore the BIOS to the default settings. See the
System board jumper setting section
10 In the IDRAC Settings Utility, ensure that USB Management Port Mode is configured as Automatic or Standard OS Use.
11 Reconnect and turn on each USB device one at a time.
12 If a USB device causes the same problem, turn off the device, replace the USB cable with a known good cable, and turn on the
device.

Next step
If all troubleshooting fails, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting iDRAC Direct - USB XML configuration

For information about USB storage device and system configuration, see Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at
Dell.com/poweredgemanuals
Steps

1 Ensure that your USB storage device is connected to the front USB Management Port, identified by icon.
2 Ensure that your USB storage device is configured with an NTFS or an FAT32 file system with only one partition.
3 Verify that the USB storage device is configured correctly. For more information about configuring the USB storage device, see
Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals
4 In the iDRAC Settings Utility, ensure that USB Management Port Mode is configured as Automatic or iDRAC Direct Only.
5 Ensure that the iDRAC Managed: USB XML Configuration option is either Enabled or Enabled only when the server has default
credential settings.
6 Remove and reinsert the USB storage device.
7 If import operation does not work, try with a different USB storage device.

Next step
If all troubleshooting fails, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting iDRAC Direct - Laptop connection

For information about USB laptop connection and system configuration, see the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at
Dell.com/poweredgemanuals.
Steps

1 Ensure that your laptop is connected to the front USB Management Port, identified by icon with a USB Type A/A cable.
2 On the iDRAC Settings Utility screen, ensure that USB Management Port Mode is configured as Automatic or iDRAC Direct Only.
3 If the laptop is running Windows operating system, ensure that the iDRAC Virtual USB NIC device driver is installed.
4 If the driver is installed, ensure that you are not connected to any network through WiFi or cabled ethernet, as iDRAC Direct uses a
non-routable address.

44 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Next step
If all troubleshooting fails, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting a serial Input Output device

Steps
1 Turn off the system and any peripheral devices connected to the serial port.
2 Swap the serial interface cable with a known working cable, and turn on the system and the serial device.
If the problem is resolved, replace the interface cable with a known working cable.
3 Turn off the system and the serial device, and swap the serial device with a compatible device.
4 Turn on the system and the serial device.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting a NIC
Steps
1 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. For more information, see the Using system diagnostics section for the available diagnostic tests.
2 Restart the system and check for any system messages pertaining to the NIC controller.
3 Check the appropriate indicator on the NIC connector:
• If the link indicator does not glow, the cable connected might be disengaged.
• If the activity indicator does not glow, the network driver files might be damaged or missing.
Install or replace the drivers as necessary. For more information, see the NIC documentation.
• Try another known good network cable.
• If the problem persists, use another connector on the switch or hub.
4 Ensure that the appropriate drivers are installed and the protocols are bound. For more information, see the NIC documentation.
5 Enter System Setup and confirm that the NIC ports are enabled on the Integrated Devices screen.
6 Ensure that all the NICs, hubs, and switches on the network are set to the same data transmission speed and duplex. For more
information, see the documentation for each network device.
7 Ensure that all the NICs and switches on the network are set to the same data transmission speed and duplex. For more information,
see the documentation for each network device.
8 Ensure that all network cables are of the proper type and do not exceed the maximum length.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

NIC teaming on a PowerEdge Server

Network Interface Card (NIC) teaming is a method of logically connecting two or more network adapters to form one network adapter. For
information about how to configure NIC teaming on a PowerEdge Server and common issues, see www.dell.com/support/
article/us/en/04/sln129960/nic-teaming-on-a-poweredge-server-whitepapers-setup-articles-and-common-issues.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 45

Troubleshooting a wet system
Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
2 Remove the system cover.
3 Remove the following components (if installed) from the system:
• Power supply unit(s)
• Optical drive
• Hard drives
• Hard drive backplane
• USB memory key
• Hard drive tray
• Cooling shroud
• Expansion card risers (if installed)
• Expansion cards
• Cooling fan assembly (if installed)
• Cooling fan(s)
• Memory modules
• Processor(s) and heat sink(s)
• System board
4 Let the system dry thoroughly for at least 24 hours.
5 Reinstall the components you removed in step 3 except the expansion cards.
6 Install the system cover.
7 Turn on the system and attached peripherals.
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.
8 If the system starts properly, turn off the system, and reinstall all the expansion cards that you removed.
9 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. For more information, see the Using system diagnostics section.

Next step
If the tests fail, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting a damaged system

Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
2 Remove the system cover.
3 Ensure that the following components are properly installed:

46 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 • cooling shroud
• expansion card risers (if installed)
• expansion cards
• power supply unit(s)
• cooling fan assembly (if installed)
• cooling fan(s)
• processor(s) and heat sink(s)
• memory modules
• drive carriers or cage
4 Ensure that all cables are properly connected.
5 Install the system cover.
6 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. For more information, see the Using system diagnostics section.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting the system battery

Prerequisites
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
NOTE: If the system is turned off for long periods of time (for weeks or months), the NVRAM may lose the system configuration
information. This situation is caused by a defective battery.
NOTE: Some software may cause the system time to speed up or slow down. If the system seems to operate normally except for
the time set in System Setup, the problem may be caused by a software, rather than by a defective battery.
Steps
1 Re-enter the time and date in System Setup.
2 Turn off the system, and disconnect it from the electrical outlet for at least an hour.
3 Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system.
4 Enter System Setup.
If the date and time displayed in System Setup are not correct, check the System Error Log (SEL) for system battery messages.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting cooling problems

CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.

Ensure that the following conditions exist:

• System cover, cooling shroud, EMI filler panel, memory module blank, or back filler bracket is not removed.
• Ambient temperature is not higher than the system specific ambient temperature.
• External airflow is not obstructed.
• A cooling fan is not removed or has not failed.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 47

• The expansion card installation guidelines have been followed.

Additional cooling can be added by one of the following methods:

From the iDRAC web GUI:

1 Click Hardware > Fans > Setup.

2 From the Fan Speed Offset drop-down list, select the cooling level required or set the minimum fan speed to a custom value.

From F2 System Setup:

1 Select iDRAC Settings > Thermal, and set a higher fan speed from the fan speed offset or minimum fan speed.

From RACADM commands:

1 Run the command racadm help system.thermalsettings

For more information, see Integrated Dell Remote Access User’s Guide at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals

Troubleshooting cooling fans

Prerequisites
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
NOTE: The fan number is referenced by the management software of the system. In the event of a problem with a particular fan,
you can easily identify and replace it by noting down the fan numbers on the cooling fan assembly.

1 Follow the safety guidelines listed in the Safety instructions section.

2 Follow the procedure listed in the Before working inside your system section.

Steps
1 Reseat the fan or the fan's power cable.
2 Restart the system.

Next steps

1 Follow the procedure listed in the After working inside your system section.
2 If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting an internal USB key

Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 Enter System Setup and ensure that the USB key port is enabled on the Integrated Devices screen.
2 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
3 Remove the system cover.
4 Locate the USB key and reseat it.
5 Install the system cover.
6 Turn on the system and attached peripherals, and check if the USB key is functioning.

48 Troubleshooting hardware issues

7 If the problem is not resolved, repeat step 2 and step 3.
8 Insert a known working USB key.
9 Install the system cover.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting a micro SD card

Prerequisite
NOTE: Certain micro SD cards have a physical write-protect switch on the card. If the write-protect switch is turned on, the
micro SD card is not writable.
Steps
1 Enter System Setup, and ensure that the Internal SD Card Port is enabled.
2 Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
3 Remove the system cover.

NOTE: When an SD card failure occurs, the internal dual SD module controller notifies the system. On the next restart, the
system displayed a message indicating the failure. If redundancy is enabled at the time of SD card failure, a critical alert will
be logged and chassis health will degrade.
4 Replace the failed micro SD card with a new micro SD card.
5 Install the system cover.
6 Reconnect the system to its electrical outlet and turn on the system, including any attached peripherals.
7 Enter System Setup, and ensure that the Internal SD Card Port and Internal SD Card Redundancy modes are set to the needed
modes.
Verify that the correct SD slot is set as Primary SD Card.
8 Check if the micro SD card is functioning properly.
9 If the Internal SD Card Redundancy option is set to Enabled at the time of the SD card failure, the system prompts you to perform a
rebuild.

NOTE: The rebuild is always sourced from the primary SD card to the secondary SD card.

Troubleshooting expansion cards

Prerequisites
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
NOTE: When troubleshooting an expansion card, you also have to see the documentation for your operating system and the
expansion card.
Steps
1 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
2 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
3 Remove the system cover.
4 Ensure that each expansion card is firmly seated in its connector.
5 Install the system cover.
6 Turn on the system and attached peripherals.
7 If the problem is not resolved, turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
8 Remove the system cover.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 49

9 Remove all expansion cards installed in the system.
10 Install the system cover.
11 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
If the tests fail, see the Getting help section.
12 For each expansion card you removed in step 8, perform the following steps:
a Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
b Remove the system cover.
c Reinstall one of the expansion cards.
d Install the system cover.
e Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting processors
Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 Run the appropriate diagnostics test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
2 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
3 Remove the system cover.
4 Ensure that the processor and heat sink are properly installed.
5 Install the system cover.
6 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
7 If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting a CPU Machine Check error

Issue: System encountered a "CPU Machine Check" error.
Solution:

CAUTION: Ensure that all configurations and data is backed up prior to updating BIOS or Firmware.

1 Ensure there are no other system failures, check the System Event log for more information.
2 Test the system memory using the MP Memory test to ensure that there are no DIMM failures.
3 Test the system using the ePSA to test the general hardware to ensure system health.
4 Complete a flee power and minimum to POST, while testing the system at each stage.
5 Check if there are any available updates on firmware (BIOS and iDRAC firmware).
6 Clear the system event logs
7 If the issue persists, contact Dell Tech Support team.

50 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Troubleshooting a storage controller
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.

NOTE: When troubleshooting a controller, see the documentation for your operating system and the controller.
1 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
2 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
3 Remove the system cover.
4 Verify that the installed expansion cards are compliant with the expansion card installation guidelines.
5 Ensure that each expansion card is firmly seated in its connector.
6 Install the system cover.
7 Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached peripherals.
8 If the problem is not resolved, turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
9 Remove the system cover.
10 Remove all expansion cards installed in the system.
11 Install the system cover.
12 Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached peripherals.
13 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
If the tests fail, see the Getting help section.
14 For each expansion card you removed in step 10, perform the following steps:
a Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
b Remove the system cover.
c Reinstall one of the expansion cards.
d Install the system cover.
e Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

OMSA flagging PERC driver

Issue: OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) flagging the PERC driver.
Solution: Dell EMC recommends that you download and install the latest BIOS, drivers, and systems management firmware on your
system. For more information, see the Downloading the drivers and firmware topic.

Importing or clearing foreign configurations using the foreign

configuration view screen
Prerequisite
About this task
If one or more physical disks are removed from a configuration, the configuration on those disks is considered a foreign configuration by the
RAID controller.

You can use the Foreign Config screen to view information about the foreign configuration, such as disk groups, virtual disks, physical
disks, space allocation, and hot spares. The foreign configuration data is displayed in the same format as configurations on the VD Mgmt

Troubleshooting hardware issues 51

screen. You can use the VD Mgmt screen to view the foreign configuration before importing. After you view the foreign configuration, you
can either clear or import to the RAID controller.

NOTE: Before you import the foreign configuration, review the configuration on the screen to ensure that it is the end result that
you require.
You can use the Foreign Config screen to manage foreign configurations in the following cases:

• All the physical disks in a configuration are removed and re-inserted.

• Some of the physical disks in a configuration are removed and re-inserted.
• All the physical disks in a virtual disk are removed, but at different times, and then re-inserted.
• The physical disks in a non-redundant virtual disk are removed.

The following constraints apply to the physical disks that are considered for import:

• The disk state of a physical disk can change from the time the foreign configuration is scanned to when the actual import occurs. The
foreign import occurs only on disks that are in the Unconfigured Good state.
• Disks in the failed or offline state cannot be imported.
• The firmware does not allow you to import more than eight foreign configurations.

To manage foreign configurations:

Steps
1 If all or some of the physical disks in a configuration are removed and reinserted, the controller considers the disks to have foreign
configurations. Perform the following steps:
a Select Foreign Config to display the foreign configuration information on the Foreign Config screen.
b Press <F2> to display the options (Import, Clear).

NOTE: You must have all the disks in the system before you perform the import operation.
c Select Import to import the foreign configuration to the controller or select Clear to delete the foreign configuration(s) from the
re-inserted disk(s).
In the Preview Configuration Data window, the status of a physical disk that needs to be rebuilt is displayed as Rebuild.

NOTE: When you import a foreign configuration, the dedicated hot spares in the configuration are imported as
dedicated hot spares on two conditions — the associated virtual disk is already present or the associated virtual disk is
also imported along with the configuration.

NOTE: Start a consistency check immediately after the rebuild is complete to ensure data integrity for the virtual
disks. For more information about checking data consistency, see the Checking Data Consistency.
2 If all the physical disks in a virtual disk are removed at different times and re-inserted, the controller considers the disks to have foreign
configurations. Perform the following steps:
a Select Foreign Configuration View to display the complete virtual disk, across different foreign configurations and allow foreign
configurations to be imported.
b Press <F2> to display the options Import and Clear.

NOTE: You must have all the drives in the system before you perform the import operation.
c Select Import to merge the foreign configurations with the existing configuration on the controller or Clear to delete the foreign
configuration(s) from the re-inserted disk(s).
If you select Import, all drives that were removed before the virtual disk became offline are imported, and then automatically
rebuilt.

NOTE: Start a consistency check immediately after the rebuild is complete to ensure data integrity for the virtual
disks. For more information about checking data consistency, see the Checking Data Consistency section.
3 If the physical disks in a non-redundant virtual disk are removed, the controller considers the disks to have foreign configurations.
Perform the following steps:
a Select Foreign Configuration View to display the complete foreign configuration information.

52 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 b Press <F2> to display the options Import and Clear.
c Select Import to import the foreign configurations to the virtual disk or Clear to delete the foreign configuration(s) from the re-
inserted disk(s).
No rebuilds occur after the import operation because there is no redundant data to rebuild the disks with.

Importing or clearing foreign configurations using the VD

mgmt menu
When a foreign configuration exists, the BIOS screen displays the message Foreign configuration(s) found on adapter. In
addition, a foreign configuration is displayed on the right side of the Ctrl Mgmt screen.
About this task
You can use the VD Mgmt menu to import the existing configuration to the RAID controller or clear the existing configuration. In addition,
you can view the foreign configuration from the Foreign View tab without importing the configuration.
NOTE: The controller does not allow import of configurations that results in more than 64 virtual disks.

Perform the following steps to import or clear foreign configurations:

Steps
1 During bootup, press <Ctrl> <R> when prompted by the BIOS screen.
The VD Mgmt screen is displayed by default.
2 On the VD Mgmt screen, highlight the Controller #.
3 Press <F2> to display the available actions.
4 Navigate to the Foreign Config option and press the right arrow key to display the available actions:
a Import
b Clear

NOTE: Ensure that your virtual disk has all the physical disks by verifying that there are no physical disks marked as Missing
in the foreign view page and that all the disks appear as expected before importing them.
5 Select Import to import the foreign configuration or Clear to delete the foreign configuration and then press <Enter>.
If you import the configuration, the VD Mgmt screen displays detailed configuration information. It includes information about the disk
groups, virtual disks, physical disks, space allocation, and hot spares.

RAID controller L1, L2 and L3 cache error

Issue: The RAID controller is generating L1, L2 and L3 errors.
Solution:To fix the issue, perform the following:

1 Update the system BIOS to the latest version

2 Clear the iDRAC logs from the iDRAC web interface
3 Update the iDRAC firmware
4 Update the RAID controller drivers and firmware
5 Clear the system event logs

PERC controllers do not support NVME PCIe drives

Issue: NVME PCIe connected drives are not supported by PERC RAID controllers.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 53

Solution: The controller is working as deigned.

• For more information about installation and removal of NVMe PCIe SSD in the system, see Replacing and configuring hardware.
• For configuring and managing the PCIe SSD adapter, see Configuring And Managing Your NVMe PCIe SSD Adapter.

12 Gbps hard drive does not support in SAS 6ir RAID

controllers
Issue: 12 Gbps drive does not support in SAS 6ir RAID controllers.
Resolution:

• The controller is working as designed.

• SAS 6ir controllers support speeds of up to 3 Gbps.

For more information, refer to the SAS 6ir product documentation.

Hard drives cannot be added to the existing RAID 10 Array

Create a new RAID 1 array or RAID 50 array, and ensure that the virtual disk has the maximum partition space. For information about how
to configure a RAID array, see RAID configuration using OpenManage Server Administrator, RAID configuration using Unified Server
Configurator, or Configuring RAID by using Lifecycle Controller.
For information about RAID configuration by using PERC, see RAID configuration using PERC.

PERC battery discharging

Issue: PERC battery discharging
Solution: To fix this issue, update the BIOS and PERC firmware. The following steps show how to update the BIOS and PERC firmware:

There are four methods to update the BIOS, below are the steps for the four methods:

Method 1: Dell update package instructions for UEFI.

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.

2 When the Export Compliance Disclaimer window appears, read the agreement and if you agree, click I agree.
3 The File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
4 You can update the BIOS using a UEFI shell bootable media, such as a USB key. Copy the file to the bootable device with UEFI shell.
5 Boot the system to UEFI shell by using the bootable device.
6 Run the executable .efi file under the UEFI shell. Follow the instructions provided by the flash utility.

You can also load this executable file directly from BIOS Boot Manager without a UEFI shell bootable media:

1 Copy the file to a USB device.

2 Plug in the USB device to the system and then press F11 during POST to enter BIOS Boot Manager.
3 Navigate to the System Utilities menu and select BIOS Update File Explorer.
4 Select the USB device and navigate through the directory contents to find the executable (.efi).
5 Launch the executable and follow the instructions provided by the flash utility.

Method 2: Dell update package instructions for Linux DUP.

54 Troubleshooting hardware issues

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.
2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Read the release information by running the command "./[model]_BIOS_LX[revision].BIN--version" command from
the shell.
4 Download and perform the prerequisites identified in the above steps before proceeding.
5 Install any necessary Embedded Systems Management firmware prior to this BIOS update.
6 Run the update "./[model]_BIOS_LX[revision].BIN--version".
7 Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

Method 3: Dell update package instructions for Windows DUP.

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.

2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Browse the location where you downloaded the file and double-click the file.
4 Read over the release information presented in the dialog window.
5 Download and install any prerequisites identified in the dialog window before proceeding.
6 Install any necessary Embedded Systems Management firmware prior to this BIOS update.
7 Click the Install button.
8 Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

Method 4: GnuPG signature of Dell update package instructions.

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.

2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Import the Dell public key.

NOTE: You only need to do once on your system.

4 Verify the Dell Update Package by using its signature file, [model]_BIOS_LX_[version].BIN.sign.

There are two methods to update the PERC firmware. Below are the steps for the two methods:

Method 1: Windows update package.

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.

2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Browse to the location where you downloaded the file and double-click the new file.
4 Read over the release information presented in the dialog window.
5 Download and perform any prerequisites identified in the dialog window before proceeding.
6 Click the Install button.
7 Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

Method 2: Linux update package.

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.

2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Read over the release information presented by executing the "./SAS-RAID_Firmware_XXXXX_LN_XXXXX.BIN--version"
command from the shell.
4 Download and perform any prerequisites identified in the above step before proceeding.
5 Run the update by executing "./SAS-RAID_Firmware_XXXXX_LN_XXXXX.BIN" from the shell.
6 Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

There are two methods to update the PERC firmware:

Method 1: Windows update package:

Troubleshooting hardware issues 55

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.
2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Browse to the location where you downloaded the file and double-click the new file.
4 Read over the release information presented in the dialog window.
5 Download and install any prerequisites identified in the dialog box before proceeding.
6 Click the Install button.
7 Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

Method 2: Linux update package:

1 Download the BIOS update package at: Dell.com/support.

2 When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive.
3 Read over the release information presented by executing the "./SAS-RAID_Firmware_XXXXX_LN_XXXXX.BIN--version"
command from the shell.
4 Download and install any prerequisites identified in the above step before proceeding.
5 Run the update by executing "./SAS-RAID_Firmware_XXXXX_LN_XXXXX.BIN" from the shell.
6 Follow the remaining prompts to perform the update.

PERC battery failure message is displayed in ESM log

About this task
If the PERC battery is displayed as failed in the ESM log, and there is no hardware failure, perform the following steps:
Steps
1 Turn of the system, and remove the power cable (s) from the system.
2 Let the system sit for 30 seconds to allow any remaining flea power to drain.
3 Boot to the operating system, and clear logs.
4 Update the iDRAC firmware to the latest version.

NOTE: If the issue persists, Dell recommends that you replace PERC and the PERC battery.

For more information about troubleshooting the PERC battery, see Additional Information for troubleshooting memory or battery errors
on the PERC controller section.

Creating non-raid disks for storage purpose

About this task
By default, all the disks are in RAID capable unconfigured state. The user can convert the RAID capable disks to non-RAID disks using either
the BIOS configuration utility or the UEFI/HII RAID configuration utility.

To create a non-RAID disk, perform the following steps in the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl> <R>):
Steps
1 On the Virtual Disk Mgmnt screen, use the arrow keys to highlight the PERC 9 adapter or Disk Group #.
2 Press <F2>.
The list of available action is displayed.
3 Click Convert to Non-RAID.
The Convert RAID Capable Disks to Non-RAID window is displayed.
4 Press the down-arrow key to highlight an available physical disk.
5 Press the spacebar to select the disk.
An X is displayed beside the selected physical disk(s).

56 Troubleshooting hardware issues

6 Select OK.

Firmware or Physical disks out-of-date

Issue:The Firmware or Drives out of date adn results in unknown disk errors.
Solution:

• Update the Firmware/ PERC Controller.

Cannot boot to Windows due to foreign configuration

About this task
When a foreign configuration exists in the controller, and you cannot boot to Windows, do the following:
Steps
1 Import the foreign configuration to the RAID controller. See, Importing foreign configuration using PERC.
2 Rebuild the failed hard drives. See, Rebuild.
3 Upgrade the iDRAC firmware/PERC. See, Downloading drivers and firmware.

Offline or missing virtual drives with preserved cache error

message
Error Message:
There are offline or missing virtual drives with preserved cache. Please check the cables and
ensure that all drives are present. Press any key to enter the configuration utility.

Probable Cause:

The controller preserves the dirty cache from a virtual disk if the disk becomes offline or is deleted because of missing physical disks. This
preserved dirty cache is called pinned cache, and is preserved until you import the virtual disk, or discard the cache.

Corrective Action:

Use the <Ctrl> <R> utility to import the virtual disk or discard the preserved cache. For the steps used to manage preserved cache, see
Managing preserved cache.

NOTE: Ctrl R is not available for systems set to UEFI boot mode. Use the HII menu to manage preserved cache in these cases.

Managing preserved cache

About this task
If a virtual disk goes offline or is deleted because of missing physical disks, the controller preserves the dirty cache from the virtual disk. The
preserved dirty cache, known as pinned cache, is preserved until you import the virtual disk or discard the cache.
NOTE: Certain operations, such as creating a new virtual disk, cannot be performed if preserved cache exists. You have to enter
the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl> <R>) to resolve the situation before you boot to the operating system. Messages are
displayed notifying you that you must enter the BIOS Configuration Utility (<Ctrl> <R>) to discard the preserved cache or
import the virtual disks with the preserved cache.
CAUTION: If there are any foreign configurations, it is strongly advised that you import the foreign configuration before you
discard the preserved cache. Otherwise, you might lose data that belongs with the foreign configuration.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 57

To manage the preserved cache:

Steps
1 On the VD Mgmt screen, click on a controller icon.
2 Press <F2> to display the available actions.
3 Select Manage Preserved Cache.
A message is displayed advising you to import the foreign configuration before you discard the preserved cache to avoid losing data
belonging to the foreign configuration. Confirm whether you want to continue. The Manage Preserved Cache screen displays the
affected virtual disks.
4 You can choose to discard the cache on the Manage Preserved Cache screen. If you press Cancel, the process is cancelled and the
Preserved Cache Retained dialog box is displayed. If you choose to discard the cache, you are prompted to confirm your choice. If
you choose to retain the cache, a message is displayed to notify you that you cannot perform certain operations while the cache
exists. Click OK to continue.

Expanding RAID array

Reconfigure or migrate a virtual disk (VDs) to increase the capacity or change the RAID level of the virtual disk. For more information about
reconfiguration of virtual disks, see Starting and target RAID levels for virtual disk reconfiguration and capacity expansion, and
Reconfiguring or migrating virtual disks.

LTO-4 Tape drives are not supported on PERC

Tape drives are not supported on PERC. Use a 6Gbps SAS HBA or an equivalent SAS HBA that is not designed with RAID.

Limitations of HDD size on H310

The PowerEdge RAID Controller H310 does not support HDD size more than 2 TB. HDD size has this limitation.

System logs show failure entry for a storage controller even

though it is working correctly
The PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) family of enterprise-class controllers is designed for enhanced performance, increased reliability,
fault tolerance, and simplified management. These controllers provide a powerful, easy-to-manage way to create a robust infrastructure and
help maximize server uptime. The battery installed on these controllers help in ensuring data integrity in case of power outages.
About this task
When the controller battery is discharged, the system recharges the battery and reconditions it. During this reconditioning, you may see a
failure in the system logs. To confirm that the battery is working correctly, check the hardware details on any of the Dell EMC systems
management solutions. This error can also be resolved by clearing the static build-up in the system. To clear the static build-up, perform the
following steps:
Steps
1 Shut down the system.
2 Disconnect all the power cables.
3 Press and hold power button for 15 seconds.
4 Reconnect all the cables and turn the system on.

Check the hardware details to ensure that the controller is working correctly.

58 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Troubleshooting hard drives
Prerequisites
CAUTION: This troubleshooting procedure can erase data stored on the hard drive. Before you proceed, back up all files on the
hard drive.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
NOTE: Ensure that the sleds internal SATA cables are connected correctly.

Steps
1 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section.
Depending on the results of the diagnostics test, proceed as required through the following steps.
2 If your system has a RAID controller and your hard drives are configured in a RAID array, perform the following steps:
a Restart the system and press F10 during system startup to run the Dell Lifecycle Controller, and then run the Hardware
Configuration wizard to check the RAID configuration.
See the Dell Lifecycle Controller documentation or online help for information about RAID configuration.
b Ensure that the hard drives are configured correctly for the RAID array.
c Take the hard drive offline and reseat the drive.
d Exit the configuration utility and allow the system to boot to the operating system.
3 Ensure that the needed device drivers for your controller card are installed and are configured correctly. For more information, see the
operating system documentation.
4 Restart the system and enter the System Setup.
5 Verify that the controller is enabled and the drives are displayed in the System Setup.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting multiple Drive failure

Multiple physical disk errors in a single array typically indicate a failure in cabling or connection and could involve the loss of data. You can
recover the virtual disk after multiple physical disks become simultaneously inaccessible. Perform the following steps to recover the virtual
disk.
Prerequisite
Follow the safety precautions to prevent electrostatic discharge.
Steps
1 Turn Off the System.
2 Reseat the cable at both the ends.
3 Reseat the controller card.
4 Reseat the Drives and ensure that all the drives are present in the system.
5 Turn on the system and enter the CTRL+R utility. or and either import or clear the foreign configuration.
6 Press <"F"> at the prompt to import the foreign configuration.
7 press <"C"> to enter the BIOS configuration utility.
If the virtual disk is redundant and transitioned to degraded state before going Offline, a rebuild operation starts automatically after
the configuration is imported. If the virtual disk has gone directly to the Offline state due to a cable pull or power loss situation, the
virtual disk is imported in its Optimal state without a rebuild occurring. You can also use the BIOS Configuration Utility or Dell
OpenManage storage management application to perform a manual rebuild of multiple physical disks.
8 If the problem is not resolved, refer to Troubleshooting Hard drives section in the Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers Troubleshooting Guide.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 59

Checking hard drive status in the PERC BIOS
1 Press Ctrl + R during the POST process to open PERC BIOS Configuration Utility.

Figure 13. PERC Configuration Utility VD Mgmt screen

2 To check if the hard drive is participating in the RAID array, perform the following steps:
a Press Ctrl + N to go to the PD Mgmt (Physical Disk Management) screen and check if any hard drives are offline or missing.

Figure 14. PERC Configuration Utility PD Mgmt screen

The table shows Hard drive status

60 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 Table 14. Hard drive status

Hard drive status Description

Offline Hard drive is not part of the RAID array.

Online Hard drive is part of the RAID array.

Ready Hard dive is ready to be a part of the RAID array.

FAQs
How to identify a hard drive failure?
Hard drive failures may occur because of logical, head, or mechanical failures. The following table describes the symptoms of failing hard
drives:

Table 15. Symptoms of a failing hard drive

Symptom Description
Noisy hard drives Noisy hard drives indicate head crash, noisy bearings, or a failed
motor.

Data and disk errors Files may not get saved or programs may stop responding.

Hard drive not detected Operating system does not detect the hard drive.

System crash Blue screen errors.

Slow read-write process Delay in reading or writing data on the hard drive.

Perform the following steps if any of these symptoms occur:

1 Check if the hard drives are installed correctly.

2 Check the hard drive indicators. For more information, see Hard drive indicator codes section.
3 For systems with LED indicators, check the diagnostic LEDs. For more information, see Status LED indicators section.

NOTE: The diagnostic LED indicators might be different for different

systems.
4 For systems with LCD panel, check for the following error codes:

Table 16. Hard drive error codes

Error Code Error Message Description

E1810 Hard drive <number> Hard drive <number> has had a fault as determined by the SAS subsystem.
fault.
E1811 Hard drive <number> Drive <number> has had its rebuild aborted.
rebuild aborted.
E1812 Hard drive <number> Drive <number> has been removed from the system.
removed.

5 Check the hard drive status in SupportAssist.

6 Check the hard drive status in the RAID BIOS. For more information, see Checking hard drive status in the PERC BIOS section.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 61

If you have any of the above error conditions, contact Dell Technical Support. When you call, keep the SupportAssist report and the
troubleshooting logs ready.

How do I extract RAID-Controller Logs using MegaCLI for Windows and

Linux?
NOTE: To export information about the status of the RAID controller and the connected hard drives, use the MegaCLI tool by LSI
(Avagotech).
To create the appropriate diagnostic files, perform the following steps:
1 Download the appropriate version of the MegaCli tool for Windows Operating systems from the Avagotech support site.
2 Unzip the downloaded files and copy them in any directory on the server or host system according your installed operating system.
For example, on Windows the path can be C:\temp\megacli, and on Linux the path can be /tmp/megacli.
3 Open a terminal in Linux or a command prompt in Windows operating systems and navigate to the newly created directory.
4 Now, run the following commands:
• To create the RAID controller logs in Windows, use the command MegaCli.exe -FwTermLog -Dsply –aALL >
ttylog.txt.
• To create the Event Log in Windows, use the command MegaCli.exe -AdpEventLog -IncludeDeleted -f
deleted.txt -aALL.
• To create the RAID controller logs in Linux, use the command ./MegaCli64 -FwTermLog -Dsply –aALL > /tmp/
ttylog.txt.
• To create the Event Log in Linux, use the command ./MegaCli64 -AdpEventLog -IncludeDeleted -f
deleted.txt -aALL.

NOTE: For the most popular Linux operating systems, you also need the following file to ensure a smooth execution: -
Lib_Utils-1.00-09.noarch.rpm

NOTE: The deleted.txt file is always stored in the MegaCli folder.

Symptoms
Hard disk drive making noise
Description

Clicking or other loud noise is heard from the hard drive. The noise can be intermittent and may or may not coincide with read or write
operations.

Resolution

1 Run the custom ePSA diagnostics and obtain the error code. For more information on ePSA diagnostics, see PSA/ePSA Diagnostics.
2 If the diagnostics fail, call Dell Technical Support for further assistance.
3 If the diagnostics pass, reseat the hard drive.
4 If the problem persists, call Dell Technical Support for further assistance.

Drive timeout error

Issue—Drive times out and the RAID controller displays the drive as failed.

62 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Corrective action—Update the hard drive firmware/PERC controller. For information about driver installation, see the driver installation
section. For information about firmware installation, see the Firmware section.

Drives not accessible

Multiple physical disk errors in a single array typically indicate a failure in cabling or connection and could involve the loss of data. You can
recover the virtual disk after multiple physical disks become simultaneously inaccessible. Perform the following steps to recover the virtual
disk.
Prerequisite
Follow the safety precautions to prevent electrostatic discharge.
Steps
1 Turn Off the System.
2 Reseat the cable at both the ends.
3 Reseat the controller card.
4 Reseat the Drives and ensure that all the drives are present in the system.
5 Turn on the system and enter the CTRL+R utility. or and either import or clear the foreign configuration.
6 Press <"F"> at the prompt to import the foreign configuration.
7 press <"C"> to enter the BIOS configuration utility.
If the virtual disk is redundant and transitioned to degraded state before going Offline, a rebuild operation starts automatically after
the configuration is imported. If the virtual disk has gone directly to the Offline state due to a cable pull or power loss situation, the
virtual disk is imported in its Optimal state without a rebuild occurring. You can also use the BIOS Configuration Utility or Dell
OpenManage storage management application to perform a manual rebuild of multiple physical disks.

Troubleshooting an optical drive

Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 Try using a different CD or DVD.
2 If the problem is not resolved, enter System Setup and ensure that the integrated SATA controller and the drive's SATA port are
enabled.
3 Run the appropriate diagnostic test.
4 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
5 If installed, remove the bezel.
6 Remove the system cover.
7 Ensure that the interface cable is securely connected to the optical drive and to the controller.
8 Ensure that a power cable is properly connected to the drive.
9 Install the system cover.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 63

Troubleshooting a tape backup unit
Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 Use a different tape cartridge.
2 Ensure that the device drivers for the tape backup unit are installed and are configured correctly. See your tape drive documentation
for more information about device drivers.
3 Reinstall the tape-backup software as instructed in the tape-backup software documentation.
4 Ensure that the interface cable of the tape drive is connected to the external port on the controller card.
5 Perform the following steps to ensure that the controller card is properly installed:
a Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
b Remove the system cover.
c Reseat the controller card in the expansion card slot.
d Install the system cover.
e Turn on the system and attached peripherals.
6 Run the appropriate diagnostic test. For more information, see the Using system diagnostics.

Next step
If you cannot resolve the problem, see the Getting help section.

Troubleshooting system memory

Prerequisite
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
Steps
1 If the system is operational, run the appropriate diagnostic test. See the Using system diagnostics section for the available diagnostic
tests.
If the diagnostic tests indicate a fault, follow the corrective actions provided by the diagnostic tests.
2 If the system is not operational, turn off the system and attached peripherals, and unplug the system from the power source. Wait at
least for 10 seconds, and then reconnect the system to the power source.
3 Turn on the system and attached peripherals, and note the messages on the screen.
If an error message is displayed indicating a fault with a specific memory module, go to step 12.
4 Enter System Setup, and check the system memory setting. Make any changes to the memory settings, if needed.
If the memory settings match the installed memory but the problem still persists, go to step 12.
5 Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
6 Remove the system cover.
7 Check the memory channels and ensure that they are populated correctly.

NOTE: See the system event log or system messages for the location of the failed memory module. Reinstall the memory
device.
8 Reseat the memory modules in their sockets.
9 Install the system cover.

64 Troubleshooting hardware issues

10 Enter System Setup and check the system memory setting.
If the problem is not resolved, proceed with step 11.
11 Remove the system cover.
12 If a diagnostic test or error message indicates a specific memory module as faulty, swap or replace the module with a known working
memory module.
13 To troubleshoot an unspecified faulty memory module, replace the memory module in the first DIMM socket with a module of the
same type and capacity.
If an error message is displayed on the screen, this may indicate a problem with the installed DIMM type(s), incorrect DIMM
installation, or defective DIMM(s). Follow the on-screen instructions to resolve the problem.
14 Install the system cover.
15 As the system boots, observe any error message that is displayed and the diagnostic indicators on the front of the system.
16 If the memory problem persists, repeat step 12 through step 15 for each memory module installed.

Next step
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

Correctable memory errors in the system logs

About this task
Correctable errors can be classified as hard errors and soft errors. Hard errors typically indicate a problem with the DIMM. Although hard
correctable memory errors are corrected by the system and will not result in system downtime or data corruption, they indicate a problem
with the hardware. Soft errors do not indicate any issue with the DIMM. A soft error occurs when the memory data, ECC bits or both are
incorrect, Such error gets resolved automatically by the system when the error condition is corrected.

When Correctable Memory Errors (CME) occur, try the following steps:
Steps
1 Update the BIOS and firmware.
For more information about updating BIOS and firmware, see your systems documentation at www.dell.com/support
2 Remove and reinstall the memory modules.
3 Run MP Memory test to confirm the failure.
4 Try isolating the faulty memory module by swapping with another identical memory module from the system or installing the module in
a different slot.

Memory errors after system reboots

Issue: Memory errors at POST after system reboot.
Resolution:

1 Update the system BIOS to the latest version.

2 For more assistance call Dell Technical Support.

Memory errors after upgrading memory modules

Issue:After upgrading memory modules, memory errors occurred. System is able to continue after pressing F1.
Solution:

CAUTION: Ensure that all configurations and data is backed up prior to updating BIOS or Firmware.

1 Update the BIOS version to the latest version

Troubleshooting hardware issues 65

2 Update the iDRAC firmware to the latest version

Troubleshooting memory module issues

Following are guidelines to troubleshoot memory module issues:

• Check for the LCD status messages. The server’s LCD screen displays text messages that indicate multi-bit and single-bit errors were
detected in the System Event Log (SEL).
• Run the Dell SupportAssist to identify a faulty DIMM in the memory modules or in the System Event Logs (SEL) logs.
• Run the MPMemory diagnostics, which checks the logs first and then checks the DIMMs. If there is an issue, the test results display an
error.
• Check for POST messaging error beep codes.
• Check for the POST status on the LCD screen.
• Check for memory and system compatibility.
• Delete the Single Bit Errors in the SEL log by using the OMSA, SupportAssist and CTRL-E to clear the SEL logs.
• Clear the Single-Bit Error (SBE) Log and Multi-Bit Error (MBE) Log to resolve the memory issues.
• Check for CPU socket for any bent pins.
• Ensure that the system is using the latest BIOS version. If not, update the BIOS and check if the error occurs.

Prerequisites to follow when installing or upgrading memory

• Identify the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor installed in the system.
• While installing the memory module, ensure that you follow the memory population rules. For more information, see the Memory
population guidelines section.
• Ensure that the memory configurations set in the System BIOS matches with the memory modules installed in the system.

Memory population guidelines

Your system supports Flexible Memory Configuration, enabling the system to be configured and run in any valid chipset architectural
configuration. The recommended guidelines for installing memory modules are as follows:

• Populate DIMM sockets only if a processor is installed in the system.

• Populate release levers for all sockets in the following order-first white, then black, and then green.
• Mixing of different DIMM types is not supported. For example, only RDIMMs, only UDIMMs, or only LRDIMMs can be installed in a
system.
• x4 and x8 DRAM based DIMMs can be mixed.
• Memory modules of different ranks can be mixed. For example, single rank and dual rank memory modules can be mixed. While mixing
DIMMs with different capacities, ensure that you populate the sockets by highest rank count in the following order—first in sockets
with white release levers, then black, and then green. For example, if you want to mix single-rank and dual-rank memory modules,
populate dual-rank memory modules in the sockets with white release tabs and single-rank memory modules in the sockets with black
release tabs. You can only mix maximum of two different rank DIMMs in the system.
• Memory modules of different capacities can be mixed. For example, 4 GB and 8 GB memory modules can be mixed. While installing
memory modules of different capacities, ensure that you populate the sockets with memory modules with highest capacity first. For
example, if you want to mix 4 GB and 8 GB memory modules, populate 8 GB memory modules in the sockets with white release tabs
and 4 GB memory modules in the sockets with black release tabs. You can mix maximum of two memory modules of different capacity.
• In a dual-processor configuration, the memory configuration for each processor should be identical through the first eight slots. For
example, if you populate socket A1 for processor 1, then populate socket B1 for processor 2, and so on.

NOTE: For more information about the system memory guidelines specific to your system, see the Owner’s Manual at Dell.com/
poweredgemanuals.

66 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Memory modes
There are four types of memory modes:

• Advanced ECC (Lockstep)

• Memory Optimized (Independent Channel)
• Memory Sparing
• Memory Mirroring

You can configure the memory modes in the System BIOS. For more information, see the Configuring memory modes section.

Configuring memory modes

About this task
To configure memory modes, follow the procedure listed below:
Steps
1 Turn on or restart your system.
2 Press F2 immediately after you see the following message: <F2> = System Setup.
3 Click System Setup Main menu > System BIOS > Memory Settings.
4 In the Memory Operating Mode field, select the memory mode you want.

Memory Mirroring
In the memory mirroring mode, half of the installed memory is used to mirror the active DIMMs. When an uncorrectable error is detected,
the system switches over to the mirrored copy. This mode offers SDDC and multi-bit protection and also provides strongest DIMM
reliability mode compared to all other modes.

Memory Sparing
In this mode, one rank per channel is reserved as a spare. If persistent correctable errors are detected on a rank, the data from this rank is
copied to the spare rank and the failed rank is disabled.

With memory sparing enabled, the system memory available to the operating system is reduced by one rank per channel. For example, in a
dual-processor configuration with sixteen 4 GB dual-rank DIMMs, the available system memory is: 3/4 (ranks/channel) × 16 (DIMMs) × 4
GB = 48 GB, and not 16 (DIMMs) × 4 GB = 64 GB.

NOTE: Memory sparing does not offer protection against a multi-bit uncorrectable error.

NOTE: Both Advanced ECC or Lockstep and Optimizer modes support Memory Sparing.

Memory optimized (independent channel)

This mode supports SDDC only for memory modules that use x4 device width, and the mode does not impose any specific slot population
requirements.

Advanced ECC
Advanced ECC mode extends SDDC from x4 DRAM based DIMMs to both x4 and x8 DRAMs. This protects against single DRAM chip
failures during normal operation.

Memory lane failure

The disabling of the memory module in the channel results in memory lane failure.
Memory lane failure may occur due to the following reasons:

Troubleshooting hardware issues 67

• The system is not using latest BIOS
• The memory modules are not seated properly on the DIMM sockets in the system.
• The system has a faulty DIMM socket.

Correctable and uncorrectable errors

Correctable errors can be detected and corrected if the chipset and DIMM support this functionality. Correctable errors are generally single
bit errors (SBE). Most of the Dell servers are capable of detecting and correcting single bit errors. In addition, Dell servers with Advanced
ECC mode support can detect and correct multi-bit errors.

Correctable errors can be classified as hard errors and soft errors. Hard errors typically indicate a problem with the DIMM. Although hard
correctable memory errors are corrected by the system and will not result in system downtime or data corruption, they indicate a problem
with the hardware. Soft errors do not indicate any issue with the DIMM. A soft error occurs when the data or ECC bits or both data and
ECC bits on the DIMM are incorrect, but the error will not continue to occur after the data or ECC bits or both data and ECC bits on the
DIMM have been corrected.

Uncorrectable errors are always multi-bit memory errors. While correctable errors do not affect the normal operation of the system,
uncorrectable memory errors will immediately result in a system crash or shutdown of the system when not configured for Mirroring or
RAID AMP modes. Uncorrectable memory errors can typically be isolated down to a failed Bank of DIMMs, rather than the DIMM itself.

System stops responding during POST after upgrading or installing a

memory module
Issue:
During POST, the system stops responding or displays MEMTEST lane failure error message.

Resolution

Ensure the following:

• The system is using the latest BIOS.

• The memory modules are seated properly on the DIMM sockets in the system.
• The system has a no faulty DIMM socket.

How to resolve unsupported or mismatched memory module error

messages reported during POST on a PowerEdge system.
Description:
After installing or upgrading a memory module, when you try to boot the system, an error message appears reporting an unsupported or
mismatched memory module.

Resolution:

• If the memory module was replaced or upgraded, ensure that the maximum memory capacity and the memory type are supported by
the processor installed in the system.
• While installing the memory module, ensure that you follow the memory population rules. For more information, see the Memory
population guidelines section.

68 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Correctable memory error rate exceeded for DIMM_A1
Issue: System encountered a Single bit failure error rate exceeded error at DIMM_1.
NOTE: If the system is new, or has been moved recently, some components, may exhibit symptoms of intermittent connections.
Components including the memory modules may be dislodged due to vibrations. All components should be re-seated before
continuing with the troubleshooting.

Resolution:

1 Update the system with latest BIOS and firmware.

2 Re-seat the memory modules.
3 Run MP Memory test to confirm the failure.
4 If error remains, swap test the memory module by swapping the module with another identical module in the system, see if the error
follows the module or not. For more information see, the Troubleshooting memory issues section.
5 If the issue still persists, contact Dell Technical Support for assistance.

Troubleshooting Memory Single Bit error reported on DIMM

Issue: System may reported memory single bit error(SBE) on particular DIMM (location) but unable to swap memory for diagnostic.
To fix the issue:

1 Update the iDRAC firmware to the latest version before replacing the memory modules.
2 Run the clearmemfailures command to clear the SBE log.
a Open a cmd prompt ensuring that the prompt is at the root.
b Type dir /s dcicfg32.exe to locate the utility.
c Go to that directory and run dcicfg32 command=clearmemfailures

NOTE: If theere is an SBE, there will be fresh information logged in the SEL.
3 Run the MP Memory test to determine the memory failure.
4 If the issue still persists, contact Dell Technical Support for assistance.

Troubleshooting no power issues

Prerequisite
Ensure all power supplies are firmly seated, power cables are connected, and both power supplies are operating.
Steps
1 Swap the AC power cable with a known-good power cable.
If the system works with a known-good AC power cable, replace the power cable.
2 Check the status of the power indicator on the power supply unit (PSU).
• If the power indicator is lit Green, reseat the PSU. If this does not fix the issue, test the system with a good PSU.
• If the power indicator is lit Amber, this indicates a PSU fault condition. Replace the PSU with a good PSU and check the indicator
status.
• If the issue is resolved, consider replacing the PSU.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 69

Troubleshooting power supply units
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.
The following sections provide information on troubleshooting power source and power supply units problems.

Troubleshooting power source problems

1 Press the power button to ensure that your system is turned on. If the power indicator does not glow when the power button is
pressed, press the power button firmly.
2 Plug in another working power supply unit to ensure that the system board is not faulty.
3 Ensure that no loose connections exist.
For example, loose power cables.
4 Ensure that the power source meets applicable standards.
5 Ensure that there are no short circuits.
6 Have a qualified electrician check the line voltage to ensure that it meets the needed specifications.

NOTE: Some power supply units require 200-240V AC to deliver their rated capacity. For more information, see the system
Technical Specifications section in the Installation and Service Manual available at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals.

Troubleshooting power supply unit problems

1 Ensure that no loose connections exist.
For example, loose power cables.
2 Ensure that the power supply handle LED indicates that the power supply is working properly.
3 If you have recently upgraded your system, ensure that the power supply unit has enough power to support the new system.
4 If you have a redundant power supply configuration, ensure that both the power supply units are of the same type and wattage.
If the LED You may have to upgrade to a higher wattage power supply unit.
5 Ensure that you use only power supply units with the Extended Power Performance (EPP) label on the back.
6 Reseat the power supply unit.

NOTE: After installing a power supply unit, allow several seconds for the system to recognize the power supply unit and
determine if it is working properly.
If the problem persists, see the Getting help section.

70 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Troubleshooting RAID
RAID configuration using PERC
How to create RAID volumes
If your system has one or more supported PERC RAID controllers with PERC 8 firmware or later versions, or software RAID controllers,
use the RAID Configuration wizard to configure a virtual disk as the boot device. RAID volumes can be created using several interfaces.
Here we are creating a RAID volume using Lifecycle controller.
To configure RAID using LC, complete the following steps:

1 Start Lifecycle Controller. For more information, see Lifecycle Controller User's Guide available at www.dell.com/idracmanuals.
2 In the left pane, click Hardware Configuration.
3 In the right pane, click Configuration wizards.
4 Under Storage configuration wizard, click RAID configuration to launch the wizard.
The View Current RAID Configuration and Select Controller page is displayed.

NOTE: BOSS-S1 controller is supported at RAID 1 level only.

5 Select the controller which you want to use and click Next.
The Select RAID Level page is displayed.
6 Select the RAID level and click Next.
The Select Physical Disks page is displayed.
7 Select the physical disk and click Next.
The Virtual Disk Attributes page is displayed.
8 Select the virtual disk parameters and click Next.
The Summary page is displayed.
9 To apply the RAID configuration, click Finish.

For more information about creating a RAID using other interfaces, see Lifecycle Controller User's Guide available at www.dell.com/
idracmanuals

Creating a secured virtual disk

A virtual disk can be either secured or unsecured depending on how it was configured when created. The Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller
(PERC) cards support Self-Encrypting Disks (SED) for protection of data against loss or theft of SEDs.
Prerequisite
The controller must have a security key present and must contain SEDs only.
About this task
To create a secured virtual disk, do the following:
Steps
1 During host system bootup, press Ctrl + R after the BIOS screen is displayed.
The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed. If there is more than one controller, the main menu screen is displayed. Select a
controller, and press Enter. The Virtual Disk Management screen is displayed for the selected controller.
2 Use the arrow keys to highlight the PERC series of adapters.
For example, PERC H730P Adapter or Disk Group #.
3 Press F2.
A list of available actions is displayed.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 71

4 Select Create New VD, and set the Secure VD option as Yes.

Next step
NOTE:
To select or configure a non-SED, you must create an unsecured virtual disk. You can create an unsecured virtual disk even if there is a
security key. From the Create New VD menu, select the Secure VD option as No.

For more information about creating a virtual disk, see the Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) User’s Guide at Dell.com/
storagecontrollermanuals.

Rebuild
Select Rebuild to rebuild one or more failed physical disks.
Several of the controller configuration settings and the virtual disk settings affect the actual rate of rebuild. The factors include the rebuild
rate setting, virtual disk stripe size, virtual disk read policy, virtual disk write policy, and the amount of workload placed on the storage
subsystem. For information on getting the best rebuild performance from your RAID controller, see the documentation at Dell.com/
storagecontrollermanuals.

The listed rates in the following table were taken during single disk failure with no I/O. Rates vary depending on type, speed and number of
hard drives present in array; as well as which controller model and enclosure configuration are being used.

Table 17. Estimated rebuild rates

RAID level Number of Hard Drives 7.2 K rpm 12 Gbps SAS Hard 15 K rpm 6 Gbps SAS Hard
Drive Drive
RAID 1 2 320 GB/hour 500 GB/hour

RAID 5 6 310 GB/hour 480 GB/hour

RAID 10 6 320 GB/hour 500 GB/hour

RAID 5 24 160 GB/hour 240 GB/hour

RAID 10 24 380 GB/hour 500 GB/hour

Rebuilding the physical disks after multiple disks become simultaneously inaccessible
About this task
Multiple physical disk errors in a single array typically indicate a failure in cabling or connection and could involve the loss of data. You can
recover the virtual disk after multiple physical disks become simultaneously inaccessible.
Perform the following steps to recover the virtual disk:

Steps
1 Turn off the system, check cable connections, and reseat physical disks.
2 Ensure that all the drives are present in the enclosure.
3 Turn on the system and enter the CTRL+R utility and import the foreign configuration. Press <"F"> at the prompt to import the
configuration, or press <"C"> to enter the BIOS configuration utility and either import or clear the foreign configuration.
4 If the virtual disk is redundant and transitioned to Degraded state before going Offline, a rebuild operation starts automatically after the
configuration is imported.
5 If the virtual disk has gone directly to the Offline state due to a cable pull or power loss situation, the virtual disk is imported in its
Optimal state without a rebuild occurring.
6 You can use the BIOS Configuration Utility or Dell OpenManage storage management application to perform a manual rebuild of
multiple physical disks.

72 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Importing a foreign configuration using PERC
About this task
Some controllers enable you to import a foreign configuration so that virtual disks are not lost after moving the physical disks. You can
import a foreign configuration only if it contains a virtual disk that is either in a Ready or Degraded state. In other words, all of the virtual
disk data must be present, but if the virtual disk is using a redundant RAID level, the additional redundant data is not required. For example,
if the foreign configuration contains only one side of a mirror in a RAID 1 virtual disk, then the virtual disk is in a Degraded state and can be
imported. On the other hand, if the foreign configuration contains only one physical disk that was originally configured as a RAID 5 using
three physical disks, then the RAID 5 virtual disk is in a Failed state and cannot be imported. In addition to virtual disks, a foreign
configuration may consist of a physical disk that was assigned as a hot spare on one controller and then moved to another controller. The
Import Foreign Configuration task imports the new physical disk as a hot spare. If the physical disk was set as a dedicated hot spare on
the previous controller, but the virtual disk to which the hot spare was assigned is no longer present in the foreign configuration, then the
physical disk is imported as a global hot spare. The Import Foreign Configuration task is only displayed when the controller has detected a
foreign configuration. You can also identify whether a physical disk contains a foreign configuration (virtual disk or hot spare) by checking
the physical disk state. If the physical disk state is Foreign, then the physical disk contains all or some portion of a virtual disk or has a hot
spare assignment. If you have an incomplete foreign configuration which cannot be imported, you can use the Clearing Foreign
Configuration option to erase the foreign data on the physical disks.
NOTE: The task of importing foreign configuration imports all virtual disks residing on physical disks that have been added to the
controller. If more than one foreign virtual disk is present, all the configurations are imported.
When a foreign configuration exists, the BIOS screen displays the message Foreign configuration(s) found on adapter. In addition, a
foreign configuration is displayed on the right side of the Ctrl Mgmt screen. To import or clear a foreign configuration, do the following:
Steps
1 During bootup, press Ctrl + R when prompted by the BIOS screen.
The VD Mgmt screen is displayed by default.
2 On the VD Mgmt screen, highlight the Controller #.
3 Press F2 to display the available actions.
4 Navigate to the Foreign Config option and press the right arrow key to display the available actions:
• Import
• Clear

NOTE: Ensure that your virtual disk has all the hard drives by verifying that there are no hard drives marked as Missing in
the foreign view page and that all the disks are displayed as expected before importing them.
5 Select Import to import the foreign configuration or Clear to delete the foreign configuration and then press Enter.
If you import the configuration, the VD Mgmt screen displays detailed configuration information. It includes information about the disk
groups, virtual disks, hard drives, space allocation, and hot spares.

Next steps
You can export the TTY PERC Controller Log using OpenManage Server Administrator to analyze the cause for the issue.
If you have replaced the failed drive with a working drive, then the automated rebuild does not work. You must configure a hot spare to
rebuild your RAID volume.

If the firmware of controller is out of date, update the firmware/PERC controller.

Configuring hot spare

1 Enter the Dell PERC 10 Configuration Utility. See the Navigating to Dell PERC 10 configuration utility section.
2 Click Main Menu > Controller Management > Advanced Controller Properties.
3 Click Spare.
The following list of options are displayed:

Troubleshooting hardware issues 73

 NOTE: If there are Pending jobs in the queue, you can delete the pending jobs and assign the physical disk as hot spare. This
allows the replaced physical disk to start the rebuilding process
• Persistent Hot Spare — allows you to enable or disable the ability to have same system backplane or storage enclosure disk slots
dedicated as hot spare slots.
• Allow Replace Member with Revertible Hot Spare — allows you to enable or disable the option to copy the data form a hot spare
disk to physical disk.
• Auto Replace Member on Predictive Failure — allows you to enable or disable the option to start a Replace Member operation if a
predictive failure error is detected on a physical disk.
4 Select the applicable option and click Apply Changes.
The changes made are saved successfully.

RAID configuration using OpenManage Server Administrator

For more information about the OpenManage Server Administrator RAID Configuration video, go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLe5xhhyFjDPfL6NsJ29FXLVsP9uE-AFO0.

Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard

The Create Virtual Disk Wizard allows you to select the wizard type and the RAID level. The Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard
calculates the appropriate virtual disk configuration based on the available space and controller requirements. To make your own selections
for the virtual disk configuration, select the Advanced Wizard option.
About this task
This task is not supported on PERC hardware controllers running in HBA mode. To create a virtual disk by using the Create Virtual Disk
Express Wizard, perform the following steps:
Steps
1 On the upper-left corner of the Server Administrator page, expand Storage .
2 Click PERC Controller.
3 Click Virtual Disks.
The Virtual Disk(s) on Controller <Controller Name> page is displayed.
4 Click Go to the Create Virtual Disk Wizard.
The Create Virtual Disk Wizard <Controller Name> page is displayed.
5 Select the Express Wizard option and the RAID level from the drop-down menu.
6 Click Continue.
The Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard - <Controller Name> page displays the summary of attributes of the selected RAID level.
The attributes include Bus Protocol, Stripe Element Size, Read Policy, and the selected physical disk. The default values of the
virtual disk attributes excluding the RAID level are recommended for the selected RAID level.
7 In the Name field, type a name for the virtual disk.
The virtual disk name can contain only alphanumeric characters, spaces, dashes, and underscores. The maximum length of the virtual
disk name depends on the controller. In most cases, the maximum length is 15 characters. The name cannot start with a space or end
with a space.

NOTE: Dell recommends that you specify a unique name for each virtual disk. If you have virtual disks with the same name,
it is difficult to differentiate the generated alerts.
8 In the Size field, type the size of the virtual disk.
The virtual disk size must be within the minimum and maximum values displayed against the Size field.
In some cases, the virtual disk is slightly larger than the size you specify. The Create Virtual Disk Wizard adjusts the size of the virtual
disk to avoid rendering a portion of the physical disk space unusable.
9 If you want to change your selections, click Go Back To Previous Page to return to Create Virtual Disk Express Wizard page.
10 Click Finish to complete the virtual disk creation or click Exit Wizard to cancel the virtual disk creation.

74 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 For PERC H700 and PERC H800 controllers, if any of the drives you selected is in the spun down state, the following message is
displayed:
The below listed physical drive(s) are in the Spun Down state. Executing this task on these
drive(s) takes additional time, because the drive(s) need to spun up.

The message displays the ID(s) of the spun down drive(s).

NOTE: When the hard drive is in the spun down state, the drive is not in active use.

The virtual disk is displayed on the Virtual Disk(s) on Controller <Controller Name> page.

Create virtual disk Advanced Wizard

The Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard allows you to specify the read, write, cache policy, and parameters such as RAID level, bus
protocol, media type, and encrypted disk for the virtual disk. You can also select the physical disks and the controller connector. You must
have a good knowledge of RAID levels and hardware to use the Advanced Wizard. If you want the wizard to recommend a virtual disk
configuration for you, select the Express Wizard option.
About this task
NOTE: This task is not supported on PERC hardware controllers running in HBA mode.

To create a virtual disk using the Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard:

Steps
1 On the upper-right corner of the Server Administrator page, click Storage.
2 Click <PERC Controller>.
3 Click Virtual Disks.
The Virtual Disk(s) on Controller <Controller Name> page is displayed.
4 Click Go to the Create Virtual Disk Wizard.
The Create Virtual Disk Wizard <Controller Name> page is displayed.
5 Select the Advanced Wizard option.
6 To make sure that only encrypted physical disks are used to create the virtual disk, select Yes from the Create Encrypted Virtual Disk
drop-down list.
The RAID levels are available for selection based on the number of encrypted physical disks.
If you select No, the RAID levels are available based on the total number of physical disks present on the system.
7 Select the required RAID level from the drop-down menu.
8 Select Bus Protocol.
The options are:
• SAS
• SATA
9 Select Media Type.
The available options are:
• HDD
• SSD
10 Click Continue.

NOTE: If you are creating an encrypted virtual disk, only the encrypted physical disks are displayed. Else, both encrypted
and unencrypted physical disks are displayed.

Example:

Connector 0

Troubleshooting hardware issues 75

 The Connector section of the page displays the connectors on the controller and the disks attached to each connector. Select the
disks you want to include in the virtual disk. In this example, the controller has a single connector with five disks.
• Physical disk 0:0
• Physical disk 0:1
• Physical disk 0:2
• Physical disk 0:3
• Physical disk 0:4

Physical Disks Selected

The Physical Disks Selected section of the page displays the disks you have chosen. In this example, two disks are selected.
• Physical disk 0:0
• Physical disk 0:1

Each RAID level has specific requirements for the number of disks that must be selected. RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60 also have
requirements for the number of disks that must be included in each stripe or span.

If the controller is a SAS controller with firmware version 6.1 and later, and you selected RAID 10, RAID 50, and RAID 60, the user
interface displays the following:

• All Disks—Enables you to select all the physical disks in all the enclosures.
• Enclosure—Enables you to select all physical disks in the enclosure.

NOTE: The All Disks and Enclosure options enable you to edit spans after selecting the physical disks that comprise them.
You can remove a span and specify a span again with different physical disks before proceeding.
• Number of Disks per Span — Enables you to select the number of disks in each span (default = 2). This option is available only on
SAS controllers with firmware version 6.1 and later.

NOTE: This option is available only if Intelligent Mirroring is selected on the Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard page.

NOTE: On a SAS controller with firmware version 6.1 and later, RAID 10 supports only even number of disks per span and a
maximum of 8 spans with 32 disks in each span.
Let us consider that the controller has three enclosures with six physical disks each (total number of available disks = 3 x 6 =18
disks). If you select four disks per span, the controller creates four spans (18 disks/4 disks per span = 4 spans). The last two disks
of the last enclosure are not part of RAID 10.
• Select the number of disks to create a single spanned virtual disk list box — Enables you to create a single span virtual disk with
22 or 26 physical drives for PERC controllers. This list box option is displayed only if you have selected RAID 10 in step 1 and the
system has 22 or more physical drives.

NOTE: Only physical disks that comply with the virtual disk parameters, selected in the Create Virtual Disk Wizard page
are displayed.
11 Select the required connector and the corresponding physical disk, and click Continue.
12 In the Name field, type a name for the virtual disk.
The virtual disk name can contain only alphanumeric characters, spaces, dashes, and underscores. The maximum length depends on
the controller. In most cases, the maximum length is 15 characters.

The name cannot start with a space or end with a space. If you have virtual disks with the same name, it is hard to differentiate the
generated alerts, Dell recommends that you specify a unique name for each virtual disk.
13 In the Size field, type the size of the virtual disk.
The virtual disk size must be within the minimum and maximum values displayed near the Size field.

In some cases, the virtual disk is slightly larger than the size you specify. The Create Virtual Disk Wizard adjusts the size of the virtual
disk to avoid rendering a portion of the physical disk space unusable.

76 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 NOTE:
• If a physical disk is receiving a SMART alert, it cannot be used in a virtual disk.
• For a controller that has more than one channel, it may be possible to configure a virtual disk that is channel-
redundant.
Depending on the RAID level you selected and the virtual disk size, this page displays the disks and connectors (channels or ports)
available for configuring the virtual disk.

NOTE: The Size field displays the default size of the virtual disk depending upon the RAID configuration you selected.
However, you can also specify a different size based on your requirement. The virtual disk size must be within the minimum
and maximum values displayed against the Size field. In some cases, the virtual disk is slightly larger than the size you
specify. The Create Virtual Disk Wizard adjusts the size of the virtual disk to avoid rendering a portion of the physical disk
space unusable.
14 Select a stripe size from the Stripe Element Size drop-down list box. The stripe size refers to the amount of space that each stripe
consumes on a single disk.
15 Select the required read, write, and disk cache policy from the respective drop-down list box. These selections can vary depending on
the controller.

NOTE:
• There is limited support for write policy on controllers that do not have a battery. The cache policy is not supported on
controllers that do not have a battery.
• If you have selected the Create Encrypted Virtual Disk option in Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard, then in the
Summary of Virtual Disk Attributes, an Encrypted Virtual Disk attribute is displayed with a value Yes.
16 Click Span Edit to edit the spans created in Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard.

CAUTION: If you click Span Edit, Intelligent Mirroring that has already been applied becomes invalid.

NOTE: The Span Edit option is available in the following two cases:
• Only if the controller is a SAS controller with firmware 6.1 and later.
• If you selected RAID 10 while using Create virtual disk Advanced Wizard.
17 If you want to change your selections, click Go Back To Previous Page to return to Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard page.
18 Click Finish to complete the virtual disk creation or click Exit Wizard to cancel the virtual disk creation.
The virtual disk is displayed in the Virtual Disk(s) on Controller <Controller Name> page.
For PERC H700 and PERC H800 controllers, if any of the drives you selected is in the spun down state, the following message is
displayed:
The below listed physical drive(s) are in the spun down state. Executing this task on these
drive(s) takes additional time, because the drive(s) need to spun up.

The message displays the ID(s) of the spun down drive(s).

The Create Virtual Disk Advanced Wizard - <Controller Name> page displays a checkbox next to each physical disk that is suitable
as a dedicated hot spare. Select a Physical Disk checkbox if you want to assign a dedicated hot spare.

The Physical Disk checkbox is not available if the controller does not have a physical disk that is a suitable hot spare for the virtual
disk you are creating. For example, the available physical disks may not be sufficient to protect the virtual disk. If the Physical Disk
checkbox is not available, specify a smaller virtual disk, use a different RAID level, or change the disk selection.

NOTE: If you are creating an encrypted virtual disk, then encrypted physical disks are listed as candidates for hot spare.

RAID configuration by using Unified Server Configurator

The Unified Server Configurators (USC)’s main features include operating system deployment, firmware updates, hardware configuration,
and diagnostics. The UEFI specification creates framework for many powerful applications that run without an operating system. The UEFI

Troubleshooting hardware issues 77

specification includes the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) protocol that allows for Trusted Platform Module (TPM) measurements and
secure updates which USC leverages to its fullest extent.

1 Select the RAID configuration tab to create the virtual disk as the boot device.
2 On the View Current Configuration screen, you can view a list of current controllers and virtual disks installed in the system.
a If the virtual disk or disks exist in the system, click Exit to exit the screen and continue with operating system installation. if the
virtual disk or disks do not exist in the system, continue with the new virtual disk creation process.
3 On the Select RAID Controller screen, select the controller on which to configure a virtual disk.
• If the selected controller contains a foreign configuration, the Foreign Configuration Detected screen is displayed.
• Depending on the foreign configuration, you have the option to either Clear, Import or Ignore the foreign configuration.
• If you select the Clear Foreign Configuration option, all the data gets deleted on the drives containing the foreign configuration,
thereby allowing the drives to be used in a new configuration.
• Selecting Import Foreign Configuration attempts to import the foreign configuration.
• Selecting Ignore Foreign Configuration leaves the drives in their current state and uses free drives to create a new configuration.

NOTE: Selecting the Ignore Foreign Configuration causes the system to generate alerts and error messages every time the
system is started.
4 Select either the Express Wizard or Advanced Wizard window on the Select a Configuration Option screen.

78 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 Figure 15. Flowchart of Unified Server Configurator’s RAID configuration process

5 The Express option selects the appropriate disks depending upon the RAID type selected for virtual disk creation.
The Summary screen is displayed. You can review the choices selected during the Express wizard.
6 Click Finish to create the virtual disk to be used for operating system installation.
7 The Advanced option takes you to a series of more screens. Select the RAID type on the Basic Settings screen. On the Select
Physical Disks screen, select the physical disks that are the part of the virtual disk.
The Additional Settings screen is displayed to define additional parameters for the virtual disk, such as stripe element size, read and
write policy, and whether or not to assign a hot spare disk. The Summary of virtual disk attributes is displayed.
8 Click Finish to create virtual disk to be used for operating system installation.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 79

Downloading and installing the RAID controller log export by
using PERCCLI tool on ESXi hosts on Dell’s 13th generation of
PowerEdge servers
To export information about the status of the RAID controller and its attached hard drives, you can use the PERCCLI tool. To download and
install the RAID controller log export by using PERCCLI tool on ESXi hosts on Dell’s 13th generation of PowerEdge servers, perform the
following steps:

1 Download the latest verison of PERCCLI for ESX tool from www.dell.com/support.
2 To upload the PERCCLI tool to Datastore:
a Select the host (1), and then click on the Configuration tab (2).
b In the Hardware panel, select Storage (3) and right-click datastore1.

Figure 16. vSphere Client

a In Datastore Browser, click Upload, and then click Upload File.

Figure 17. Datastore Browser

3 To enable Secure Socket Shell (SSH) select host (1), and then click on the Configuration tab (2). In the Software panel, select
Security Profile (3). In Services, click Properties (4) at the upper-right corner of the screen.

80 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Figure 18. Configuration tab

a In the Services properties window, select SSH (1), and then click Options... (2)

Troubleshooting hardware issues 81

 Figure 19. Open SSH Options

b In the SSH Options window, click Start (1), and then click OK (2) to activate the service.

82 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 Figure 20. Start SSH Service

4 To unzip vmware-esx-perccli, open an SSH connection via PUTTY and run the command: unzip /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/
vmware-esx-perccli-1.05.08.zip
PUTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network
protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. You can download it from Google. The files vmware-esx-
perccli-1.05.08.vib and Readme.txt are now extracted to: /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/

WARNING: Please check the correct path (e.g. datastore1) according to your installation package
5 Install PERCCLI by using command: esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/vmware-esx-
perccli-1.05.08.vib --no-sig-check

Figure 21. Install PERCCLI

6 Go to directory /opt/lsi/perccli by using command: cd /opt/lsi/perccli

7 Collect the logs by using command: ./perccli /c0 show termlog

Troubleshooting hardware issues 83

 The log is created with the name: #### MegaSAS.log

Figure 22. Log creation

8 Copy MegaSAS.log to datastore by using command:cp /opt/lsi/perccli/MegaSAS.log /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/

9 Copy the file to desktop with Datastore Browser.

Figure 23. Log file in Datastore Browser

Now the logs are exported on ESXi hosts on the Dell 13th generation PowerEdge servers.

Configuring RAID by using Lifecycle Controller

Prerequisite
If your system has one or more supported PERC RAID controllers with PERC 8 firmware or later, or software RAID controllers, use the
RAID Configuration wizard to configure a virtual disk as the boot device.
NOTE: Create boot virtual disk only from a disk drive populated across slots 0–3 of the system. For slot information, see the
server Owner’s Manual at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals.

84 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Steps
1 Launch the Lifecycle Controller home page, click Hardware Configuration, and then click Configuration Wizards.
The Configuration Wizards window is displayed.
2 In Storage Configuration Wizards, click RAID Configuration.
3 Select the RAID controller to view its current virtual disk configuration and disk attributes. Click Next.
4 Select the RAID level for the virtual disk that you want to create and click Next.
5 On the Select Physical Disks screen, the default values for Protocol, Media Type, and Encryption capability are displayed.
6 Select the required physical disks that you want to include in the virtual disk, and then click Next.
7 On the Virtual Disk Attributes screen, type the virtual disk name.

NOTE: The virtual disk name should not contain any space or special characters.
8 Type the size of the physical disk.
The values for Stripe Element Size, Read Policy, and Write Policy are displayed by default.
9 If you want to change the values for Stripe Element, Read Policy and Write Policy, select the required values from the respective
drop-down lists.
The Summary of virtual disk attributes is displayed.
10 Click Finish .
11 On the RAID Configuration Warning window, click Yes if you wish to continue with the creation of virtual disk.
The RAID Configuration window is displayed. Note that this operation might take approximately one minute to complete.
12 When the virtual disk is created successfully, the RAID Configuration Success window is displayed. Click OK.
You are taken to the Hardware configuration window. Click Back to go to the home page.
13 You can verify, if the RAID operation was successful by checking the events in the Lifecycle Log.
a Click View Lifecycle Log History. The View Lifecycle Log window is displayed. Note that this operation might take few minutes.
b On the View Log History page, you can verify if the RAID operation is successful. For more information about Dell Lifecycle
controller, go toDell.com/ techcenter/LC .
For more information about the Dell Lifecycle Controller RAID Configuration video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=JFPmeHNENV4

Starting and target RAID levels for virtual disk reconfiguration

and capacity expansion
After you have created a virtual disk, the possibilities for reconfiguring the virtual disk depend on the controller, RAID level, and available
physical disks.

Table 18. Possible scenarios for reconfiguring a virtual disk

Controller Starting RAID Level Target RAID Level Comments

PERC 6/E, PERC 6/I, PERC RAID 0 RAID 1 Add a single disk
H800 Adapter, PERC H700
RAID 0 RAID 0, RAID 5 Add at least one additional disk.
Adapter, PERC H700 Integrated,
and PERC H700 Modular, PERC RAID 0 RAID 6 RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4
H310 Adapter, PERC H310 Mini disks.
Monolithic, PERC H310 Mini Reconfiguration from RAID 0 to
Blades, PERC H710 Adapter, RAID 6 requires at least 2
PERC H710 Mini Blades, PERC additional disks even when this
H710 Mini Monolithic, PERC exceeds the 4-disk minimum
H710P Adapter, PERC H710P required by RAID 6
Mini Blades, PERC H710P Mini
Monolithic, PERC H810 Adapter, RAID 1 RAID 0 With or without adding
additional disks

Troubleshooting hardware issues 85

Controller Starting RAID Level Target RAID Level Comments
PERC H330 Adapter, PERC RAID 1 RAID 5, RAID 6 Add at least one additional disk.
H330 Mini Monolithic, PERC RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4
H330 Mini Blades, PERC H330 disks.
Embedded, PERC H730 Adapter,
PERC H730 Mini Monolithic, RAID 5 RAID 0 With or without adding
PERC H730 Mini Blades, PERC additional disks
H730P Adapter, PERC H730P
Mini Monolithic, PERC H730P RAID 5 RAID 5, RAID 6 Add at least one additional disk.
Mini Blades, PERC H730P Slim, RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4
disks.
PERC H830 Adapter, PERC
FD33xD/FD33xS
RAID 6 RAID 0, RAID 5 With or without adding
additional disks

RAID 6 RAID 6 Add at least one additional disk

RAID 10 RAID 10 Without adding additional disks

SAS 6/iR N/A N/A N/A

PERC S100, S110, S130, and RAID 0 RAID 0 With or without additional disks
S300
RAID 1 RAID 1 Without additional disks

RAID 5 RAID 5 With or without additional disks

RAID 10 RAID 10 Without additional disks

NOTE: The order of the controllers displayed on Storage Management may differ from the order of the controllers displayed in
the Human Interface (HII) and PERC Option ROM. The order of the controllers does not cause any limitation.

NOTE: When creating virtual disks using software RAID controllers, the information related to the physical disks linked to the
virtual disk is enumerated or displayed on Storage Management after a short delay. This delay in displaying the information does
not cause any functional limitation. If you are creating partial virtual disks, Dell recommends that you provide Storage
Management adequate time between each partial virtual disk creation process.

NOTE: RAID 10 virtual disk reconfiguration operation is not supported with Intelligent Mirroring.

Replacing physical disks in RAID1 configuration

About this task
Perform the following steps to replace physical disks in RAID1 configuration:

Steps
1 In the Virtual Disk Management window, select Virtual Disk # and press the down-arrow key until Physical Disks are highlighted.
2 Press the right-arrow key to expand the list of physical disks that are members of the virtual disk.
3 Press the down-arrow key and highlight the desired physical disk you want to replace. Press <F2> to expand the list of allowed
operations on the disk.
4 Select Replace.
5 Select Start.
6 Press the down-arrow to highlight a replacement disk and then press the spacebar to select the disk.
7 Select OK to start the replacement.

NOTE: The replacement disk must be a hot spare or an unconfigured disk without a foreign configuration. It must have the
same or greater capacity and should be of the same type as the disk it is replacing.

86 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 NOTE: Each physical disk in the RAID1 configuration should be replaced one by one.

Thumb rules for RAID configuration

The following are the thumb rules for RAID configuration:

• Both drives should be of same size.

• Both drives should be of same type.
• Both drives should run at same speed.

Reconfiguring or migrating virtual disks

About this task
Reconfiguring or migrating a virtual disk (VDs) enables you to increase the capacity or change the RAID level of the virtual disk.

NOTE: In the PERC BIOS Configuration Utility window, with software RAID S110 and S130 controllers, if a physical disk
(supports SATA SSD or HDD and does not support SAS drives) is removed from a virtual disk and the same physical disk is
reinserted (hot plug) into the virtual disk instantly, then the virtual disk state is displayed as Ready or Non RAID (for the PERC
S110 and S100) and the physical disk state is displayed as Online. However, if the same physical disk is reinserted after a short
delay, then the virtual disk state is displayed as Degraded and the physical disk state is displayed as Ready.
To reconfigure a virtual disk:

Steps
1 Review the information in the Starting and Target RAID Levels for Virtual Disk Reconfiguration and Capacity Expansion section in this
document.
2 In the tree view, locate the controller on which the virtual disk resides. Expand the controller object until the Virtual Disks object is
displayed.
3 Select the Reconfigure task from the virtual disk’s Tasks drop-down list box and click Execute.
4 Complete the Reconfigure task using the Reconfigure wizard.

Starting and target RAID levels for virtual disk reconfiguration and
capacity expansion
After you have created a virtual disk, the possibilities for reconfiguring the virtual disk depend on the controller, RAID level, and available
physical disks.

Table 19. Possible scenarios for reconfiguring a virtual disk

Controller Starting RAID Level Target RAID Level Comments

PERC 6/E, PERC 6/I, PERC RAID 0 RAID 1 Add a single disk
H800 Adapter, PERC H700
RAID 0 RAID 0, RAID 5 Add at least one additional disk.
Adapter, PERC H700 Integrated,
and PERC H700 Modular, PERC RAID 0 RAID 6 RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4
H310 Adapter, PERC H310 Mini disks.
Monolithic, PERC H310 Mini Reconfiguration from RAID 0 to
Blades, PERC H710 Adapter, RAID 6 requires at least 2
PERC H710 Mini Blades, PERC additional disks even when this
H710 Mini Monolithic, PERC exceeds the 4-disk minimum
H710P Adapter, PERC H710P required by RAID 6
Mini Blades, PERC H710P Mini

Troubleshooting hardware issues 87

Controller Starting RAID Level Target RAID Level Comments
Monolithic, PERC H810 Adapter, RAID 1 RAID 0 With or without adding
PERC H330 Adapter, PERC additional disks
H330 Mini Monolithic, PERC
RAID 1 RAID 5, RAID 6 Add at least one additional disk.
H330 Mini Blades, PERC H330
Embedded, PERC H730 Adapter, RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4
disks.
PERC H730 Mini Monolithic,
PERC H730 Mini Blades, PERC
H730P Adapter, PERC H730P RAID 5 RAID 0 With or without adding
Mini Monolithic, PERC H730P additional disks
Mini Blades, PERC H730P Slim, RAID 5 RAID 5, RAID 6 Add at least one additional disk.
PERC H830 Adapter, PERC RAID 6 requires a minimum of 4
FD33xD/FD33xS disks.

RAID 6 RAID 0, RAID 5 With or without adding

additional disks

RAID 6 RAID 6 Add at least one additional disk

RAID 10 RAID 10 Without adding additional disks

SAS 6/iR N/A N/A N/A

PERC S100, S110, S130, and RAID 0 RAID 0 With or without additional disks
S300
RAID 1 RAID 1 Without additional disks

RAID 5 RAID 5 With or without additional disks

RAID 10 RAID 10 Without additional disks

NOTE: The order of the controllers displayed on Storage Management may differ from the order of the controllers displayed in
the Human Interface (HII) and PERC Option ROM. The order of the controllers does not cause any limitation.

NOTE: When creating virtual disks using software RAID controllers, the information related to the physical disks linked to the
virtual disk is enumerated or displayed on Storage Management after a short delay. This delay in displaying the information does
not cause any functional limitation. If you are creating partial virtual disks, Dell recommends that you provide Storage
Management adequate time between each partial virtual disk creation process.

NOTE: RAID 10 virtual disk reconfiguration operation is not supported with Intelligent Mirroring.

Foreign Configuration Operations

Foreign configuration is virtual disk data residing on physical disks that have been moved from one controller to another.

The Foreign Configuration Operations task provides a preview of the foreign configurations that you can import.

NOTE: On the PERC BIOS Configuration Utility screen, foreign configuration operations are not supported on PERC hardware
controllers running in HBA mode.
NOTE: Foreign Configuration Operations task is available only on PERC 6 and SAS controllers with firmware versions 6.1 and
later.
NOTE: It is not recommended to remove an external enclosure cable while the operating system is running on the system.
Removing the cable could result in a foreign configuration when the connection is re-established.
The Foreign Configuration Operations task is displayed only when a controller detects a foreign configuration. Select this option and click
Execute to display the Foreign Configuration Preview page.

88 Troubleshooting hardware issues

The Foreign Configuration Preview page provides a preview of the foreign disks and enables you to perform operations such as, importing,
recovering, or clearing the foreign disks. You can also import or clear a locked foreign configuration.

If any foreign configurations that are locked by using Local Key manager (LKM) are detected, the associated Encryption Key Identifier is
displayed prompting you to provide the corresponding passphrase to unlock the drives.

To avoid unlocking foreign configurations and to proceed to preview, import, or clear a foreign configuration that has not been locked, on
the PERC BIOS Configuration Utility Foreign Configuration screen, click Skip or Continue.

If you do not want to import or clear the foreign configurations, or in case of loss of the associated passphrase of the corresponding
Encryption Key Identifier, execute the Instant Encrypt Erase task for the physical disks.

CAUTION: Executing the Instant Encrypt Erase task erases all data on the physical disk.

Some conditions, such as an unsupported RAID level or an incomplete disk group, can prevent the import or recovery of foreign virtual
disks.

Foreign Configuration properties

The following table describes the properties that are displayed on the PERC BIOS Configuration Utility Foreign Configuration screen for
the Foreign Disks and Global Hot Spares.

Table 20. Memory channels

Property Definition
Status These icons represent the severity or health of the storage component.

• —Normal/OK

• —Warning/Non-critical

• —Critical/Failure/Error

Name Displays the name of the foreign configuration and is available as a link. This
link enables you to access the physical disks that constitute the foreign disk.

State Displays the current state of the foreign configuration. Possible values are:

• Ready — The foreign disk can be imported and functions normally after
import.
• Degraded — The foreign disk is in degraded state and rebuilds after
import.
• Failed — The foreign disk has encountered a failure and is no longer
functioning. You cannot import the foreign configuration.

The foreign configuration may be in degraded or failed state due to any of

the following reasons:

• Missing physical disk — One of the physical disk(s) in the potential

virtual disk is missing or not available.
• Missing span — One or more spans of a hybrid virtual disk is missing.
• Stale physical disks — One or more physical disks in the configuration
may contain out-of-date data relating to other disks of that virtual disk.
Hence, the data integrity of the imported virtual disk is not intact.
• Unsupported configuration of the virtual disk — The virtual disk has an
unsupported RAID level.
• Import and Export — The virtual disks available for import exceed the
number of virtual disks available for export.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 89

Property Definition

• Incompatible physical disks — Configuration on the physical disks is not

recognized by the RAID firmware.
• Orphan drive — A physical disk in the foreign configuration has
configuration information that matches another physical disk that is
already a part of an array (either a foreign or a native array).

Layout Displays the RAID level of the foreign configuration.

Remarks Provides information about the foreign virtual disk. If the virtual disk cannot
be imported, the reason for failure is displayed.

• Exceeded maximum — The number of virtual disks selected for import

has exceeded the maximum number of supported disks.
• Missing physical disk or Missing span — One or more physical disk(s) or
span(s) in the virtual disk to be imported is missing.
• Unsupported — The selected RAID level is not supported on this
controller.
• Orphan drive — The physical disk has been replaced and is no longer a
part of the RAID volume. The configuration should be cleared.
• Stale physical disk — The physical disk to be imported in the virtual disk
has outdated data.
• Partially foreign — The virtual disk is part of an already existing
configuration. Some physical disks in this virtual disk are foreign.

Dedicated Hot Spare Displays whether the foreign disk is a dedicated hot spare.

Based on the properties information, you can decide whether you want to import, recover, or clear the foreign configuration.

Viewing Patrol Read report

The patrol read report provides information on all the patrol reads performed on the controller in the chronological order. It provides
information such as last run time and result. If a patrol read fails, the reason for the failure is displayed.

Setting Patrol Read mode

NOTE: This task is not supported on PERC hardware controllers running in HBA mode.

Patrol read identifies disk errors in order to avoid disk failures and data loss or corruption. The Set Patrol Read task is applicable only for
disks used as virtual disks or hot spares.

The Set Patrol Read task runs in the background and corrects the disk errors, when possible. When the Set Patrol Read mode is set to
Auto, patrol read is initiated when the controller is idle for a specific period of time and when no other background tasks are active. In this
scenario, the patrol read enhances the system performance as disk errors can be identified and corrected when there is no input/output
activity on the disk.

The controller adjusts the amount of system resources dedicated for patrol read based on the amount of controller activity that is
competing with the Patrol Read task. When the controller activity is high, fewer system resources are dedicated to the patrol read task.

Patrol Read does not run on a physical disk in the following circumstances:

• The physical disk is not included in a virtual disk or is assigned as a hot spare.
• The physical disk is included in a virtual disk that is currently undergoing one of the following:
– Rebuild
– Reconfiguration or reconstruction

90 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 – Background initialization
– Check consistency

In addition, the Patrol Read is suspended during heavy I/O activity and resumes when the I/O is finished.

To set Patrol Read mode, select the desired Patrol Read Mode option. The options available are:

• Auto — Initiates the Patrol Read task. After the task is complete, it automatically runs again within a specified period. For example, on
some controllers the Patrol Read runs every four hours and on other controllers, the Patrol Read runs every seven days. The Patrol
Read task runs continuously on the system starting again within the specified period after each iteration of the task completes. If the
system reboots while the Patrol Read task is running in Auto mode, the Patrol Read restarts at zero percent (0%). When the Patrol
Read task is set to Auto mode, you cannot start or stop the task. Auto mode is the default setting.

NOTE: For more information on how often the Patrol Read task runs when in Auto mode, see your controller documentation.
• Manual — Enables you to start and stop the Patrol Read task using Start and Stop Patrol Read. Setting the mode to Manual does not
initiate the Patrol Read task. If the system reboots while Patrol Read is running in Manual mode, Patrol Read does not restart.
• Disabled — Prevents the Patrol Read task from running on the system.

To set Patrol Read mode

Select the desired Patrol Read Mode option. The options available are:

• Auto — Initiates the Patrol Read task. After the task is complete, it automatically runs again within a specified period. For example, on
some controllers the Patrol Read runs every four hours and on other controllers, the Patrol Read runs every seven days. The Patrol
Read task runs continuously on the system starting again within the specified period after each iteration of the task completes. If the
system reboots while the Patrol Read task is running in Auto mode, the Patrol Read restarts at zero percent (0%). When the Patrol
Read task is set to Auto mode, you cannot start or stop the task. Auto mode is the default setting.

NOTE: For more information on how often the Patrol Read task runs when in Auto mode, see your controller documentation.
• Manual — Enables you to start and stop the Patrol Read task using Start and Stop Patrol Read. Setting the mode to Manual does not
initiate the Patrol Read task. If the system reboots while Patrol Read is running in Manual mode, Patrol Read does not restart.
• Disabled — Prevents the Patrol Read task from running on the system.

Check Consistency report

The check consistency report provides information on all the consistency checks performed on the controller in a chronological order. It
provides information such as last run time and result. If the consistency check fails, it provides the reason for the failure.

Performing a Check Consistency

The Check Consistency task verifies the accuracy of the redundant (parity) information. This task only applies to redundant virtual disks.
When necessary, the Check Consistency task rebuilds the redundant data. If the virtual disk is in a Failed Redundancy state, running a
check consistency may return the virtual disk to a Ready state.

Performing Check Consistency using OMSA

The link below provides information on how to perform Check Consistency using OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA):

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln156918/perc-how-to-perform-a-check-consistency-using-openmanage-server-
administrator?lang=en

Canceling a Check Consistency

The Cancel Check Consistency task stops a check consistency operation while it is in progress.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 91

Pausing a Check Consistency
The Pause Check Consistency task pauses a check consistency while it is in progress.
NOTE: The Pause Check Consistency task updates the virtual disk State property to Resynching Paused immediately. The
Progress property may continue to increment for up to three seconds. This time delay occurs because the polling task may take
up to three seconds to query the task information and update the display.

Resuming a Check Consistency

The Resume Check Consistency task resumes check consistency after it has been paused.
To locate view Check Consistency report in Storage Management:

1 In the Server Administrator window, under the system tree, click Storage.
2 Select View Check Consistency Report from the Select Report drop-down menu.
3 Click Execute.

To locate view Check Consistency report in Storage Management

1 In the Server Administrator window, under the system tree, click Storage.
2 Select View Check Consistency Report from the Select Report drop-down menu.
3 Click Execute.

Virtual disk troubleshooting

Rebuilding of virtual disk does not work
Rebuilding of virtual disk does not work in the following situations:

• The virtual disk is non redundant — For example, a RAID 0 virtual disk cannot be rebuilt because RAID 0 does not provide data
redundancy.
• There is no hot spare assigned to the virtual disk — As long as the virtual disk is redundant, to rebuild it:
– Remove the failed physical disk and replace it. A rebuild automatically starts on the new disk.
– Assign a hot spare to the virtual disk and then perform a rebuild.
• You are attempting to rebuild onto a hot spare that is too small — Different controllers have different size requirements for hot spares.
• The hot spare is unassigned from the virtual disk — This occurs on some controllers if the hot spare is assigned to more than one
virtual disk and is being used to rebuild a failed physical disk for another virtual disk.
• The virtual disk includes failed or corrupt physical disks — This situation may generate alert 2083. For information on alert messages,
see the Server Administrator Messages Reference Guide at Dell.com/support/home.
• The rebuild rate setting is too low — If the rebuild rate setting is quite low and the system is processing a number of operations, then
the rebuild may take an unusual amount of time to complete.
• The rebuild is canceled — Another user can cancel a rebuild that you have initiated.

Rebuilding of virtual disk completes with errors

About this task
A rebuild completes with errors when a portion of the disk containing redundant (parity) information is damaged. The rebuild process can
restore data from the healthy portions of the disk but not from the damaged portion.

92 Troubleshooting hardware issues

When a rebuild is able to restore all data except data from damaged portions of the disk, it indicates successful completion while also
generating alert 2163. For information about the event and error messages generated by the system firmware and agents that monitor
system components, see the Error Code Lookup page, at qrl.dell.com

The rebuild may also report sense key errors. In this situation, take the following actions to restore the maximum data possible:

Steps
1 Back up the degraded virtual disk onto a fresh (unused) tape drive.
• If the backup is successful — If the backup completes successfully, then the user data on the virtual disk has not been damaged.
In this case, you can continue with step 2.
• If the backup encounters errors — If the backup encounters errors then the user data has been damaged and cannot be
recovered from the virtual disk. In this case, the only possibility for recovery is to restore from a previous backup of the virtual disk.
2 Perform Check Consistency on the virtual disk that you have backed up onto a tape drive.
3 Restore the virtual disk from the tape drive onto healthy physical disks.

Cannot create a virtual disk

You may be attempting a RAID configuration that is not supported by the controller. Check the following:

• How many virtual disks already exist on the controller? Each controller supports a maximum number of virtual disks.
• Is there adequate available space on the disk? The physical disks that you have selected for creating the virtual disk must have an
adequate amount of free space available.
• The controller may be performing other tasks, such as rebuilding a physical disk, that must run to completion before the controller can
create the new virtual disk.

A virtual disk of minimum size is not visible to Windows Disk Management

If you create a virtual disk using the minimum allowable size in Storage Management, the virtual disk may not be visible to Windows Disk
Management even after initialization. This occurs because Windows Disk Management is only able to recognize extremely small virtual disks
if they are dynamic. It is advisable to create virtual disks of larger size when using Storage Management.

Virtual disk errors on systems running Linux

About this task
On some versions of the Linux operating system, the virtual disk size is limited to 1TB. If you create a virtual disk that exceeds the 1TB
limitation, your system may experience the following behavior:

• I/O errors to the virtual disk or logical drive.

• Inaccessible virtual disk or logical drive.
• Virtual disk or logical drive size is smaller than expected.

If you have created a virtual disk that exceeds the 1TB limitation, you must:

Steps
1 Back up your data.
2 Delete the virtual disk.
3 Create one or more virtual disks that are smaller than 1TB.
4 Restore your data from backup.
Irrespective of whether your Linux operating system limits the virtual disk size to 1TB, the virtual disk size depends on the version of
the operating system and any updates or modifications that you have implemented. For more information on operating system, see
your operating system documentation.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 93

Problems associated with using the same physical disks for both redundant
and nonredundant virtual disks
When creating virtual disks, you should avoid using the same physical disks for both redundant and nonredundant virtual disks. This applies
to all controllers. Using the same physical disks for both redundant and nonredundant virtual disks can result in unexpected behavior
including data loss.

NOTE: SAS controllers do not allow you to create redundant and nonredundant virtual disks on the same set of physical disks.

Enable the alarm on PERC 5/E adapter to alert in case of physical disk
failures
The PERC 5/E adapter uses an audible alarm to alert you to key critical and warning events involving the virtual disks or physical disks. You
can use the BIOS Configuration Utility to enable or disable the on-board alarm tone.
About this task
To enable the alarm in the BIOS Configuration Utility, do the following:
Steps
1 Press Ctrl+N to access the Ctrl Mgmt menu screen.
2 Press Tab in the Settings box to move the cursor to Enable Alarm.
3 Press the spacebar to select Enable Alarm.
An X displays next to Enable Alarm.
4 Press Tab to move the cursor to the Apply button, and then press Enter to apply the selection.
The alarm is enabled.

To disable the alarm, use the spacebar to deselect the Enable Alarm control, and then select Apply.

RAID controller displays multibit ECC errors

About this task
Description: RAID controller displays multibit ECC errors on Dell's 13th generation of PowerEdge servers

Workaround:

Steps
1 Update the controller driver version.
2 Clear the ESM logs.
3 Restart the system.

PERC goes offline with an error message

Issue: PERC goes offline with the following error: Communication with chassis Integrated Controller has been lost.
Corrective action: To resolve the issue, upgrade the following firmware to the latest version. Installation instructions are provided in the
link:

CMC firmware:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/drivers/DriversDetails?productCode=poweredge-vrtx&driverId=6W6P1

94 Troubleshooting hardware issues

Chassis infrastructure firmware:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/drivers/DriversDetails?productCode=poweredge-vrtx&driverId=CPMVM

SPERC firmware:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/drivers/DriversDetails?productCode=poweredge-vrtx&driverId=THVJ9

SPERC driver:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/drivers/DriversDetails?productCode=poweredge-vrtx&driverId=120MK

Reconfiguring the RAID level and virtual disks

An online virtual disk can be reconfigured in ways that expand its capacity and/or changes its RAID level. For more information, go to
Changing the RAID level on PowerEdge server.

Lost shared storage access

Issue: Lost shared storage access.
Corrective action: Update the system’s driver and firmware to the latest version. Order of updates should be:

• CMC
• iDRAC/LCC
• BIOS
• PERC
• SPERC
• VRTX mainboard
• NIC driver
• NIC firmware
• Switch firmware

The following links contain the system drivers and firmware for VRTX:

VRTX chassis infrastructure firmware bundle: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=CPMVM

VRTX drivers and downloads website: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/poweredge-vrtx/drivers

Troubleshooting memory or battery errors on the PERC

controller on Dell PowerEdge servers

Interpreting LCD and Embedded Diagnostic event messages

Issue: The server LCD presents a error message, or an error message is generated when running the Enhanced Pre-Boot
System Assessment (ePSA).

Solution: For information about the event and error messages generated by the system firmware and agents that monitor
system components, see the Error Code Lookup page, at qrl.dell.com.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 95

 The Event Message Reference contains the error and event information generated by firmware and other agents
that monitor system components. These events might be logged and displayed on one of the system management
consoles, or both logged and displayed.

NOTE: To run the Embedded System Diagnostics (also known as Enhanced Pre-Boot System
Assessment):

1 As the system boots, press F11.

2 Use the up-and-down arrows keys to select System Utilities > Launch Dell Diagnostics.

Troubleshooting conditions that lead to error message

NOTE: Troubleshooting the associated events may also prevent the error message from occurring. Error message can occur
normally when one of the following conditions occur.

• OS indicates abnormal shutdown.

• OS indicates error occurred (blue screen occurred in Windows).
• Spontaneous power loss condition.
Try the following troubleshooting steps:

• Reboot to OS
If the OS boot is successful, rebooting again should result in no message being displayed.
• Clear Controller Cache
– Ctrl + M for SCSI controllers (PERC 3, PERC 4).
– 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.
a Inspect the DIMM and DIMM Socket for Damage.
1 Turn off the system and remove the power cable(s) from the system.
2 Let the system sit for 30 seconds to allow any remaining flea power to drain.
3 Remove the PERC controller. For information about removing and replacing parts in this system, refer to the user guide
located at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals.
4 Remove the RAID memory battery. Ensure to reinstall the memory battery after inserting the DIMM.
5 Remove the memory DIMM from the controller, if applicable.
6 Check DIMM socket for any bent pins or other damage. Check the edge connector of the memory DIMM for any damage.
b If the controller has embedded memory or the memory socket is damaged, contact Dell Technical Support.
c If the memory is damaged, the controller memory may need to be replaced, contact Dell Technical Support.
d If there is no damage, replace the memory DIMM and reinstall the controller.
e Swap the controller memory a with known good memory, if possible.
1 If there is no known good memory available, contact Dell Technical Support.
2 if the error does not occur with the known good memory, contact Dell Technical Support.
3 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.

96 Troubleshooting hardware issues

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).

• Cache Use
Hardware RAID controllers utilize cache (a temporary repository of information) for their normal operation. The normal operation cache
comprises DRAM memory, which, like system memory, retains data only when powered on.

Newer controllers utilize NVCache, which is utilized when the server is powered off. NVCache memory contains both DRAM memory
(for normal operation) and flash memory (non-volatile). The controllers battery (if operational) powers the DRAM memory during a
power loss so that the contents can be copied into the flash memory for indefinite storage.

The contents of cache can essentially be broken into three parts:

• RAID configuration and metadata - Information about the RAID arrays including configuration information, disk members, role of disks,
etc.
• Controller logs - RAID controllers maintain several log files. Dell technicians rely on the TTY log as the primary log for troubleshooting
various RAID and hard drive issues.
• RAID data - This is the actual data destined to be written to the individual hard drives. Data is written into the cache of the controller in
both Write Through and Write Back cache policy modes.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 97

Slicing
Configuring multiple RAID arrays across the same set of disks is called Slicing.

RAID puncture
A RAID puncture is a feature of Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) designed to allow the controller to restore the redundancy of the
array despite the loss of data caused by a double fault condition. Another name for a RAID puncture is rebuild with errors. When the RAID
controller detects a double fault and there is insufficient redundancy to recover the data in the impacted stripe, the controller creates a
puncture in that stripe and enables the rebuild to continue.

• Any condition that causes data to be inaccessible in the same stripe on more than one drive is a double fault.
• Double faults cause the loss of all data within the impacted stripe.
• All RAID punctures are double faults but all double faults are NOT RAID punctures.

Causes of RAID puncture

Without the RAID puncture feature, the array rebuild would fail, and leave the array in a degraded state. In some cases, the failures may
cause additional drives to fail, and cause the array to be in a non-functioning offline state. Puncturing an array has no impact on the ability
to boot to or access any data on the array.
RAID punctures can occur in one of two situations:

• Double Fault already exists (Data already lost).

Data error on an online drive is propagated (copied) to a rebuilding drive.
• Double Fault does not exist (Data is lost when second error occurs).
While in a degraded state, if a bad block occurs on an online drive, that LBA is RAID punctured.

This advantage of puncturing an array is keeping the system available in production till the redundancy of the array is restored. The data in
the affected stripe is lost whether the RAID puncture occurs or not. The primary disadvantage of this method is that while the array has a
RAID puncture in it, uncorrectable errors will continue to be encountered whenever the impacted data (if any) is accessed.

A RAID puncture can occur in the following three locations:

• In blank space that contains no data. That stripe will be inaccessible, but since there is no data in that location, it will have no significant
impact. Any attempts to write to a RAID punctured stripe by an OS will fail and data will be written to a different location.
• In a stripe that contains data that isn't critical such as a README.TXT file. If the impacted data is not accessed, no errors are generated
during normal I/O. Attempts to perform a file system backup will fail to backup any files impacted by a RAID puncture. Performing a
Check Consistency or Patrol Read operations will generate Sense code: 3/11/00 for the applicable LBA and/or stripes.
• In data space that is accessed. In such a case, the lost data can cause a variety of errors. T he errors can be minor errors that do not
adversely impact a production environment. The errors can also be more severe and can prevent the system from booting to an
operating system, or cause applications to fail.

An array that is RAID punctured will eventually have to be deleted and recreated to eliminate the RAID puncture. This procedure causes all
data to be erased. The data would then need to be recreated or restored from backup after the RAID puncture is eliminated. The resolution
for a RAID puncture can be scheduled for a time that is more advantageous to needs of the business.

If the data within a RAID punctured stripe is accessed, errors will continue to be reported against the affected bad LBAs with no possible
correction available. Eventually (this could be minutes, days, weeks, months, and so on), the Bad Block Management (BBM) Table will fill up
causing one or more drives to become flagged as predictive failure. As seen in the figure, drive 0 will typically be the drive that gets flagged
as predictive failure due to the errors on drive 1 and drive 2 being propagated to it. Drive 0 may actually be working normally, and replacing
drive 0 will only cause that replacement to eventually be flagged predictive failure as well.

98 Troubleshooting hardware issues

A Check Consistency performed after a RAID puncture is induced will not resolve the issue. This is why it is very important to perform a
Check Consistency on a regular basis. It becomes especially important prior to replacing drives, when possible. The array must be in an
optimal state to perform the Check Consistency.

A RAID array that contains a single data error in conjunction with an additional error event such as a hard drive failure causes a RAID
puncture when the failed or replacement drive is rebuilt into the array. As an example, an optimal RAID 5 array includes three members:
drive 0, drive 1 and drive 2. If drive 0 fails and is replaced, the data and parity remaining on drives 1 and 2 are used to rebuild the missing
information on to the replacement drive 0. However, if a data error exists on drive 1 when the rebuild operation reaches that error, there is
insufficient information within the stripe to rebuild the missing data in that stripe. Drive 0 has no data, drive 1 has bad data and drive 2 has
good data as it is being rebuilt. There are multiple errors within that stripe. Drive 0 and drive 1 do not contain valid data, so any data in that
stripe cannot be recovered and is therefore lost. The result as shown in Figure 3 is that RAID punctures (in stripes 1 and 2) are created
during the rebuild. The errors are propagated to drive 0.

Figure 24. RAID punctures

Puncturing the array restores the redundancy and returns the array to an optimal state. This provides for the array to be protected from
additional data loss in the event of additional errors or drive failures.

How to fix a RAID puncture

Issue: How to fix RAID arrays that have been subjected to a puncture?

Solution: Complete the following steps to resolve the issue:

WARNING: Following these steps will result in the loss of all data on the array. Ensure that you are
prepared to restore from backup or other means prior to following these steps. Use caution so that
following these steps does not impact any other arrays.

1 Discard Preserved Cache, if it exists.

2 Clear foreign configurations, if any.
3 Delete the array.
4 Shift the position of the drives by one.
Move Disk 0 to slot 1, Disk 1 to slot 2, and Disk 2 to slot 0.
5 Recreate the array as desired.
6 Perform a Full Initialization of the array (not a Fast Initialization).
7 Perform a Check Consistency on the array.

If the Check Consistency completes without errors, you can safely assume that the array is now healthy and the
puncture is removed. Data can now be restored to the healthy array.

Troubleshooting hardware issues 99

Preventing problems before they happen and solving punctures after they
occur
Dell's RAID controllers contain a number of features to prevent many types of problems and to handle a variety of errors that do occur. The
primary job of a RAID controller is to preserve the integrity of the data contained on its array(s). Even in the more extreme cases of damage
(such as punctures), the array's data is often available and the server can remain in production. Part of any maintenance plan should be the
proactive maintenance of the RAID arrays. Dell's RAID controllers are highly reliable and very good at managing its arrays without user
intervention. Disregarding proper maintenance can cause even the most sophisticated technologies to experience problems over time.
There are a number of things that can help maintain the health of arrays, and prevent the majority of data errors, double faults and
punctures.
It is highly recommended to perform routine and regular maintenance. Proactive maintenance can correct existing errors, and prevent some
errors from occurring. It is not possible to prevent all errors from occurring, but most serious errors can be mitigated significantly with
proactive maintenance. For storage and RAID subsystems these steps are:

• Update drivers and firmware on controllers, hard drives, backplanes and other devices.
• Perform routine Check Consistency operations (Dell recommends every 30 days).
• Inspect cabling for signs of wear and damage and ensure good connections.
• Review logs for indications of problems.
This doesn’t have to be a high level technical review, but could simply be a cursory view of the logs looking for extremely obvious
indications of potential problems. Contact Dell Technical Support with any questions or concerns.

Troubleshooting thermal issue

Thermal issues can occur due to malfunctioning ambient temperature sensors, malfunctioning fans, dusty heat sinks, and malfunctioning
thermal sensors and so on.
To resolve the thermal issues:

1 Check the LCD and Embedded System Management (ESM) logs for any additional error messages to identify the faulty component.
2 Ensure that airflow to the machine is not blocked. Placing it in an enclosed area or blocking the air vent, can cause it to overheat. If
installed in a rack, ensure that the rack cooling system is working normally.
3 Check for the ambient temperature is within acceptable levels.
4 Check the internal system fans for obstructions and ensure that all fans are spinning properly. Swap any failing fans with a known-
good fan for testing.
5 Ensure that all the required shrouds and blanks are installed.
6 Check if all the fans are functioning properly, the heat sink is installed correctly, and thermal grease is applied.

100 Troubleshooting hardware issues

 5
Server management software issues
This section helps to manage software issues related to the server management.

Topics:

• 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

What are the different types of iDRAC licenses

There are three types of the iDRAC licenses:

• Basic Management — Basic Management which was earlier known as BMC, was the default iDRAC version for the 11th generation of
the servers ranging between 200– 500 series.

Server management software issues 101

• Express — iDRAC Express is the standard, default offering that is part of the base configuration for 600 series and above. It does not
require license installation, back up, or license management. Express offers embedded tools, console integration, and simplified remote
access.
– Express for Blades — For the 12th and 13th generation blade servers, there is a new Express for Blades iDRAC version. It offers a
single-user virtual console session and virtual media in addition to the standard Express offerings.
• Enterprise — There are two types of Enterprise licenses, based on the type and the duration.
– Evaluation - This license is for a 30-day trial of certain features. It can be used on any system.

NOTE: This is not recommended for the production environment.

– Perpetual - This license is valid for the life of the product. It does not expire and never needs to be renewed. It must be bound to
only one service tag at a time.
For more information on the iDRAC licensing feature, see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20067892

How to activate license on iDRAC

You can manage your licenses by creating your account and access License Management portal. It enables you to view your digital
licenses, obtain a replacement license, or reassign licenses to different hardware.

To create an account:

• Go to www.dell.com/support/retail/lkm.
• Click Create an Account
• Enter the required information and click Create Account.
• Click Sign In, the end user license agreement is displayed.
• Review the Dell Software License Agreement, and click Yes, I Agree button. You are redirected to the License Management portal.
To activate the license:

• Log in to the License Management portal.

• Click Activate Licenses tab.
• To activate license, navigate to the license and click Assign License.

NOTE: All the licenses must be associated with the asset. The Activate Licenses tab lists the licenses that must be bound to
an asset.
For more information on the iDRAC licensing feature, see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20067892

Can I upgrade the iDRAC license from express to

enterprise and BMC to express
You can upgrade the iDRAC license from Express to Enterprise or BMC to either Express or Enterprise without having to open the box or
install any hardware.

Request for the type of the iDRAC license you require by providing the service tag number of your server. Once you receive the license file
in the .xml format, save it in your local drive to replace the license with the existing one.

To upgrade/ replace the existing license:

• Log in to the iDRAC web interface

• On the left navigation pane, clickOverview, click Server, and then click Licenses.
• From the License Options drop-down list, select Replace. Click Browse to navigate to the local folder where the license file is saved.
• Select the license file and click Open.
• Click Apply to upgrade/ replace the new license file.
The purchase of a new PowerEdge server with iDRAC8 is the same as it was with iDRAC7. For the 600 series servers and above, all the
hardware required for iDRAC Enterprise is on the motherboard. Not only does this eliminate the possibility of a card unseating during

102 Server management software issues

shipping, but it also allows for an upgrade if available. If Enterprise is ordered from Dell at point of sale on 200-500 series servers, the
necessary hardware is installed in the factory. This piece of hardware is the Dell Ports card, which sits in a PCIe slot and has the RJ-45
connector for the Dedicated NIC and the slot for the vFlash SD card.

For more information on the iDRAC licensing feature, see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20067892

How to find out missing licenses

If you misplace your original license and need to retrieve the original license, follow the steps to find out missing license:

• Log in to the License Management portal.

• Click Manage Licenses tab.

NOTE: All the licenses must be associated with the asset. The Manage Licenses tab lists the licenses that are associated with
an asset.
• To download license, navigate to the license and click Get Key. Deliver My License Key window is displayed.
• To download the license directly to your computer, select Download and then click Submit. Select Email if you want the license key on
an email.

For more information on the iDRAC licensing feature, see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20067892.

How to export license using iDRAC web interface

To export the license using iDRAC web interface:

• Log in to the iDRAC web interface.

• On the left navigation pane of the System Summary screen, click Licenses.
• If you have a single license, you can initiate the license export process by directly navigating to the License Options drop-down list. If
you have multiple licenses, expand the Licenses table and navigate to the particular license, and select Export from the License
Options drop-down list.
• Save and click OK.

The license is exported successfully. Check your download folder to verify if the export license process is successful.

For more information on the iDRAC licensing feature, see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20067892

How to set up e-mail alerts

You can set up an e-mail alert message which can be sent to one or more e-mail addresses. When iDRAC senses a platform event, such as
an environmental warning or a component failure, an alert message is sent to a designated e-mail address.

To configure e-mail alerts:

• Log in to the iDRAC web interface.

• On the left pane, click Alerts.
• Click SNMP and Email Settings tab.
• Navigate to the Destination the Email Addresses section.
• Select the State field, enter the Destination Email Addresses, and click Apply.

NOTE: Ensure that the platform event filters are configured before configuring the e-mail alert settings.

NOTE: If the mail server is Microsoft Exchange 2007, you must configure the iDRAC domain name to receive alerts from the
iDRAC.

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System time zone is not synchronized
You can configure the time zone on iDRAC and synchronize the iDRAC time using Network Time Protocol (NTP) instead of BIOS or host
system times. You must have Configure privilege to configure time zone or NTP settings.
About this task
To configure time zone and NTP using iDRAC web interface:
Steps
1 Go to Overview > iDRAC Settings > Properties > Settings.
The Time zone and NTP page is displayed.
2 To configure the time zone, from the Time Zone drop-down list, select the required time zone, and then click Apply.
3 To configure NTP, enable NTP, enter the NTP server addresses, and then click Apply.
For information about the fields, see iDRAC Online Help.

Next step
To configure time zone and NTP, use the set command with the objects in the iDRAC.Time and iDRAC.NTPConfigGroup group.
For more information, see the iDRAC 9 RACADM Command Line Interface Reference Guide available at Dell.com/idracmanuals.

How to set up Auto Dedicated NIC feature

The Auto Dedicated NIC feature provides the option to automatically reroute the iDRAC management traffic for the scenarios such as
connecting a crash cart or reconfiguring network cables. When this feature is enabled, iDRAC automatically and dynamically detects a
system's network mode. It senses the system's network cable configuration and checks if a cable is connected to the system's dedicated
NIC port.

This feature was made available with iDRAC7 starting with the firmware version 1.30.30 with an Enterprise license. For the Dell PowerEdge
rack and tower servers of 600 series and above, the dedicated NIC port is standard on the system, but requires an iDRAC7 Enterprise
license to enable the port. Dell PowerEdge rack and tower servers of series 500 and below comes with an add-in card if ordered with an
Enterprise license at the point-of-sale. If an Enterprise license is purchased later than point-of-sale, the add-in card must also be purchased
to have the dedicated NIC port.

NOTE: This feature is not available on blade servers.

Enable the Auto Dedicated NIC feature using iDRAC web interface:

• Log on to the iDRAC7 web interface.

NOTE: The system must have a valid Enterprise license.

• Click Overview, select iDRAC Setting, and then select Network.
• In the Network Settings section, select the Auto Dedicated NIC.

NOTE: Auto Dedicated NIC is disabled by default, this check box is no selected when you first log in to iDRAC7.

NOTE: For the Dell PowerEdge blade servers, the NIC Selection field is always set at Dedicated which means that Auto
Dedicated NIC is always disabled and not supported. Auto Dedicated NIC is supported on the Dell PowerEdge tower and rack
servers only. A new read-only field Active NIC Interface displays the currently active network interface on the iDRAC7 web
interface.
For more information about Auto dedicated NIC feature, see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20275980

How to configure network settings using Lifecycle

Controller
About this task
To configure network settings using Lifecycle Controller:

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Steps
1 Launch the Lifecycle Controller.
2 On the left pane, click Settings.
3 On the Settings pane, click Network Settings.
4 From the NIC Card drop-down menu, select the NIC port that you want to configure.

NOTE: You can use only one NIC at a time to communicate with the network.
5 From the IPV4 Network Settings→ IP Address Source drop-down menu, select one of the following options:
• No Configuration—indicates that the NIC must not be configured.
• DHCP—indicates that the NIC must be configured using an IP address from a DHCP server. If DHCP is selected, a DHCP IP
address is displayed on the Network Settings page.
• Static IP—indicates that the NIC must be configured using a static IP. Type the IP Address Properties—IP Address, Subnet
Mask, Default Gateway, and DNS Address. If you do not have this information, contact your network administrator.
6 From the IPV6 Network Settings→ IP Address Source drop-down menu, select one of the following options:
• No Configuration—indicates that the NIC must not be configured.
• DHCPv6—indicates that the NIC must be configured using an IP address from a DHCPv6 server. If DHCPv6 is selected, a
DHCPv6 IP address is displayed on the Network Settings page.

NOTE: While configuring DHCP server with IPv6, the configuration fails if you disable forwarding or advertising
options.
• Static IP—indicates that the NIC must be configured using a static IP. Type the IP Address Properties—IP Address, Subnet
Mask, Default Gateway, and DNS Address. If you do not have this information, contact your network administrator.
7 Click Enabled, and type the VLAN ID and Priority under Lifecycle Controller VLAN Settings.
You cannot configure the VLAN settlings of the following NICs:
• Emulex SeaHawk-2 (FH) PCIe Adapter
• Emulex SeaHawk-2 (LP) PCIe Adapter
• Emulex Vindicator-2 rNDC
• Emulex Sea Stallion-2 Mezzanine Card
• Emulex Pave Low-2 bNDC
• Emulex SeaHawk-2 (FH) NIC Only PCIe Adapter
• Emulex SeaHawk-2 (LP) NIC Only PCIe Adapter
• Emulex Vindicator-2 NIC Only rNDC
• Emulex Sea Stallion-2 NIC Only Mezzanine Card
• Emulex Pave Low-2 NIC Only bNDC
8 Click Next.

NOTE: If the Lifecycle Controller settings are not correctly configured, an error message is
displayed.

NOTE: If you are unable to connect to a network, verify the settings. For information about correct network settings,
contact your network administrator.

Assigning hot spare with OMSA

Assigning And Unassigning Global Hot Spare

NOTE: To assign global hot-spare drives, ensure that you have installed the latest version of Server Administrator. For more
information, see the Dell EMC OpenManage Software Support Matrix available on the support site.

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A global hot spare is an unused backup disk that is part of the disk group. Hot spares remain in standby mode. When a physical disk that is
used in a virtual disk fails, the assigned hot spare is activated to replace the failed physical disk without interrupting the system or requiring
your intervention. When a hot spare is activated, it rebuilds the data for all redundant virtual disks that were using the failed physical disk.

You can change the hot spare assignment by unassigning a disk and choosing another disk as needed. You can also assign more than one
physical disk as a global hot spare.

NOTE: On PERC S100 and S300 controllers, if there is free space available on the global hot spare, it continues to function as a
spare even after replacing a failed physical disk.
Global hot spares must be assigned and unassigned manually. They are not assigned to specific virtual disks. If you want to assign a hot
spare to a virtual disk (it replaces any physical disk that fails in the virtual disk), then use the Assign and Unassign Dedicated Hot Spare.

NOTE: When deleting virtual disks, all assigned global hot spares may be automatically unassigned when the last virtual disk
associated with the controller is deleted. When the last virtual disk of a disk group is deleted, all assigned dedicated hot spares
automatically become global hot spares.

NOTE: For PERC H310, H700, H710, H710P, H800, H810, H330, H730, H730P, H730P MX, H740P, H745P MX, H830, H840 and
PERC FD33xD/FD33xS controllers, if any of the drives you selected are in the Spun Down state, the following message is
displayed: The current physical drive is in the spun down state. Executing this task on this drive takes additional time, because
the drive needs to spun up.

You should be familiar with the size requirements and other considerations associated with hot spares.

Storage Health
The Storage Dashboard displays the combined status for each controller and lower-level storage components. For example, if the health of
the storage system has been compromised due to a degraded enclosure, both the enclosure Health and the controller severity on the
Storage Dashboard display a yellow exclamation mark to indicate a Warning severity. If a controller on the Storage Dashboard displays a
Warning or Critical status, perform the following actions to investigate the cause:

• Click Check Alert Log to display the Alerts Log. Review the Alert Log for alerts relating to the status of the controller and its lower-
level components. The Check Alert Log link is only displayed when the controller displays a Warning or Critical status.
• Select the controller and investigate the status of the lower-level components. For more information, see the Storage Component
Severity section.
• Click the virtual disk that is in degraded state to display the Physical Disk Properties page.

NOTE: The virtual disk link is displayed only if the physical disks that are part of the virtual disk, are in a Warning or Critical state.

For more information on how the status of lower-level components is rolled up into the status displayed for the controller, see the
Determining The Health Status For Storage Components section.

How do I configure RAID using operating system

deployment wizard
You can configure RAID using an operating System deployment wizard on the Dell Lifecycle controller. To configure RAID:

• Launch the Lifecycle Controller.

• In the left pane, click OS Deployment.
• On the OS Deployment page, click Deploy OS.
• On the Deploy OS page, click Configure RAID First, and then click Next.
• The storage controllers available for configuration are displayed in the RAID Configuration page.

NOTE: Make sure that the selected controller is not in a non-RAID mode.
• Select a storage controller. The RAID configuration options are displayed.
• Follow the instruction on the screen, complete the RAID setting tasks, and then click Finish.

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The RAID configuration is applied to the virtual disks.

To create virtual disks using RAID configuration at the preferred RAID level, watch the Dell Lifecycle Controller RAID configuration video on
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFPmeHNENV4

Foreign drivers on physical disk

Importing Foreign Configurations

NOTE: To make the foreign configuration effective, ensure that you have installed the latest version of Server Administrator. For
more information, see the Dell EMC OpenManage Software Support Matrix available on the support site.

You can import a foreign configuration only if it contains a virtual disk that is either in a Ready or Degraded state. In other words, all of the
virtual disk data must be present, but if the virtual disk is using a redundant RAID level, the additional redundant data is not required.

For example, if the foreign configuration contains only one side of a mirror in a RAID 1 virtual disk, then the virtual disk is in a Degraded state
and can be imported. On the other hand, if the foreign configuration contains only one physical disk that was originally configured as a RAID
5 using three physical disks, then the RAID 5 virtual disk is in a Failed state and cannot be imported.

In addition to virtual disks, a foreign configuration may consist of a physical disk that was assigned as a hot spare on one controller and then
moved to another controller. The Import Foreign Configuration task imports the new physical disk as a hot spare. If the physical disk was
set as a dedicated hot spare on the previous controller, but the virtual disk to which the hot spare was assigned is no longer present in the
foreign configuration, then the physical disk is imported as a global hot spare.

The Import Foreign Configuration task is only displayed when the controller has detected a foreign configuration. You can also identify
whether a physical disk contains a foreign configuration (virtual disk or hot spare) by checking the physical disk state. If the physical disk
state is Foreign, then the physical disk contains all or some portion of a virtual disk or has a hot-spare assignment.

Setting the check consistency rate

The Set Check Consistency Rate task changes the amount of system resources dedicated to the check the consistency rate.

The check consistency rate, configurable between 0% and 100%, represents the percentage of the system resources dedicated for running
the check consistency task. At 0%, the check consistency has the lowest priority for the controller, takes maximum time to complete, and
has least impact to system performance. A check consistency rate of 0% does not mean that the check consistency is stopped or paused.

At 100%, the check consistency is the highest priority for the controller. The check consistency time is minimized and has most impact to
system performance.

Performing a Consistency Check

The Check Consistency task verifies the accuracy of the redundant (parity) information. This task only applies to redundant virtual disks.
When necessary, the Check Consistency task rebuilds the redundant data. If the virtual disk is in a Failed Redundancy state, running a
check consistency may be able to return the virtual disk to a Ready state.

Physical disk reported as Foreign

This topic describes the scenarios when a disk that is part of a RAID array may be reported as Foreign.
A physical disk state may be displayed as Foreign if

• The disk is located out of the array for an extended period of time
• The disk is removed out of the array and reseated

Server management software issues 107

To include a Foreign disk in the volume, you can clear the foreign configuration and reset the controller configuration.

Clearing the foreign configuration

1 On the iDRAC9 web interface, go to Configuration > Storage Configuration > Controller Configuration.
The Controller Configuration page is displayed.
2 In the Foreign Configuration section, from the Controller drop-down menu, select the controller for which you want to clear the
foreign configuration.
3 From the Apply Operation Mode drop-down menu, select when you want to clear the configuration.

Resetting storage-controller configuration

1 On the iDRAC9 web interface, go to Configuration > Storage Configuration > Controller Configuration.
The Controller Configuration page is displayed.
2 From the Actions menu, select Reset Configuration for the desired controller.
3 From the Apply Operation Mode menu, select when you want to clear the configuration.
4 Click Clear.

How to update BIOS on 13th generation PowerEdge

servers
The 13th generation of Dell PowerEdge servers offers various methods namely local or remote, with or without an operating system, to
update the system BIOS. The different methods are listed below. You can choose the method that best suits your need and environment.

• Executing the BIOS Dell Update Package (DUP) from within the operating system.
• Using the UEFI-based BIOS flash utility in a preboot environment.
• Using the Lifecycle Controller Platform Update option—F10.
• Using the Update and Rollback feature in the iDRAC web GUI.
• Using the WS-MAN based one to many Remote Update method—Remote Enablement

NOTE: Legacy DOS-based BIOS update utility is no longer supported.

For detailed information about different methods of updating BIOS see En.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/
20440526

Why am I unable to update firmware

This topic describes some of the reasons why a firmware update may not be successful.
NOTE: It is generally recommended that you install the latest firmware for your system and components. Firmware updates
improve the performance, reliability, and security of the system.
If you are unable to update the firmware for a component or are unable to update iDRAC itself, try the following:

• Ensure that you follow the instructions provided in the user's guide for the product.
• Update the firmware from another interface. Some of the interfaces that support firmware updates are iDRAC web interface, LC GUI,
RACADM, and Redfish.
• Ensure that the firmware is compatible with the system or component that you are trying to update.
• Read the Release Notes for the firmware, if available, to check for any special instructions or compatibility information.
• Reboot the system and retry the update.

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Which are the operating systems supported on Dell
EMC PowerEdge servers
Dell EMC PowerEdge servers are designed to work with many operating systems and virtualization which may include but not limited to:

1 Canonical Ubuntu LTS

2 Citrix XenServer
3 Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V
4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
6 VMware ESXi

For information about supported operating systems on specific PowerEdge servers, see Dell.com/ossupport

Unable to create a partition or locate the partition and

unable to install Microsoft Windows Server 2012
Issue: Unable to create a partition or locate the partition and unable to install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 with an USB, or DVD or from
network.
Solution:

Ensure that the correct virtual drive (VD) partition is set as the first boot device. Install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 by using a USB 2.0
bootable drive.

NOTE: USB 3.0 is not natively supported during the Windows 2012 installation.

JAVA support in iDRAC

For accessing iDRAC and some of its features, you need to install and configure the supported version of Java. The following are some of
the key considerations:

• Oracle version of Java is supported.

• Java version 8 or later is required.
• If you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer, and want to use the Java viewer to access iDRAC, configure the browser to use Java plug-
in.

NOTE: On a 64-bit operating system, both 32-bit and 64-bit JRE versions are supported. On a 32-bit operating system, only
32-bit JRE version is supported.
• On Linux, Java is the default plug-in type for accessing the Virtual Console.
• When the iDRAC firmware is updated, launching Virtual Console with Java plug-in may fail. Delete the Java cache and then launch the
Virtual Console.
• When using the Virtual Console, if you face issues such as out-of-range errors, synchronization issues, and so on, clear the browser’s
cache to remove or delete any old versions of the viewer that may be stored on the system, and then try again.

NOTE: You must have administrator privilege to clear the browser’s cache.
To clear older versions of Java viewer in Windows or Linux:

– Using the command prompt, run javaws-viewer or javaws-uninstall. The Java Cache viewer is displayed.
– Delete the items titled iDRAC Virtual Console Client.
• If SSL encryption is set to 256-bit or higher and 168-bit or higher, the cryptography settings for your virtual machine environment
(JVM, IcedTea) may require installing the Unlimited Strength Java Cryptography Extension Policy Files to permit usage of iDRAC

Server management software issues 109

 plugins such as Virtual Console with this level of encryption. For information about installing the policy files, see the documentation for
Java.
• While launching the Virtual Console using Java plug-in, you may occasionally see a Java compilation error. To resolve this, go to Java
control panel > General > Network Settings and select Direct Connection.

How to specify language and keyboard type

To specify the language and keyboard type using Lifecycle Controller:

• Launch the Lifecycle Controller.

• On the left pane, click Settings.
• On the Settings pane, click Language and Keyboard.
• From the Language drop-down menu, select the language.
• From the Keyboard Type drop-down menu, select the keyboard type.
• Click Finish to save the new settings.

Message Event ID - 2405

Description
Command timeout on physical disk.

Severity: Warning.

Cause: The spundown physical disks take more time than the timeout period and the configuration commands are timed out.

Action: Check if the disk driver is present or needs to be replaced. If the controller is causing timeouts, the drive may not have failed
because of a hardware fault in itself, but instead may have been caused by a communication failure. Update the server and then
successfully rebuild the drive to conclude that the drive itself is not the issue.

Installing Managed System Software On Microsoft

Windows Operating Systems
On Microsoft Windows, an autorun utility is displayed when you insert the Dell EMC OpenManage Systems Management Tools and
Documentation software. This utility allows you to choose the systems management software you want to install on the system.

If the autorun program does not start automatically, use the autorun program from the DVD root or the setup program in the SYSMGMT
\srvadmin\windows directory on the Dell EMC OpenManage Systems Management Tools and Documentation software. See the Dell EMC
OpenManage Systems Software Support Matrix for a list of operating systems currently supported.

NOTE: Use the Dell EMC OpenManage Systems Management Tools and Documentation software to perform an unattended and
scripted silent installation of the managed system software. Install and uninstall the features from the command line.

Installing Managed System Software On Microsoft

Windows Server and Microsoft Hyper-V Server
The Server Core installation option of the Microsoft Windows Server and Hyper-V Server operating system provides a minimal environment
for running specific server roles that reduce the maintenance and management requirements and the attack surface for those server roles.
A Windows Server or Hyper-V Server installation installs only a subset of the binaries that are required by the supported server roles. For

110 Server management software issues

example, the Explorer shell is not installed as part of a Windows Server or Hyper-V Server installation. Instead, the default user interface for
a Windows Server or Hyper-V Server installation is the command prompt.

NOTE: On Windows client operating systems, to install the systems management software successfully, log in using an account
which belongs to the Administrators group and must run the setup.exe using the option Run as administrator from the right-click
menu.
NOTE: Log in as a built-in Administrator, Domain Administrator, or user who is a part of Domain Admins and Domain Users group,
to install the systems management software on supported Microsoft Windows operating system. For more information about
user privileges, see the corresponding Microsoft Windows operating system Help.

Installing Systems Management Software On VMware

ESXi
VMware ESXi is factory-installed on some systems. For a list of these systems, see the latest Systems Software Support Matrix.
Server Administrator is available as a .zip file for installing on systems running VMware ESXi. The zip file, OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-
<version>-<bldno>.VIB-ESX<version>i_<bld-revno>.zip, where <version> is the supported ESXi version.

Download VMware vSphere Command Line Interface (vSphere CLI) from vmware.com and install on the Microsoft Windows or Linux
system. Alternately, you can import VMware vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) to the ESXi host.

Processor TEMP error

Issue: Processor TEMP errors displayed in event viewer.
Corrective action: Dell EMC recommends that you download and install the latest BIOS, drivers, and systems management firmware on
your system. For more information, see the Downloading the drivers and firmware topic.

PowerEdge T130, R230, R330, and T330 servers may

report a critical error during scheduled warm reboots
PowerEdge T130, R230, R330, and T330 servers may report a critical error during scheduled warm reboots and displays an error messages
in the Hardware System event logs, the Lifecycle Controller logs. Dell EMC recommends that you download and install the latest BIOS,
drivers, and systems management firmware on your system. For more information, see the Downloading the drivers and firmware topic.
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/poweredge-t130/drivers

SSD is not detected

About this task
If Solid-state drive (SSD) is not detected by server operating system, you must update all firmware versions including OpenManage Server
Administrator. To update firmware version, do the following:
Steps
1 Download the latest versions of the supported firmware and drivers. For more information downloading the latest firmware, see the
Downloading firmware and drivers section.
2 Double-click the downloaded file, and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest firmware or drivers.

TRIM/UNMAP and Dell Enterprise SSD Drives Support

Certain operating systems support the TRIM function, which translates deleted files to the associated LBA (logical block address) on the
storage device (SSD). For SATA, the command is referred to as TRIM, for SAS, the command is called UNMAP. The TRIM/UNMAP
command notifies the drive that it no longer needs data in certain Logical Block Addresses (LBA) which then free up several NAND pages.

Server management software issues 111

The TRIM/UNMAP command must be supported by the operating system, the drive, and the controller in order to work. The TRIM/
UNMAP command could result in higher SSD performance from both the reduced data needed to be rewritten during garbage collection
and the higher free space resulting on the drive. Dell enterprise drives which are currently shipped have high performance and endurance
so they do not yet support these commands even if the OS supports them. These features are being investigated for subsequent Dell SSD
offerings.

OpenManage Essentials does not recognize the server

About this task
OpenManage Essentials does not recognize the server. To setup the a new discovery range and inventory and enable WMI protocol.
Steps
1 Launch OpenManage Essentials.
2 Navigate to Manage --> Discovery and Inventory.
3 In the left panel, click Add Discovery Range.
4 Enter the IP address of the specific client device or the IP range having all the client devices with the subnet mask details.
5 Click Next.
6 In the ICMP Configuration page, click Next.
7 Protocol Selection
From Dell Command | Monitor 9.0 onwards, both SNMP and WMI protocols are supported for discovery and inventory. Select the
required protocols (only SNMP or only WMI or both SNMP and WMI) and enter the required information.

It is recommended to use WMI protocol for discovery and inventory. The difference of inventory information fetched using WMI versus
SNMP protocol is specified. Fetching of hardware logs is possible only using WMI protocol.

• For discovery and inventory through SNMP protocol, set the community strings in SNMP Configuration page.

• To disable SNMP discovery uncheck the Enable SNMP discovery

• For discovery and inventory through WMI protocol, click Next, otherwise click Finish.
• In the WMI configuration page, select Enable WMI discovery. Provide the WMI credentials of remote device.
• Click Finish.

Unable to connect to iDRAC port through a switch

You can use iDRAC through various interfaces and methods. The interfaces include web interface, RACADM, Redfish, and so on. You can
connect to iDRAC either locally or remotely.

If you try to connect to iDRAC using the iDRAC port through a switch, you may need to perform additional configuration on the switch to
allow the connection to be successful. Alternatively, bypass the switch and connect the system directly to the iDRAC port.

NOTE: For more information on connecting to iDRAC, see the iDRAC manuals at Dell.com/idracmanuals

Lifecycle Controller is not recognizing USB in UEFI

mode
When there are combinations of servers connected, you need to use the same mode for all servers. USB driver is not recognized on
Lifecycle controller. You can install on BIOS mode and not on UEFI mode.

Guidance on remote desktop services

A Remote Desktop Services deployment is the infrastructure used to share applications and resources with users. Depending on the
experience you want to provide, you can make it as small or complex as you need. Remote Desktop deployments are easily scaled. You can

112 Server management software issues

increase and decrease Remote Desktop Web Access, Gateway, Connection Broker and Session Host servers at will. You can use Remote
Desktop Connection Broker to distribute workloads. Active Directory based authentication provides a highly secure environment. For more
information, see Build and Deploy Remote Desktop Services

NOTE: Provide the correct Microsoft Windows version while purchasing the license.

Server management software issues 113

 6
Troubleshooting operating system issues
This section helps you troubleshoot operating system issues in your system.
NOTE: If the problem persists, contact Dell Technical Support for further assistance.

Topics:

• 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
• VMware
• Linux
• Installing operating system through various methods

How to install the operating system on a Dell

PowerEdge Server
Issue: Installing the operating system using Lifecycle Controller on a Dell PowerEdge server.
Solution: The following link provides detailed guidelines about installing the operating system using Lifecycle Controller: http://
www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln129177/how-to-install-the-operating-system-on-a-dell-poweredge-server-os-deployment-?
lang=en#LCC

NOTE: Update all the driver version to the latest.

Locating the VMware and Windows licensing

Issue: Location of the VMware and Windows licensing on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers.
Corrective action:

The link below describes the location of the licenses on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/b/
techcenter/archive/2015/04/01/where-is-the-microsoft-oem-server-os-certificate-of-authenticity-coa-label-located-on-dell-poweredge-
servers.

Troubleshooting blue screen errors or BSODs

1 Identify the stop code or the stop message when the system displays the blue screen of death.

114 Troubleshooting operating system issues

 Figure 25. Blue screen of death

2 Run the PSA/ePSA diagnostics. For more information, see PSA/ePSA Diagnostics.
3 If the diagnostics pass and the issue persists, identify the stage in which the blue screen error occurs.
4 If the BSOD occurs during the boot process, check for minimum to POST components. For more information, see Troubleshooting a
No POST situation.
If the issue persists, call Dell Technical Support.
5 If the BSOD occurs during pre-logon, boot into Safe Mode and disable all startup entries. Isolate one startup entry at a time until you
find the causing agent.

NOTE: If you are unable to boot into Safe Mode, call Dell Technical Support.
6 If the issue persists, check for minimum to POST components. For more information, see No POST .
If the issue persists, call Dell Technical Support.
7 If the BSOD occurs intermittently or during post-logon, debug mini crash dump files using WinDbg. For more information, see
Debugging mini crash dump files using by WinDbg in Windows operating system.
After debugging, call Dell Technical Support with the minidump file.

Troubleshooting a Purple Screen of Death or PSOD

For information on Troubleshooting a PSOD, see Troubleshooting a Purple Screen of Death and Interpreting a purple screen of death.

Troubleshooting no boot issues for Windows operating

systems
1 Check the hard drive status in the PERC BIOS. For more information, see Checking hard drive status in the PERC BIOS.
2 Boot the server in the safe mode.

NOTE: If the server is a domain controller, boot the server in Directory Services Repair Mode (DSRM).

If the server boots successfully, the issue is with an installed driver, application, or service. Proceed to Step 4.
3 For Windows Server, you can perform the following recovery options:
• Use the bootrec command to troubleshoot startup issues. For more information, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/kb/
927392.
• Use the chkdsk tool to determine whether there is a disk problem. For more information, see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/cc730714.aspx
• Use DiskPart to verify the status of disk partitions. For more information. see https://technet.microsoft.com/en-in/library/
bb490893.aspx.

Troubleshooting operating system issues 115

 • Use the bcdedit utility to view or modify the boot configuration database (BCD). For more information, see https://
technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731662.aspx.

NOTE: For additional recovery console commands, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/326215.

NOTE: For more troubleshooting steps, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/325375.

4 From within the safe mode or DSRM, use the msconfig utility to disable startup applications and non-Microsoft services on the server.
5 Reboot the server in the normal mode.
6 If the server boots, use the msconfig utility to identify the disrupting service or application by enabling services and startup
applications one at a time and rebooting the server until the server fails to boot.
7 If the issue persists, use Dell's Linux-based OMSA LiveCD to boot the system and run diagnostic tests to determine whether any
hardware is malfunctioning.
OMSA LiveCD can also be used to recover data from a server whose operating system does not start.

No boot device found error message is displayed

Description—After the server completes the Power On Self-Test (POST) phase, the server is unable to boot a bootable device. This
condition is called No Boot. Files available in a bootable device—RAID, USB key, DVD, or ISO file—contain instructions to start the
operating system. When these files cannot be located, an error message—No boot device found—is displayed. You may observe this issue
if the virtual disks are not online, due to a hard drive or PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) issue.
About this task
Workaround—Perform the following steps:
Steps
1 Check the hard drive status in the PERC BIOS.
An error message—No boot device found—is displayed.
2 Press Ctrl + R during the POST process to open the PERC BIOS Configuration Utility.
3 To check if the hard drive is part of the RAID array, do the following:
a Press Ctrl + N to navigate to the PD Mgmt (Physical Disk Management) screen.
b Check if any hard drives are offline or missing.

Table 21. Hard drive status

Hard drive status Description

Offline Hard drive is not part of the RAID array.

Online Hard drive is part of the RAID array

Ready Hard dive is ready to be a part of the RAID array

c Check that the Virtual Disk is online in an optimal state.
4 Click the CTRL Mgmt tab, and select the Virtual Drive where the operating system is installed.
When the RAID is managing multiple Virtual Drive, it is important to select which Virtual Drive has to be presented when the server
tries to boot on the raid controller.
5 If the problem persists, call Dell Technical Support for further assistance.

116 Troubleshooting operating system issues

No POST issues in iDRAC
This section provides details on troubleshooting iDRAC issues.

“First Boot Device cannot be set” error message is displayed

when configuring a boot device during POST.
Description

The error message “First Boot Device cannot be set. Either the system BIOS is out-of-date, or the server needs a reboot for the settings to
take effect” displays in the POST mode.

Resolution

Allow the server to completely boot to the OS or turn off the server before setting a vFlash partition to the first boot device. This allows
the server to boot to the vFlash partition and the error will no longer be seen.

“Alert! iDRAC6 not responding.. Power required may exceed

PSU wattage...” error message is displayed at POST during a
reboot.
Description

An error message “Alert! iDRAC6 not responding.. Power required may exceed PSU wattage. Alert! Continuing system boot accepts risk
that system may power without warning. Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the system setup program" is displayed at POST during a
reboot.

Resolution

Perform the following steps:

1 Reboot the server to resolve the issue.

2 Remove the AC power for 30 seconds. Once AC power is re-applied, allow two minutes for the iDRAc to complete POST or initialize.
3 Check if the Network Adapter is updated to the latest firmware.

Troubleshooting a No POST situation

Power On Self Test (POST) is a series of diagnostic tests that run automatically when you turn on your system. POST tests the memory,
the keyboard and the disk drivers. If the test is successful, the computer boots itself, else the system displays an LED error or an error
message in the LCD panel. This situation is called No POST.
Prerequisites
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple
repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team.
Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions
that are shipped with your product.

Troubleshooting operating system issues 117

 NOTE: When removing or replacing parts, always turn off the server, remove the power cord, and wait for ten seconds for the
static flea power to drain. Reconnect the power cord, wait for a minute and turn on the server. This allows time for the
Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) to power up. Error messages may not be reported correctly if the static flea power is
not fully drained. For more information on removing and installing hardware components, see your system’s Owner’s Manual at
Dell.com/poweredgemanuals.
NOTE: Ensure that you give enough time for the server to POST. Newer systems may take up to three minutes before any video
appears during the POST. During this period, a message on the LCD screen is displayed, which indicates that the server is
booting.
Steps
1 Check the LCD screen or LED indicators for any error messages.
For information about the event and error messages generated by the system firmware and agents that monitor system components,
see the Error Code Lookup page, at qrl.dell.com.
2 Ensure that the server is turned on by verifying that the power supply LED glows green.
If the power LED is lit amber, see Power supply unit indicator codes.
3 Remove all the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) from the server.
a Turn off the server.
b Disconnect all cables from the server including the power cable.
c Press and hold the power button for 60 seconds to discharge.
d Reconnect the power and video cable only.
e Turn on the server.
If the server fails to POST, proceed to the next step.
4 Disconnect all cables from the server including the power cable.
5 Bring the server to the minimum configuration for the POST.

NOTE: Minimum to POST configuration is the config that has the minimum components required to complete POST.
Typically, the minimum to POST configuration for rack servers is PSU1, CPU1, memory module in A1 slot, and the default
riser without expansion cards. For tower servers, the minimum to POST configuration is PSU1, CPU1, and memory module
in A1 slot. For modular servers, the minimum to POST configuration is CPU1 and memory module in A1 slot.
6 Reconnect the power and video cable only.
7 Attempt to POST the server.
a If the server completes the POST, turn off the server and plug the components one at a time until the defective part is found.
If you identify the defective part, contact Dell Technical Support with information about the defective part.
b If you are unable to identify the defective part, go to the next step.
8 Disconnect the hard drives, optical drives, and tape drives from the server and attempt to POST the server.
a If the server completes the POST, plug the hard drives back one at a time until the defective hard drives are found.
If you identify the defective part, contact Dell Technical Support with information about the defective part.
b If you are unable to identify the defective part, go to the next step.
9 Reseat the control panel connector.
10 Ensure that the processors and heat sinks are seated correctly.
11 If the server does not complete the POST, clear the NVRAM using the jumper.
For more information , see your system’s Owner’s manual at Dell.com/poweredgemanuals.

Next step
If the issue still persists, contact Dell Technical Support for assistance.

Migrating to OneDrive for Business using Dell

Migration Suite for SharePoint
About this task
To connect to OneDrive for Business:

118 Troubleshooting operating system issues

Steps
1 Login to a SharePoint Online site in the browser.
2 Click on the OneDrive link in the header at the top of an Office 365 page.
3 Сopy the site URL from the browser's address line.
4 Open the application and specify the OneDrive URL in the Connect to SharePoint wizard.

NOTE: Before connecting the OneDrive site of another user, make sure the OneDrive has been provisioned (i.e. the
OneDrive site owner has visited it at least once) and you have administrator permissions granted either by the OneDrive site
owner or using the Set-SPOUser commandlet (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/fp161375(v=office.15).aspx).

Windows
Installing and reinstalling Microsoft Windows Server 2016
You can use one of the following methods to install the Microsoft Windows Server 2016 operating system, if you do not have it installed on
your server or if you wish to reinstall it:

• Install Windows Server 2016 by using the Dell LifeCycle Controller

• Installing the Operating System using the Windows Server 2016 Media

NOTE: Dell EMC highly recommends that you install the latest hotfixes and security updates from Microsoft on your system by
using Windows updates or by downloading the latest updates after installing the operating system.

Install Windows Server by using Dell LifeCycle Controller

About this task
To install Microsoft Windows Server for Standard, Datacenter, and the Essentials edition by using the LifeCycle Controller:
Steps
1 Connect the keyboard, monitor, mouse, and any additional peripherals to your system.
2 Turn on the system and attached peripherals.
3 In the LifeCycle Controller window, click the appropriate option if you want to configure hardware, diagnostics, or set changes.
If no changes are required, select OS Deployment.
4 In the Operating System Deployment window, click Deploy OS.
The Configure or Skip RAID window is displayed. If Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) is configured, the window displays
the existing RAID configuration details.
5 Select Go Directly to OS Deployment.
If RAID is not yet configured, configure .
6 Click Next.
The Select Operating System window is displayed with a list of compatible operating systems.
7 Select , and then click Next.

NOTE: If is not listed,

8 Select whether you want to deploy the operating system in UEFI or BIOS mode, and click Next.
9 In the Insert OS Media window, insert the media, and then click Next.
10 On the Reboot the System screen, follow the instructions on the screen, and then click Finish.
If a Windows operating system is installed on your system, the following message is displayed:
Press any key to boot from the CD/DVD...Press any key to begin the installation
11 On the Windows Setup screen, select the appropriate option for Language, Time and Currency Format, and Keyboard or Input
Method.

Troubleshooting operating system issues 119

12 Click Next to continue.
13 On the screen, click Install Now.
The Operating System Install screen is displayed.
14 On the Operating System Install screen, select the operating system, and then click Next.
The License terms window is displayed.
15 Read the license agreement information. If you agree with all the information, select I accept the license terms and click Next.
16 On the Which Type of Installation Do You Want screen, select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced), if it is not selected already.
17 On the Where do you want to install Windows screen, specify the partition on which you want to install the operating system.
To create a partition and begin installation:
a Click New.
b Specify the size of the partition in MB, and click Apply.
The following message is displayed:
Windows might create additional partition for system files
c Click OK.

NOTE: The recommended minimum partition size for the primary partition is 40 GB and for the Essentials Edition is 60
GB. If you are installing extra memory on your system, you may require more primary partition space to accommodate
page file and hibernation. During installation, a recommended partition size is displayed on the screen based on the
memory size of your system. Follow the instructions on the screen. If you select Core installation, you require less hard
drive space for the primary partition.
d Select the newly created operating system partition, and click Next. The Installing Windows screen is displayed, and the
installation process begins.

After the operating system is installed, the system reboots. Set the administrator password before you can log in for the first time.
18 On the Settings screen, enter the password, confirm the password, and then click Finish.
19 Type the administrator password, and then press Enter to log in to the system.

The operating system installation is complete.

Install Windows Server by using operating system media

About this task
To install the Microsoft Windows Server operating system for Standard, Datacenter, and the Essentials edition:

Steps
1 Connect a keyboard, monitor, mouse, and any additional peripherals to your system.
2 Turn on your system and any attached peripherals.
Several BIOS screens are displayed during startup, but do not require any user intervention.

NOTE: This method of installation is supported in the BIOS and UEFI modes.
3 Insert the Microsoft Windows Server media into the DVD drive.
The following message is displayed:
Loading Files

NOTE: If a Windows operating system is installed on your system, the following message is displayed:
Press any key to boot from the CD/DVD ... Press any key to begin the installation
4 After the files are loaded, click the appropriate language that you want to deploy.
5 On the Windows Setup screen, select the appropriate Language, Time & Currency, and the Keyboard or Input values, and then click
Next.
6 On the screen, click Install Now.
The Operating System Install screen is displayed.

120 Troubleshooting operating system issues

 NOTE: In Windows Server Essentials edition, on clicking Install Now, the License terms window is displayed.
7 On the Select the operating system you want to install screen, select the operating system from the available list, and click Next.
The license terms window is displayed.
8 Read through the license agreement information. If you agree with all the information, select I accept the license terms, and then
click Next.
9 On the Which type of installation do you want screen, select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) if it is not selected already.
10 On the Where do you want to install Windows screen, specify the partition on which you want to install the operating system.
To create a partition and begin installation:
a Click Drive options (advanced) > New.
b Specify the size of the partition in MB, and click Apply. The following message is displayed:
To ensure that all Windows features work correctly, Windows might create additional
partition for system files
c Click OK.

NOTE: The recommended minimum partition size for the Primary partition Standard, Datacenter, Edition is 40 GB and
for the Essentials Edition is 60 GB. If you are installing extra memory on your system, you may require more primary
partition space to accommodate page file and hibernation. During installation, a recommended partition size is displayed
on the screen based on the memory size of your system. Follow the instructions on the screen. If you select Core
installation, you may require less hard drive space for the Primary partition. For information on drive partitioning see the
Partitioning a drive section.
11 Select the newly-created operating system partition, and click Next.
After the operating system is installed, the system reboots. Set the administrator password before you can log in for the first time.

NOTE: For Windows Server Essentials edition, after the installation is complete you must configure the system before
setting the administrator password.
12 Type the administrator password, and then press Enter to log in to the system.

Next step
The operating system installation is complete.
NOTE: After you log in to the system, you can use the Server Manager Dashboard to configure and manage different roles and
features in the operating system.

FAQs

How to resolve the yellow bangs in device manager for Dell 12th
Generation Servers?
Description

After installing Windows Server 2012 R2 on Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers, two yellow bangs appear in the Device Manager
under Hidden Devices: PCI SIMPLE COMMUNICATIONS CONTROLLER. These devices do not impact the server.

Resolution

Download and install chipset drivers from www.dell.com/support for the respective servers.

Troubleshooting operating system issues 121

Why are the USB keyboard and mouse not detected during the Windows
Server 2008 R2 SP1 installation
Cause
This issue occurs because Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 does not have native USB 3.0 driver support.

Resolution
1 In System Setup, ensure that the USB 3.0 option on the Integrated Device Settings screen is set to Disable.

NOTE: By default, the USB 3.0 option is disabled. If enabled, the operating system fails to detect the USB devices such as
keyboard, mouse, and USB DVD. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 supports out-of-box drivers for USB 3.0, and are available
at www.dell.com/support.
2 Install the drivers after installing the OS
3 Restart the system.
4 In System Setup, ensure that the USB 3.0 option on the Integrated Device Settings screen is set to Enable.

NOTE: Ensure that you first install the drivers, and then restart the system to enter System
Setup.

Why does the installation wizard stop responding during the Windows OS
installation

Cause
This issue occurs because the Windows 2008 R2 SP1 does not support Secure Boot.

Resolution:
Before installing Windows 2008 R2 SP1, ensure that the Secure Boot option in System Setup is set to Disable.

NOTE: Secure Boot is supported only on Windows 2012, Windows 2012 R2 and Windows 2016 with native storage controller and
out-of-box drivers. Secure Boot is supported only in the UEFI mode.

Why does Windows OS installation using Lifecycle Controller, on

PowerEdge Servers fail at times with an error message

Cause
This issue occurs when the size of the drivers exceed the temporary storage space provided by the OS.

Resolution:
Before installing the OS, ensure that there are no add-on devices installed on the system. To avoid removing the hardware manually, you
can also disable the PCIe slots in the BIOS configuration utility.

122 Troubleshooting operating system issues

Why does Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 display a blank screen in UEFI
mode after installation
After installing Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 in the UEFI mode, either using Lifecycle Controller (LC) or manually, may display a blank
screen while booting to the OS.

Cause
This issue occurs because the Windows Server 2008 R2 does not support Graphics Output Protocol (GOP).

Resolution
In the BIOS configuration utility, ensure that Load Legacy Option Rom on the Miscellaneous Settings screen is set to Enable.

Restart your system and boot to the operating system again.

Symptoms
Booting to iSCSI or FCoE fails
Description

When trying to install Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system on an iSCSI or FCOE LUN, you may see a failure either during the
operating system installation or at first boot.

Resolution

This is a known issue. This issue has been fixed in operating systems pre-installed by Dell and in the recovery media shipped with your
system. For more information, see the knowledge base article KB2894179 at support.microsoft.com.

Troubleshooting system crash at cng.sys with watchdog Error

violation
Issue: System encountered Blue Screen of Death at cng.sys with "Watchdog Error violation" error.
Cng.sys blue screen errors can be caused by a variety of hardware, firmware, driver, or software issues. These could be related to either
Microsoft Windows software or hardware issue. “cng.sys” errors can be caused by:

1 Incorrectly configured, old, or corrupted Microsoft Windows device drivers.

2 Corruption in Microsoft Windows registry from a recent cng.sys-related software change
3 Virus or malware infection that has corrupted the cng.sys file
4 Hardware conflict after installing new hardware, or hardware related to cng.sys
5 Damaged or removed system files after you've installed software or drivers related to Microsoft Windows.
6 cng.sys blue screen caused by a damaged hard disk.
7 cng.sys STOP error due to memory (RAM) corruption.

To fix the issue:

1 Ensure system is updated with latest version of the cng.sys .

Troubleshooting operating system issues 123

2 Ensure that all configurations and data is backed up prior to updating BIOS or Firmware.
3 Update latest BIOS, firmware and related drivers.
4 Perform general hardware diagnostic to ensure system health.
5 If the issue persists, call Dell Technical Support for assistance.

Host bus adapter mini is missing physical disks and backplane

in Windows
Issue—On a server platform that supports HBA330 mini card, if you make any of the following changes:

• Move the rear backplane of R730XD to an onboard controller.

• Move an HBA330 mini from one server with one backplane configuration to another server with a different backplane configuration.

after Windows is installed, then the operating system does not detect a physical disk. However, the iDRAC and HBA330 BIOS displays all
the physical disks as working fine.
NOTE: This issue affects the Windows operating system. However, iDRAC and HBA330 BIOS displays all disks and backplanes as
working fine. The presence of a Generic SCSI Enclosure device in Device Manager is required for Storage Spaces Direct. If this
device is not available, no enclosure is presented in Cluster Manager that is required for Storage Spaces Direct.
Workaround—Do not replace hardware. The HBA330 mini Windows driver writes a Driver Mapping Page to the HBA330 mini firmware. If
the backplane configuration is changed after the Operating System is installed, the information displayed on the Driver Mapping page is
incorrect and you need to reset the page. To reset the Driver Mapping page, use a boot image. If you observe this issue again, contact the
Dell Technical Support.

Converting evaluation OS version to retail OS version

Issue:Customer is attempting to install Windows 2012 R2 using the license key provided by Dell EMC but do not have the media at hand.
Customer then proceed to use the evaluation version to upgrade but the version did not match. Errors occurred when inserting the license
key.
Corrective actions:

To fix the issue, follow the guidelines from the link below. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/supported-
upgrade-paths

Partitions on disk selected for installation of Hyper-V server

2012
Error occurred during installation of Hyper-V server 2012 as the partitions on disk selected for installation are not in recommended order.
The recommended configuration order includes a Windows RE Tools partition, a system partition, an Microsoft® Reserved partition (MSR),
a Windows partition, and a recovery image partition.

The Microsoft Windows RE Tools partition and system partition before you add the Windows partition. Add the partition that contains the
recovery image at the end. This partition order helps keep the system and the Windows RE Tools partition safe, during actions such as
removing the recovery image partition or changing the size of the Windows partition.

124 Troubleshooting operating system issues

Install Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 with the Internal
Dual SD module
Prerequisites

• Dell EMC 13th generation of PowerEdge servers with Dual 8GB or 16GB SD cards in Mirror mode installed in the Internal Dual SD
module (IDSDM).
• Set the Boot Mode to Bios and not UEFI.
• Download the Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 ISO from Microsoft.

About this task

To install Microsoft Hyper-V server 2012 R2 using IDSM.
Steps
1 Boot to the F2 System Setup to verify USB Mode is set to USB 3.0 and IDSDM Cards are in Mirror Mode.
2 Choose the System Bios option, then choose Integrated Devices.
3 Go back to System Bios Menu and choose Boot Settings.
4 Make sure Boot mode is in Bios mode, then click on BIOS Boot Settings.
5 On the BIOS Boot Settings Choose Boot Sequence and make sure that Hard Drive C: is at the top.
6 Under Hard-Disk Drive Sequence move Internal SD:IDSDM is above Integrated RAID Controller.
7 Boot to the Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 ISO, and Click on Install Now.
8 Check the box to accept the license terms and click next.
9 Choose "Custom: Install the newer version of Hyper-V Server only (advanced).
10 Make sure to choose the right disk to install to and click next. If there is a partition on the SD card, select it, and click Delete, then
click next.
Your drive size will vary based on the size of your SD cards.

If you get the warning message you can ignore it and click next.
11 After the install is complete, let the server reboot, but make sure to enter the F2 System Bios again.
12 Select System Bios again, and Integrated Devices. Disable USB 3.0, click back, then finish. Click on yes to save settings. Click OK to
acknowledge the change, and click finish. Lastly click yes to confirm exit.
13 The server will reboot to the OS.
14 The first time you login, you'll have to set a local admin password.

Next step
Configure to your requirements.

VMware
FAQs
Why are VMs configured with Fault Tolerance not in a protected state in
ESXi 6.0?
For some PowerEdge systems with AMD 6300 series processor, VMs configured with Fault Tolerance (FT) might not be in a protected
state. Sometimes, secondary VM takes more time to attain the protected state. This is a known issue. Affected systems include PowerEdge
systems R815, R715 and M915.

Troubleshooting operating system issues 125

Rebooting an ESXi host
About this task
Before shutting down or rebooting the ESXi hosts, ensure that the hosts are in the Maintenance mode. Powering off a managed host,
disconnects it from vCenter Server, but does not remove it from the inventory. To Reboot, perform the following steps.
Steps
1 Shut down all virtual machines running on the ESXi host.
2 Select the ESXi host you want to shut down.
3 From the main menu or right-click the main menu, select Reboot or Shut Down.
• If you select Reboot, the ESXi host shuts down and reboots.
• If you select Shut Down, the ESXi host shuts down. You must manually power on the system.
4 Provide a reason for the shut down.
This information is added to the log.

Unable to allocate storage space to a VM

One of the advantages of using a VM is that you can dynamically allocate drive space to VMs to meet storage requirements. It helps
optimize the space utilization.
You may be unable to allocate space to a VM if the hard drives associated with VM do not have enough free space. Before you try to
allocate space to a VM, ensure that the hard drives have enough free space.

Configuration backup and restore procedures

Dell EMC recommends that you back up your VMware ESXi configuration after you complete the initial setup on a routine schedule that fits
your datacenter environment. Backing up your configuration captures the license code (host serial number).
To back up or restore the configuration information, use the VMware vSphere CLI. The vSphere CLI is available in:

• vSphere CLI package — vSphere CLI package can be installed on either Linux or on Microsoft Windows operating systems.
• vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) — vMA can be deployed on an ESXi host.

Both of this software are available for download from vmware.com. For more information on setting up and running the vSphere CLI, see
the VMware vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide and VMware ESXi Embedded and vCenter Server Setup
Guide at vmware.com/support/pubs.

The backup and restore steps are given in this section considering that:

• You have already imported the vSphere CLI to a system other than the one you want to back up or restore.
• You have installed the Windows or Linux management Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

Backing up the configuration of your ESXi host

About this task
To back up configuration data of a host:

126 Troubleshooting operating system issues

Steps
1 Start the vSphere CLI.
2 Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -s flag to save the host configuration to the specified backup filename:
vicfg-cfgbackup --server< ESXi-host-ip> -- portnumber <port_number> --protocol
<protocol_type> --username root --password root_password [-s <backup-filename>

The -portnumber and -protocol options are optional. If you exclude them, the defaults are port 443 and protocol HTTPS.

NOTE: If you do not specify a password in the command line, you are prompted for one when the command executes. For
example: vicfgcfgbackup --server 172.17.13.211 --username root –s backupdate.dat

NOTE: If your administrative password includes special characters, such as $ or &, you must include a backslash escape
character (\) before each special character.

Restoring configuration of your ESXi host

About this task
To restore the configuration data of a host:
NOTE: The backup process does not support restoring to later builds. This requirement can be overridden by using the –f option.

Steps
1 Turn off any VM that is running on the host you want to restore.
2 Optionally, restore the host to the ESXi build number used when the backup file was created.
3 Start the vSphere CLI on a host other than the host you want to restore and log in.
4 Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the –l flag to load and restore the backup file to the host.
vicfg-cfgbackup --server <ESXi-host-IP> -- portnumber <port_number> --protocol
<protocol_type>-- username <username> --password <password> -l <backup_filename>

The -portnumber and -protocol options are optional. If you exclude them, the defaults are port 443 and protocol HTTPS.

NOTE: If you do not specify a password in the command line, you are prompted for one when the command executes. For
example: vicfgcfgbackup --server 172.17.13.211 --username root –l backupdate.dat

After a successful restore, the system reboots using the new configuration. For complete instructions on backup and restore
commands, see VMware ESXi Embedded and vCenter Server Setup Guide at vmware.com/support/pubs.

Can we back up 2012 r2 as a VM

You can back up a host OS but not to a VM. You can use two non-raid disks to backup the data.

Install, update and manage Fusion-IO drives in Windows OS

Issue: Customer is trying to install ioSphere and are having problems with password credentials.
Corrective action:

To fix the issue, ioSphere needs to be reinstalled. The link below contains information about installing, updating and managing Fusion-IO,
which contains information about installing ioSphere:

http://www.dell.com/support/article/au/en/audhs1/sln156793/how-to-install-update-and-manage-fusion-io-drives-in-windows-os-on-dell-
poweredge-servers?lang=en

Troubleshooting operating system issues 127

Symptoms
Dell PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD device is not detected
during hot-plug in ESXi 6.0
Description

When the Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSD namespace is set as Offline and hot-plug operation is performed in the same slot, the SSD does
not initialize and is not detected.

This is a known issue. Perform one of the following steps:

1 Reconnect the drive to a different drive slot, if available.

2 Restart the sfcbd-watchdog service and reinsert the drive.

Linux
FAQs
Why are network ports displayed as unknown in YaST2 network
configuration in SUSE Linux Enterprise?
While configuring a bonding interface, the configured bond-slaves are listed as Unknown Network Device. The YaST installer is unable to
write the device name in to the ifcfg files. Delete the existing configuration of previously configured network interfaces.

Symptoms
Unable to boot from iSCSI when static IPv6 address is assigned to the
initiator
Description

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 does not boot from iSCSI over IPv6 address after successful installation, when static IPv6 address is
assigned to the initiator.

Resolution

Use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) address for the initiator.

Installing operating system through various methods

Install and deploy operating system through Dell Lifecycle Controller and various methods, watch the following videos listed below:

128 Troubleshooting operating system issues

Table 22. Installation of OS through LC and various methods

Slno Video Description Location

1. Launching Lifecycle Controller Launching LC

2. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Firmware Rollback LC Firmware Rollback

3. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Firmware Update Using FTP LC Firmware Update Using FTP Server
Server

4. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Firmware Update Using LC - Firmware Update Using CIFS
Network Share: CIFS (Common Internet File System)

5. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Firmware Update Using LC - Firmware Update Using NFS
Network Share: NFS (Network File System)

6. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Export Server Profile Using LC - Export Server Profile Using USB Drive
USB Drive
7. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Export Server Profile Using LC - Export Server Profile Using NFS
Network Share: Network File System (NFS)

8. Dell LifecC - Export Server Profile Using Network LC - Export Server Profile Using CIFS
Share: Common Internet File System (CIFS)

9. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Backup Server Profile LC - Backup Server Profile

10. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Firmware Update Using Local LC - Firmware Update Using Local Drive CD or DVD or USB
Drive (CD or DVD or USB)

11. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Network Settings LC - Network Settings

12. Dell Lifecycle Controller - RAID Configuration - Break LC - RAID Configuration - Break Mirror
Mirror

13. Dell Lifecycle Controller - RAID Configuration - Key LC - RAID Configuration - Key Encryption
Encryption

14. Dell Lifecycle Controller RAID Configuration LC RAID Configuration

15. Dell Lifecycle Controller - Import Server Profile Using LC - Import Server Profile Using USB Drive
USB Drive

16. OS Deployment Manual Installation OS Deployment Manual Installation

17. OS Deployment - Unattended Install Using NFS - OS Deployment - Unattended Install Using NFS
Network File System

18. OS Deployment - Unattended Install Using - CIFS - OS Deployment - Unattended Install Using - CIFS
Common Internet File System

19. OS Deployment - Unattended Installation Using USB OS Deployment - Unattended Installation Using USB Drive
Drive

20. Install Operating System with Secure Boot through Install OS with Secure Boot through LC
Lifecycle Controller

21. Unattended OS Installation, UEFI Mode Unattended OS Installation UEFI Mode

22. Unattended OS Installation, BIOS Mode Unattended OS Installation BIOS Mode

23. Repurpose or Retire System Repurpose or Retire System

24. Collecting Tech Support Report and Exporting in USB Collecting Tech Support Report and Exporting in USB Drive
Drive

Troubleshooting operating system issues 129

25. Deploying an Operating System using Lifecycle Deploying an OS using LC – Manual Install method
Controller – Manual Install method

26. Deploying an Operating System using Lifecycle Deploying an OS using LC - Unattended Install method
Controller - Unattended Install method

130 Troubleshooting operating system issues

 7
Getting help
Topics:

• Contacting Dell EMC

• Downloading the drivers and firmware
• Locating Service Tag of your system

Contacting Dell EMC

Dell EMC provides several online and telephone based support and service options. If you do not have an active internet connection, you
can find contact information about your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell EMC product catalog. Availability varies by country and
product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell EMC for sales, technical assistance, or customer service
issues:

1 Go to Dell.com/support/home.
2 Select your country from the drop-down menu on the lower right corner of the page.
3 For customized support:
a Enter your system Service Tag in the Enter your Service Tag field.
b Click Submit.
The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed.
4 For general support:
a Select your product category.
b Select your product segment.
c Select your product.
The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed.
5 For contact details of Dell EMC Global Technical Support:
a Click Global Technical Support.
b The Contact Technical Support page is displayed with details to call, chat, or e-mail the Dell EMC Global Technical Support
team.

Downloading the drivers and firmware

Dell EMC recommends that you download and install the latest BIOS, drivers, and systems management firmware on your system.
Prerequisite
Ensure that you clear the web browser cache before downloading the drivers and firmware.
Steps
1 Go to Dell.com/support/drivers.
2 Under the Drivers & Downloads section, type the Service Tag of your system in the Enter a Service Tag box, and then click Submit.

NOTE: If you do not have the Service Tag, select Detect PC to allow the system to automatically detect your Service Tag, or
under General support, navigate to your product.
3 Click Drivers & Downloads.
The drivers that are applicable to your selection are displayed.
4 Download the drivers to a USB drive, CD, or DVD.

Getting help 131

Locating Service Tag of your system
Your system is identified by a unique Express Service Code and Service Tag number. The Express Service Code and Service Tag are found
on the front of the system by pulling out the information tag. Alternatively, the information may be on a sticker on the chassis of the
system. The mini Enterprise Service Tag (EST) is found on the back of the system. This information is used by Dell to route support calls to
the appropriate personnel.

Figure 26. Locating Service Tag of your system

1 Information tag (top view) 2 Information tag (back view)

3 Open Manage Mobile (OMM) label 4 MAC address and secure password label
5 Service tag label

132 Getting help