This section provides troubleshooting procedures for components inside the system. Before you start any of the procedures in this section, take the following steps:
You need the following items to perform the procedures in this section:
The system's User's Guide
The Dell OpenManage Server AssistantCD and several blank, formatted 3.5-inch diskettes. (If you cannot run the Dell™ Diagnostics from the utility partition on your system's hard-disk drive, you can create a set of diagnostics diskettes using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD. See your system's User's Guide for additional information about using the Dell OpenManage Server Assistant CD.)
The key to the system keylock
NOTE: When you see the question "Is the problem resolved?" in a troubleshooting procedure, perform the operation that caused the problem.
The procedures in this guide require that you open the computer doors and work inside the computer. While working inside the computer, do not attempt to service the computer except as explained in this guide and elsewhere in Dell documentation. Always follow the instructions closely.
WARNING: FOR YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF THE EQUIPMENT
WARNING: Before starting to work on the computer, perform the following steps in the sequence listed:
Turn off and disconnect your computer and peripherals from their power sources (unless you are installing or removing a hard-disk drive). Also, disconnect any telephone or telecommunication lines from the computer.
Ground yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface on the chassis, such as the metal around the card-slot openings at the back of the computer, before touching anything inside your computer.
While you work, periodically touch an unpainted metal surface on the computer chassis to dissipate any static electricity that might harm internal components.
In addition, Dell recommends that you periodically review the safety instructions in the System Information document provided with your computer.
The system has two doors on the top of the system that provide access to the system board and expansion cards. The doors interlock so that the keylock on the right-side door secures both doors.
To open the system doors, perform the following steps:
Observe the precautions in "Safety First—For You and Your Computer" found earlier in this section. Also observe the safety instructions in the System Information document.
Slide the system out of the rack.
Using the system key, turn the keylock on the top of the chassis to the unlocked position (see Figure 7-1).
Press the two latches to release the right door (see Figure 7-1).
Lift the right door.
Lift the left door.
When closing the doors, be sure to close the left door first and then the right door.
Your Dell system has a removable expansion-card cage, which simplifies many installation procedures by allowing you to remove the riser board and all installed expansion cards in a single step.
Check any cables connected to expansion cards through the back-panel openings. Disconnect any cables that will not reach to where the cage must be placed upon removal from the chassis.
NOTE: To prevent damage to the system board or riser board, verify that the power LED on the riser board (see Figure 7-3) is off before removing the expansion-card cage.
Figure 7-3. Removing the Expansion-Card Cage
Locate the expansion-card cage securing lever (see Figure 7-3), and rotate the lever upward until it stops in an upright position.
Lift the expansion-card cage up and away from the chassis.
To replace the expansion-card cage, perform the following steps:
With the securing lever in the upright position, lower the expansion-card cage into place until it is aligned.
Rotate the securing lever downward until it is flush with the top of the chassis. Make sure that the riser board is fully seated in the RISER connector on the system board.
In Figure 7-4, the system doors are open to provide an interior view. Refer to this illustration to locate interior features and components discussed later in this guide.
Figure 7-4. Inside the System
The system board holds the system's control circuitry and other electronic components. Several hardware options, such as the microprocessors and memory, are installed directly on the system board. The expansion-card cage accommodates up to three full-length Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion cards. The two peripheral bays provide space for a 3.5-inch diskette drive, CD-ROM drive, and an additional 5.25-inch device such as a tape drive.
The hard-disk drive bays provide space for up to four 1-inch small computer system interface (SCSI) hard-disk drives. These hard-disk drives are connected to a SCSI host adapter on the system board or on an expansion card, via the SCSI backplane board.
The power cables leading from the power-supply distribution board (PSDB) provide power to the system board, SCSI backplane board, and drives in the peripheral bays.
For non-SCSI drives such as the diskette drive and CD-ROM drive, an interface cable connects each drive to the interposer board or to an expansion card. For SCSI devices, interface cables connect the SCSI backplane board to a SCSI host adapter on the system board or on an expansion card. For more information, see "Installing a Drive in the Peripheral Bay" and "Installing Hard-Disk Drives."
During an installation or troubleshooting procedure, you may be required to change a jumper or switch setting. For information on the system board jumpers, see Appendix A, "Jumpers, Switches, and Connectors."
Liquid spills, splashes, and excessive humidity can cause damage to the system. If an external device (such as a printer or an external drive) gets wet, contact the device manufacturer for instructions. If the system gets wet, perform the following steps:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
If the system was dropped or damaged while being moved, you should check the system to see if it functions properly. If an external device attached to the system is dropped or damaged, contact the manufacturer of the device for instructions or see "Getting Help" for information on obtaining technical assistance from Dell.
To troubleshoot a damaged system, perform the following steps:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
Expansion-card connections to the expansion-card cage
Drive carrier connections to the SCSI backplane board
Verify all internal cable and component connections.
Make sure that all cables are properly connected and that all components are properly seated in their connectors and sockets. Pay particular attention to the interposer board and PSDB (if installed).
Close the system doors and reconnect the system to the electrical outlet.
Run the system board tests in the Dell Diagnostics.
Did the tests run successfully?
Yes. The system is operating properly.
No. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
If an error message indicates a problem with the battery or if the System Setup program loses the system configuration information when the system is turned off, the battery may be defective.
To troubleshoot the battery, perform the following steps:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
Check the connection of the coin cell battery to the system board.
See "Replacing the Battery" in "Installing System Board Options" for information on gaining access to the battery socket.
Is the battery firmly installed in the battery socket on the system board?
Yes. Go to step 7.
No. Go to step 6.
Reseat the battery in its socket.
Close the system doors and reconnect the system to the electrical outlet.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The battery was loose. You have fixed the problem.
No. Continue with this procedure.
CAUTION: There is a danger of a new battery exploding if it is incorrectly installed. Replace the battery only with the same or equivalent type
recommended by the manufacturer. Discard used batteries according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Repeat steps 1 and 2.
Replace the battery.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The battery's charge was low. You have fixed the problem.
No. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
Your system may contain two optional, redundant power supplies. The two indicators on the back of each power supply (see Figure 7-5) signal the power supply's current status. If the red (forwardmost) failure indicator lights up, replace the power supply as described in the following procedure.
Three cooling fans are installed in the system chassis. (Fan 1 is the outermost fan in the fan assembly.) If you observe that one of the cooling fans is not operating or if the server management application issues a fan-related error message, perform the following steps to troubleshoot the problem:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
If an error message indicates an expansion-card problem or if an expansion card seems to perform incorrectly or not at all, the problem could be a faulty connection, a conflict with software or other hardware, or a faulty expansion card. To troubleshoot expansion cards, perform the following steps:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
A system memory problem can be caused by a faulty memory module or a faulty system board. If a random-access memory (RAM) error message appears, the system probably has a memory problem.
When you turn on or reboot the system, the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock indicators on the keyboard should flash momentarily and then turn off. If the Num Lock category in the System Setup program is set to On, the Num Lock indicator should flash momentarily and then remain on; otherwise, it should turn off. Abnormal operation of these indicators can result from a defective memory module in socket DIMM_A or DIMM_B.
To troubleshoot system memory, perform the following steps:
Turn on the system, including any attached peripherals.
Is there an error message indicating invalid system configuration information after the memory count is completed?
Yes. Go to step 2.
No. Go to step 7.
Enter the System Setup program to check the system memory value. See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide for instructions.
Does the amount of memory installed match the system memoryvalue?
Yes. Go to step 8.
No. Go to step 3.
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
Troubleshooting video problems involves determining which of the following items is the source of the problem: the monitor, the monitor interface cable, the video memory, or the video logic of the system. You can also have a high-resolution video expansion card installed, which overrides the video logic of the system.
The following procedure troubleshoots problems with the video memory and video logic only. Before you begin, perform the procedure found in "Troubleshooting the Monitor" in "Checking the Equipment" to determine whether the monitor is the source of the problem.
If you have a high-resolution video expansion card, first complete the steps in "Troubleshooting Expansion Cards" to verify that the card is configured and installed correctly.
To troubleshoot the video subsystem, perform the following steps:
A system board problem can result from a defective system board component, a faulty power supply, or a defective component connected to the system board. If an error message indicates a system board problem, perform the following steps to troubleshoot the problem:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
If the monitor displays a system error message indicating a diskette drive problem during execution of either the boot routine or the Dell Diagnostics, the problem may be caused by any of the following conditions:
The system configuration settings do not match the physical diskette subsystem configuration.
An expansion card is interfering with proper drive operations.
The diskette drive/CD-ROM drive unit is improperly seated against the interposer board.
The diskette drive is faulty.
The interposer board is faulty.
The system's power supply is not providing sufficient power for the drive.
The system's diskette drive logic is faulty.
To troubleshoot the diskette drive subsystem, perform the following steps:
Enter the System Setup program, and verify that the diskette drive setting is configured correctly. See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide for instructions.
If the system configuration settings are incorrect, make the necessary corrections in the System Setup program, and then reboot the system.
Run the diskette drive test in the Dell Diagnostics to determine whether the diskette drive subsystem now works correctly.
Do the tests complete successfully?
Yes. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 4.
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
Remove all expansion cards from the system.
Close the system doors, reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system.
Run the diskette drive test in the Dell Diagnostics to determine whether the diskette drive subsystem now works correctly.
Do the tests complete successfully?
Yes. An expansion card may be conflicting with the diskette drive logic, or you may have a faulty expansion card. Go to step 9.
No. The diskette drive subsystem is faulty. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
Repeat steps 4 and 5, and reinstall one of the expansion cards that you removed in step 6.
Close the system doors, reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system.
Run the diskette drive test in the Dell Diagnostics to determine whether the diskette drive subsystem now works correctly.
Repeat steps 9 through 11 until all expansion cards have been reinstalled or until one of the expansion cards prevents the system from booting from the diagnostics diskette.
Has an expansion card prevented the system from booting from the diagnostics diskette?
Yes. An expansion card is faulty. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
No. The diskette drive subsystem is faulty. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
A SCSI tape drive can be an internal device installed in the externally accessible drive bay or an external device that attaches to a SCSI host adapter connector on the back panel of the system. The SCSI tape drive is controlled by a SCSI host adapter card installed in the system, which may also control other SCSI devices connected to one or more SCSI cables. SCSI devices often require device drivers for the particular operating system being used by the system.
Tape drive problems often result from a defective tape drive, a defective tape cartridge, or software. To troubleshoot a SCSI tape drive, perform the following steps:
Remove the tape that was in use when the problem occurred, and replace it with a tape that you know is not defective.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The original tape was defective. Replace it with a new tape. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 2.
Reboot the system and press <F2> to enter the System Setup program.
Is Secondary SCSI set to Enabled?
Yes.Go to step 4.
No.Go to step 3.
Verify that any required SCSI device drivers are installed on the hard-disk drive and are configured correctly. See "Installing and Configuring SCSI Drivers" in theUser's Guide for instructions on installing and configuring the SCSI device drivers for the system's integrated SCSI host adapter or Dell PowerEdge™ Expandable RAID Controller (PERC) SCSI host adapter card. For any other type of SCSI host adapter card, see the documentation that accompanied the SCSI host adapter card.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The SCSI device drivers were installed or configured incorrectly or were corrupted. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 4.
Reinstall the tape backup software as instructed in the tape-backup software documentation.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The tape backup software was corrupted. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 5.
Reboot the system and check for the presence of the tape drive during the ROM scan sequence.
Is the tape drive detected?
Yes. The drive is correctly cabled and is receiving power. Go to step 10.
No. Go to step 6.
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
Check the SCSI cable connections to the tape drive and to the SCSI host adapter connector. If the tape drive is an internal device, check the DC power cable connection to the tape drive.
Are the cables firmly connected?
Yes. Go to step 10.
No. Go to step 9.
Reseat the cable connectors and close the system doors. Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet and turn it on.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 10.
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet. Then open the system doors.
Remove the tape drive. Then verify that the tape drive is configured for a unique SCSI ID number and that the tape drive is terminated or not terminated as appropriate. See the documentation for the tape drive for instructions on selecting the SCSI ID and enabling or disabling termination.
Is the tape drive configured correctly?
Yes. Go to step 14.
No. Go to step 12.
Reconfigure the tape drive's SCSI ID and termination settings as appropriate. Reinstall the tape drive, close the system doors, reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn it on.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The tape drive was configured incorrectly. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 13.
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet. Then open the system doors.
Replace the SCSI cable that connects the tape drive to the SCSI host adapter. Close the system doors, reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn it on.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. You have fixed the problem.
No. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
Hard-disk drive problems can be caused by a number of conditions, including problems with the drive itself, the SCSI backplane board, the optional SCSI daughter boards, or a cable connected to the SCSI backplane board.
The SCSI backplane board monitors the SCSI hard-disk drives connected to the backplane board. In the event of a drive failure, systems using the optional integrated redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller or optional PERC controller card will issue the following signals using the drive indicator lights adjacent to each SCSI hard-disk drive:
If a drive shows signs of imminent failure, the drive online indicator stays on and the drive failure indicator blinks on briefly each second.
If a drive has failed, the drive online indicator turns off. The drive failure indicator turns on, and blinks off briefly each second.
Other drive indicator patterns are listed in Table 3-3, "SCSI Hard-Disk Drive Indicator Patterns."
To troubleshoot a hard-disk drive problem, perform the following steps.
WARNING: This troubleshooting procedure can destroy data stored on the hard-disk drive. Before you proceed, make sure you have backed up all files on the
hard-disk drive.
If the integrated SCSI host adapter is being used to control the SCSI backplane board, reboot the system and press <F2> to enter the System Setup program.
Is the integrated SCSI controller enabled?
Yes. Go to step 3.
No. Go to step 2.
Enable the integrated SCSI controller, and reboot the system.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 3.
Verify that the SCSI device drivers are installed and configured correctly. See "Installing and Configuring SCSI Drivers" in the User's Guide to determine which drivers are required and how they should be installed and configured.
Are the required SCSI device drivers installed and configured correctly?
Yes. Go to step 5.
No. Go to step 4.
Reinstall and/or reconfigure the required SCSI device drivers, and then reboot the system.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 5.
Remove the drive carrier and install it in another drive bay.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The SCSI backplane board has a defective connector. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
No. Go to step 6.
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical outlet.
WARNING: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions in your System Information document.
Remove all hard-disk drives from the four hard-disk drive bays.
Remove and replace the SCSI backplane daughter board(s).
Reinstall the hard-disk drives.
Check the SCSI cable connections to the SCSI backplane board and to the SCSI host adapter. Check the DC power cable connection to the SCSI backplane board. The SCSI cable may be connected to the SCSI host adapter on the system board or to a SCSI host adapter card in an expansion slot. See "Installing Hard-Disk Drives" for the location of the cable connectors on the SCSI backplane board and the system board.
Are the cables firmly connected?
Yes. Go to step 12.
No. Go to step 11.
Reseat the cable connectors, and then reconnect the system and peripherals to their electrical outlets and turn them on.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The cable connections were faulty. You have fixed the problem.
No. Go to step 12.
Partition and logically format the hard-disk drive. If possible, restore the files to the drive. To partition and logically format the drive, see the operating system's documentation.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. The hard-disk drive format was corrupted. You have fixed the problem.
No. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
If you encounter problems with your system's optional integrated RAID controller, perform the following steps to help determine the problem:
Enter the System Setup program and check the setting for the integrated RAID controller. See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide for instructions.
Reseat the RAID memory module in its socket. See "Adding Memory" in "Installing System Board Options" for general instructions on removing and replacing memory modules.
Reseat the RAID hardware key in its socket.
See Figure 8-1, "System Board Features," for the location of the RAID hardware key.
Close the system doors, reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and reboot the system.
Is the problem resolved?
Yes. You have fixed the problem.
No. See "Getting Help" for instructions on obtaining technical assistance.
