alexeyga

Lol, this is fun! Disabling the empty PS/2 port took care of the "other" failure - all LEDs are green now! ))) Done some more tests - it still only works on the A02 bios - everything above just hangs. Neither i'm able to run any distros with gui. Good news - borrowed another copy of MS Server 2008 - installing it right now, keeping my fingers crossed... ))))

Thanks for the "tip" regarding the LEDs - in all honesty my experience with this unit is very limited, back when I overtook the IT at this company - it was managing the MS domain and it was the first thing I disconnected from the network and shoved in the far away corner of the server room... up until now. That being said, the LED status is GGGY - which indicates some "other" type of failure and the troubleshooting guide is suggesting to check the cables - will do. As a side note - I've also tried completely disabling all SATA ports and the RAID controller - to no change in symptoms. I'll still check the cables, but my bet is on the motherboard.

Hi guys, i'm trying to resurrect an old Dell SC1420 unit to run a couple of remote users, but so far it has been more of a mumbo-jumbo... Given: Dell SC1420 server -bios version A00 -1X Xeon 3ghz cpu -2GB ram -2x 160gb sata hard drives in RAID 1 mode on the built-in Adaptec cerc sata 2s controller -MS server 2003 pre-installed -seems to be running just fine So, naturally, the first thing I do before anything - update the bios to the latest version - A04 -it wouldn't boot no more, gets stuck at the RAID initialization screen: -And booting Freedos gives that: -Can't start neither 2003 or 2008 MS Server installations and the only distro that booted - was the TinyCore from which I've also re-flashed the bios with the A04 to no avail. -Figured I'd try to turn off the RAID completely which resulted in this when booting FreeDOS: -MS Server 2008 installation would not start. Can start most major distros (Mint, Ubuntu), but X fails quite miserably upon opening first apps, Fedora and CentOS don't even detect the screen upon booting. -Sooo by re-installing all bios versions I found that starting from the bios A03 it would not boot at all if the RAID is active. -I've tried re-building the RAID1 array by fully re-formatting every disc separately and doing a full CLEAN, to no change of behavior. -Sooo I'm debating what's the real issue here? Raid controller shot? Defective hard drives? Mother board shot? Unfortunately i've already ordered a pair of faster CPU-s and more RAM, wouldn't want to abandon that project half way though, but if it comes to it... Thanks!