recovery of non-responsive file server

KenH · July 06, 2016, 02:50:29 PM

I had been restoring the Veeam backup to the old file server every week (just as test to be sure the backup installed with no problems). The last time shortly after starting the restore process, the power was accidently shut off. When I attempted a restart it does not show anything on the monitor, and the keyboard nor mouse do not seem to have any effect. I have tried putting boot cd disks in the drive and using a USB boot drive. unplugging power supplies, etc. Nothing I have tried has enabled me to see any display on the monitor, nor can I seem to get any response from the keyboard or mouse.

This is a Dell Poweredge T410. I can not figure out how to get a response from the video, keyboard or mouse. Any suggestions to allow me to once again gain access to this machine, or is it just a large black boat anchor?

Jeff Golas · July 06, 2016, 03:08:45 PM

Are you getting any beeps/error messages out of it at all? Sounds like its not even posting. Sometimes this is just as simple as pulling the power cord and letting the power supply fully die out for a bit, then plug it back in and try again, OR perhaps the power supply or something else actually died in it.

Jeff Zylstra · July 06, 2016, 03:37:52 PM

Yep. I've had to hold down the power button for 30 seconds while the computer was unplugged to wipe out any residual power to the machine. I've also had to go back to factory default settings on BIOS once. This last year has not been a good one for computers or phones around here. Obviously you'll need to be careful with the BIOS reset, but power can do some wild and wicked stuff to computers.

Joshua Conner · July 06, 2016, 04:24:36 PM

Does it have idrac that can be really helpful in diagnosing dell servers that seem dead.

I just had my r710 die from lighting it killed the nic and it wouldn't post. luckily swapping motherboards to get it back to life was a 5min job.

KenH · July 06, 2016, 08:16:13 PM

Thanks for all the responses.
1) no beeps at all. Couldn't say about error messages without video. It does not seem to be posting at all.
2) I have unplugged both power supplies for 15 minutes, but still no joy.
3) I did not do any installation of the idrac before the server was originally installed. Is there any way to use this without already having it installed?

Mark · July 07, 2016, 09:15:29 AM

iDRAC default login is username "root" password "calvin" without quotes, of course. If the iDRAC is lit up, you should be able to access that even with the server turned off.

Joshua Conner · July 07, 2016, 09:38:45 AM

you said you were using veeam can you do a restore to a vm and fire it up in a virtual environment on another server?

Jeff Zylstra · July 07, 2016, 10:23:04 AM

Sounds silly, but have you pulled the battery out of the motherboard yet? I don't know if a dead battery could cause something like this if memory was sustained by the AC power, but with computers anything is possible. It's probably time to replace the motherboard battery anyways.

If you get it up and running again, Dell's Open Manage might be helpful in the future, perhaps as a diagnostic aid and also for administering the server as it is fairly comprehensive.

KenH · July 11, 2016, 01:55:41 PM

Sorry for the sporadic updates I am only in this office Mon & Wed. I have confirming I have IDRAC6 6xpress card installed in the server. However I am unclear how to access with no video output. I do not have a separate RJ 45 marked for the IDRAC. It is currently connected to the network, but I get no response trying to ping the old IP nor the 192,168.0.120 (which was listed as the default).

I do have green power lights. the front LCD display lights but shows no error, other than intrusion alert when the case is open, etc.

Jeff Golas · July 11, 2016, 01:57:10 PM

Just on a whim, have you tried a different monitor? Does the server look/act like its booting or doing anything outside of not having any video?

Mark · July 11, 2016, 02:45:16 PM

You should be able to check/set the iDRAC IP address from the front panel on the server using the LCD screen. Although whit the Express card, I do not believe you get a full remote console.

Jeff Golas · July 11, 2016, 03:24:33 PM

FYI, if the IP really is a 192.168.0.x subnet, you would have to set your computer to another address on that subnet in order to talk to it. So for example, if you think the drac's IP address is 192.168.0.1, and if your computer is normally 192.168.1.10, you should try manually changing the IP address of YOUR COMPUTER to 192.168.0.20, or where the 20 is, anything besides 0 or 1.

Jeff Zylstra · July 11, 2016, 04:41:22 PM

Quote from: Jeff Golas on July 11, 2016, 03:24:33 PM
FYI, if the IP really is a 192.168.0.x subnet, you would have to set your computer to another address on that subnet in order to talk to it. So for example, if you think the drac's IP address is 192.168.0.1, and if your computer is normally 192.168.1.10, you should try manually changing the IP address of YOUR COMPUTER to 192.168.0.20, or where the 20 is, anything besides 0 or 1.

And once you're sure you are on the same subnet, maybe run the Angry IP scanner or something like to scan for all IP addresses, since you're really not sure about the setup of the IDRAC. Can't hurt.

Joshua Conner · July 12, 2016, 10:34:42 AM

It should show the idrac MAC address on a tag on the front of the pc so run a scanner and look for that mac address. Normally idrac has its own rj45 plug.

Jeff Golas · July 12, 2016, 01:34:58 PM

Quote from: Joshua Conner on July 12, 2016, 10:34:42 AM
It should show the idrac MAC address on a tag on the front of the pc so run a scanner and look for that mac address. Normally idrac has its own rj45 plug.

Newer ones or "idrac express" I believe share one of the nic ports with the idrac.

KenH · July 13, 2016, 02:36:46 PM

Thanks for all the thoughts. among other things, I connected the rj45 connections from the server (first #1 then #2), to a spare switch ( I did not have a spare cross over cable handy, and a laptop (with Wi-Fi disabled) to the switch) configured the laptop adapter to the same subnet 192.168.0.1 dns to 192.168.0.1. I still was not able to ping the server using 192.168.0.120.

When I restart the server, it first displays that it is booting, then shows "ST: 58RWKN1". I realize we have wasted too much time for a retired file server, but it does seem it should be possible to get it to work. Originally, I connected two different working monitors to the server directly. but since we were trying to connect using IDRAC I assumed a directly connected monitor would be unnecessary.

Thanks again for all the input!

Jeff Golas · July 15, 2016, 04:35:19 PM

Sounds like you completely understood what was being said, congrats on translating our gibberish! If the display shows ST: xxxx, thats giving you the serial # (or aka the Dell "service tag"). So your backplane is working. One last thing you can try in regards to the idrac, is plug it into a network that has DHCP (or if you have an old internet router laying around, plug both the laptop and the server into it so they both get an IP address). The router will tell you if the idrac grabbed an ip using dhcp so that you know exactly what to connect to. If you dont see it grabbing anything, chances are its either configured for static or DOA.

Does your display have arrows where you can scroll? I'd be REALLY surprised if it doesn't, and if so, it may tell you what's wrong, thats what differentiates a server from a workstation. Do you get any beeps/sounds at all?

Lastly...getting really technical, do any of the capacitors on the motherboard look like they're popped or ready to pop?

Jeff Golas · July 15, 2016, 04:36:05 PM

PS - Looked up that service tag at support.dell.com and saw some posts in regards to dead servers and the power supply being toast.

KenH · July 15, 2016, 04:49:53 PM

Thanks for the tips.
Connecting a separate router is a good Idea. I will give that a shot next chance I get.

Jeff Golas · July 15, 2016, 04:56:58 PM

PS - looked up the config via that support site, don't see a drac in the list unless it was added later....

224-8662 : PowerEdge T410 Chassis w/ up t o 6 Hot-Plug Hard Drives,LCD D iagnostics
342-0753 : SAS, PERC 6/iR Cable, T410
313-7842 : Optical Cable T410
330-4146 : Power Supply, Redundant, 580W
310-8509 : Power Cord, NEMA 5-15P to C13, 15 amp, wall plug, 10 feet / 3 meter
317-4112 : Intel XeonE5620 2.4Ghz, 12M Ca che,Turbo, HT, 1066MHz Max Mem
341-6175 : PERC6i SAS RAID Controller Internal with Battery
313-9100 : 16X DVD-ROM,SATA, INTERNAL
317-2553 : 8GB Memory (4x2GB), 1333MHz S ingle Ranked UDIMMs for 1Proce ssor, Optimized
341-8728 : 500GB 7.2K RPM SATA 3Gbps 3.5i n Hot-plug Hard Drive
330-4150 : Electronic System Documentation and OpenManage DVD Kit
330-5280 : Dell Management Console
317-1301 : T410 Heat Sync 1P

KenH · July 18, 2016, 12:58:46 PM

I doubt there is a problem with either of the two power supplies. they both seem to be starting normally. first really high speed fans, soon slowing back down. The LCD display is working, etc.

I did try connecting a laptop and the server to a spare router. Though it was able to recognize the laptop, it did not show a connection to the server. I am ready to give-up and declare it a brick.

Thanks to everyone for your efforts!!

Joshua Conner · July 18, 2016, 01:31:44 PM

If you really want the data look into a used motherboard. I bought one for a failed r710 and it was super easy to swap all of the components and it booted right up and I got my data off. I think it was 85$ for a used mobo.

Jeff Golas · July 18, 2016, 04:55:58 PM

Quote from: KenH on July 18, 2016, 12:58:46 PM
I doubt there is a problem with either of the two power supplies. they both seem to be starting normally. first really high speed fans, soon slowing back down. The LCD display is working, etc.

I did try connecting a laptop and the server to a spare router. Though it was able to recognize the laptop, it did not show a connection to the server. I am ready to give-up and declare it a brick.

Thanks to everyone for your efforts!!

As I mentioned above...I dont see any drac in the list, so I dont think it has any drac card in it. The other thing you can look for is the post lights if it has any - like 3-4 leds on the back somewhere that show what the motherboard is doing.