Table 6-1 describes general problems you might encounter, along with suggested solutions.
Table 6-1. General Problems
Problem
Suggested Solution
The system does not boot from the RAID controller.
Check the system basic input/output system (BIOS) configuration for PCI interrupt assignments. Make sure a unique interrupt is assigned for the RAID controller. Initialize the logical drive before installing the operating system.
One of the hard drives in the array fails often.
This could result from one or two problems.
If the same drive fails:
Format the drive.
Check the enclosure or backplane for damage.
Check the SCSI cables.
Replace the hard drive.
Drives in the same slot keep failing:
Replace the cable or backplane, as applicable.
After pressing <Ctrl><M> during bootup and trying to make a new configuration, the system hangs when scanning devices.
Check the drives IDs on each channel to make sure each device has a different ID.
Check to make sure an internal connection and external connection are not occupying the same channel.
Check the termination. The device at the end of the channel must be terminated.
Check to make sure that the RAID controller is seated properly in the slot.
Replace the drive cable.
There is a problem spinning the drives all at once, when multiple drives are connected to the RAID controller using the same power supply.
Set the drives to spin on command. This allows the RAID controller to spin two devices simultaneously.
Pressing <Ctrl><M> does not display a menu.
These utilities require a color monitor.
At system power-up with the RAID controller installed, the BIOS banner display is garbled or does not appear at all.
The RAID controller cache memory may be defective or missing.
Cannot flash or update the EEPROM.
Contact Dell™ support for assistance.
NOTICE: Do not flash the firmware during a background initialization
or data consistency check. Otherwise, the procedures will fail.
Firmware
Initializing...
appears and remains on the screen.
Make sure that TERMPWR is being properly provided to each peripheral device populated channel.
Make sure that each end of the SCSI channel chain is properly terminated using the recommended terminator type for the peripheral device. The channel is automatically terminated at the RAID controller if only one cable is connected to a channel.
Make sure that the RAID controller is properly seated in the PCI slot.
The BIOS Configuration Utility does not detect a replaced physical drive in a RAID 1 array and offer the option to start a rebuild.
After the drive is replaced, the utility shows all drives online and all logical drives reporting optimal state. It does not allow rebuild because no failed drives are found.
This occurs if you replace the drive with a drive that contains data. If the new drive is blank, this problem does not occur.
If you exit from this screen and restart the server, the system will not find the operating system.
Perform the following steps to solve this problem:
Access the BIOS Configuration Utility and select Objects—> Physical Drive to display the list of physical drives.
Use the arrow key to select the newly inserted drive, then press <Enter>.
The menu for that drive displays.
Select Force Offline and press <Enter>.
This changes the physical drive from Online to Failed.
Select Rebuild and press <Enter>.
After rebuilding is complete, the problem is resolved and the operating system will boot.
BIOS Boot Error Messages
Table 6-2 describes error messages about the BIOS that can display at bootup, the problems, and suggested solutions.
Table 6-2. BIOS Boot Error Messages
Message
Problem
Suggested Solution
Adapter BIOS Disabled. No
Logical Drives Handled by
BIOS
The BIOS is disabled. Sometimes the BIOS is disabled to prevent booting from the BIOS. This is the default when cluster mode is enabled.
Enable the BIOS by pressing <Ctrl><M> at the boot prompt to run the BIOS Configuration Utility.
Host Adapter at Baseport
xxxx Not Responding
The BIOS cannot communicate with the adapter firmware.
Make sure the RAID controller is properly installed.
Check SCSI termination and cables.
No PERC 4 Adapter
The BIOS cannot communicate with the adapter firmware.
Make sure the RAID controller is properly installed.
Run View/Add
Configuration option of
Configuration Utility.
Press A Key to Run
Configuration Utility Or
<Alt><F10> to Continue.
The configuration data stored on the RAID controller does not match the configuration data stored on the drives.
Press <Ctrl><M> to run the BIOS Configuration Utility.
Select Configure—> View/Add Configuration to examine both the configuration data in non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) and the configuration data stored on the hard drives.
Resolve the problem by selecting one of the configurations.
If you press <Alt><F10> to continue, the configuration data on the NVRAM will be used to resolve the mismatch.
Unresolved configuration
mismatch between disks and NVRAM on the adapter after creating a new configuration
Some legacy configurations in the drives cannot be cleared.
Clear the configuration.
Clear the related drives and re-create the configuration.
1 Logical Drive Failed
A logical drive failed to sign on.
Make sure all physical drives are properly connected and are powered on.
Run the BIOS Configuration Utility to find out whether any physical drives are not responding.
Reconnect, replace, or rebuild any drive that is not responding.
X Logical Drives Degraded
X number of logical drives signed on in a degraded state.
Make sure all physical drives are properly connected and are powered on.
Run the BIOS Configuration Utility to find whether any physical drives are not responding.
Reconnect, replace, or rebuild a drive that is not responding.
Insufficient memory to
run BIOS Press any key to
continue...
Not enough memory to run the BIOS
Make sure the cache memory has been properly installed.
Insufficient Memory
Not enough memory on the adapter to support the current configuration.
Make sure the cache memory has been properly installed.
The following SCSI IDs
are not responding:
Channel x:a.b.c
The physical drives with SCSI IDs a, b, and c are not responding on SCSI channel x.
Make sure the physical drives are properly connected and are powered on.
Following SCSI disk not
found and no empty slot
available for mapping it
The physical disk roaming feature did not find the physical disk with the displayed SCSI ID. No slot is available to map the physical drive and the RAID controller cannot resolve the physical drives into the current configuration.
Reconfigure the array.
Following SCSI IDs have
the same data y, z
Channel x: a, b, c
The physical drive roaming feature found the same data on two or more physical drives on channel x with SCSI IDs a, b, and c. The RAID controller cannot determine the drive that has the duplicate information.
Remove the drive or drives that should not be used.
Unresolved configuration
mismatch between disks
and NVRAM on the adapter
The RAID controller is unable to determine the proper configuration after reading both NVRAM and Configuration on Disk
Press <Ctrl><M> to run the BIOS Configuration Utility.
Select Configure—> New Configuration to create a new configuration.
Note that this will delete any configuration that existed.
Other Potential Problems
Table 6-3 describes other problems that can occur.
Table 6-3. Other Potential Problems
Topic
Information
Physical drive errors
To display the BIOS Configuration Utility Media Error and Other Error options, press <F2> after selecting a physical drive under the Objects—> Physical Drive menu.
A Media Error is an error that occurs while transferring data.
An Other Error is an error that occurs at the hardware level, such as a device failure, poor cabling, bad termination, or signal loss.
RAID controller power requirements
The maximum power requirements are 15 watts at 5-V and 3 Amps.
Changes in the BIOS Configuration Utility do not appear to take affect.
When there are multiple controllers in a system, make sure the correct controller is selected in the BIOS Configuration Utility.
Cache Migration
To move cache memory from one controller to another, first determine whether the cache memory contains data, then transfer it to the other controller. The cache memory with a transportable battery backup unit (TBBU) contains an LED that lights up if data exists on the cache memory.
If the cache memory contains data, perform the following steps before you move the cache from one controller to another:
Make sure the NVRAM configuration on the new controller is cleared.
Before connecting any disks to the new controller, start the system and press
<Ctrl><M> at the prompt to enter the BIOS Configuration Utility.
If there is an existing configuration on the new controller, make sure that no drives are
connected to the new controller before clearing the NVRAM configuration.
Access the Management Menu, then select Configure—>Clear Configuration.
This clears the configuration on the NVRAM.
Make sure that the configuration data on the disks is intact.
Transfer the cache to the new controller and connect the drives in the same order as they were
connected on the previous adapter.
This ensures that the configuration data on the cache matches the configuration data on they physical disks. This is important for successful cache migration.
Power on the system.
SCSI Cable and Connector Problems
If you are having problems with your SCSI cables or connectors, first check the cable connections.
If still having a problem, visit the Dell's website at
www.dell.com for information about qualified small computer system interface (SCSI) cables and connectors or contact your Dell representative for information.
Audible Warnings
The RAID controller has a speaker that generates warnings to indicate events and errors. Table 6-4 describes the warnings.
Table 6-4. Audible Warnings
Tone Pattern
Meaning
Examples
Three seconds on and one second off
A logical drive is offline.
One or more drives in a RAID 0 configuration failed.
Two or more drives in a RAID 1 or 5 configuration failed.
One second on and one second off
A logical drive is running in degraded mode.
One drive in a RAID 5 configuration failed.
One second on and three seconds off
An automatically initiated rebuild has been completed.
While you were away from the system, a hard drive in a RAID 1 or 5 configuration failed and was rebuilt.
