To perform certain procedures in this document, you must remove the system cover and work inside the system. While working inside the system, do not attempt to service the system except as explained in this guide and elsewhere in your system documentation.
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
Start-Up Routine
Look and listen during the system's start-up routine for the indications described in Table 4-1.
This section provides troubleshooting procedures for external devices attached to the system, such as the monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Before you perform any of the procedures, see Troubleshooting External Connections.
Troubleshooting IRQ Assignment Conflicts
Most PCI devices can share an IRQ with another device, but they cannot use an IRQ simultaneously. To avoid this type of conflict, see the documentation for each PCI device for specific IRQ requirements. Table 4-2 lists the IRQ assignments.
Table 4-2. IRQ Assignment Defaults
IRQ Line
Assignment
IRQ0
System timer
IRQ1
Keyboard controller
IRQ2
Interrupt controller 1 to enable IRQ8 through IRQ15
IRQ3
Available
IRQ4
Serial port 1 (COM1 and COM3)
IRQ5
Available
IRQ6
Available
IRQ7
Available
IRQ8
Real-time clock
IRQ9
ACPI functions (used for power management)
IRQ10
Available
IRQ11
Available
IRQ12
PS/2 mouse port (available if the mouse is disabled through the System Setup program)
IRQ13
Math coprocessor
IRQ14
Available
IRQ15
Available
Troubleshooting External Connections
Loose or improperly connected cables are the most likely source of problems for the system, monitor, and other peripherals (such as a printer, keyboard, mouse, or other external device). Ensure that all external cables are securely attached to the external connectors on your system. See Figure 1-1 for the front-panel connectors and Figure 1-2 for the back-panel connectors on your system.
Troubleshooting the Video Subsystem
Problem
Monitor is not working properly.
Video memory is faulty.
Action
Check the system and power connections to the monitor.
Determine whether the system has monitors attached to both the front
and rear video connectors.
The system supports only one monitor attached to either the front or rear video connector. When a monitor is connected to the front panel, and the back-panel video connector is disabled.
If two monitors are attached to the system, disconnect one monitor. If the problem is not resolved, continue to the next step.
Check the system and power connections to the monitor.
If the problem is confined to a particular application, see the application
documentation for specific port configuration requirements that the
program may require.
Ensure that the NICs, hubs, and switches on the network are all set to the
same data transmission speed. See the network equipment
documentation.
Ensure that all network cables are of the proper type and do not exceed the
maximum length.
Responding to a Systems Management Software
Alert Message
Systems management software monitors critical system voltages and temperatures, fans, and hard drives in the system. Alert messages appear in the Alert Log window. For information about the Alert Log window, see the systems management software documentation.
Troubleshooting a Wet System
Problem
Liquid spilled on the system.
Excessive humidity.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system
from the electrical outlet.
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
System message indicates a problem with the battery.
System Setup program loses system configuration information.
System date and time do not remain current.
NOTE: If the system is turned off for long periods of time (for weeks or months), the NVRAM may lose its system configuration information. This situation is caused by a defective battery.
Turn off the system and disconnect it from the electrical outlet for at least
one hour.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet and turn on the system.
Enter the System Setup program.
If the date and time are not correct in the System Setup program, replace the battery. See System Battery.
If the problem is not resolved by replacing the battery, see Getting Help.
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 kept in the System Setup program, the problem may be caused by software rather than by a defective battery.
Troubleshooting the Power Supply
Problem
System-status indicators are amber.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
Systems management software issues a fan-related error message.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
Ensure that the faulty fan's power cable is firmly attached to the fan power
connector. See Fan Assembly.
NOTE: Wait 30 seconds for the system to recognize the fan and determine whether it is working properly.
If the problem is not resolved, install a new fan. See Fan Assembly.
If the replacement fan is working properly, close the system. See Closing the System.
If the replacement fan does not operate, see Getting Help.
Troubleshooting System Memory
Problem
Faulty memory module.
Faulty system board.
Diagnostic indicator code indicates a problem with system memory.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
If diagnostics indicates a fault, follow the corrective action(s) provided by the diagnostic program. If the problem is not resolved or if the system is not operational, proceed to step 2.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, unplug the system from the
power source and press the power button, and reconnect the system to
power.
Turn on the system and attached peripherals and, as the system boots,
note the messages on the screen.
If the amount of system memory detected during POST does not match the amount of memory installed, proceed to the next step.
Reconnect the system to its electrical outlet, and turn on the system and
attached peripherals.
Enter the System Setup program and check the system memory setting.
See Using the System Setup Program. If the amount of memory installed
still does not match the system memory setting, proceed to the next step.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system
from its electrical outlet.
If a diagnostic test or error message indicates a specific memory module as
faulty, swap or replace the module. Otherwise, swap the memory module
in socket 1 with a module of the same type and capacity that is known to
be good. See Installing Memory Modules.
Reconnect the system to its electrical outlet, and turn on the system and
attached peripherals.
As the system boots, observe any error message that appears and the
diagnostic indicators on the front of the system.
If the memory problem is still indicated, repeat step 12 through step 17 for
each memory module installed until the faulty memory module is
replaced.
If the problem persists after all memory modules have been checked, see Getting Help.
Troubleshooting an Optical Drive
Problem
System cannot read data from a CD or DVD.
Optical drive indicator does not blink during boot.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
Try using a different CD or DVD in the optical drive.
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the drive's SATA
controller is enabled. See Using the System Setup Program.
One or more hard drives not recognized by the system.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
NOTICE: This troubleshooting procedure can destroy data stored on the hard drive. Before you proceed, back up all files on the hard drive.
Depending on the results of the diagnostics test, proceed as needed through the following steps.
If you are experiencing problems with multiple hard drives, skip to step 5.
For a problem with a single hard drive, continue to the next step.
If your system has a SAS RAID controller, perform the following steps.
Restart the system and press <Ctrl><R> to enter the host adapter
configuration utility program.
See the documentation supplied with the host adapter for information about the configuration utility.
Ensure that the hard drive has been configured correctly for the RAID.
Exit the configuration utility and allow the system to boot to the
operating system.
Ensure that the required device drivers for your SAS controller card or SAS
RAID controller are installed and are configured correctly. See the
operating system documentation for more information.
Check the System Setup program to verify that the SAS controller is
enabled and the hard drives connected to the controller are detected.
Check the cable connections inside the system:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and
disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
Verify that the cable connections between the hard drive(s) and the
drive controller are correct, whether the connections are to the SATA
connectors on the system board, a SAS expansion card, or a SAS RAID
controller.
Verify that the SAS or SATA cables are securely seated in their
connectors.
NOTE: When troubleshooting an expansion card, see the documentation for your operating system and the expansion card.
Problem
Error message indicates a problem with an expansion card.
Expansion card performs incorrectly or not at all.
Action
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
CAUTION: Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the system cover and access any of the components inside the system. Before performing any procedure, see your Product Information Guide for complete information about safety precautions, working inside the computer and protecting against electrostatic discharge.
