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Drive problems

See this section to resolve issues related to the drives.

Solution cannot recognize a drive​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Observe the associated yellow drive status LED. If the LED is lit, it indicates a drive fault.

  2. If the LED is lit, remove the drive from the bay, wait 45 seconds, and reinsert the drive, making sure that the drive assembly connects to the drive backplane.

  3. Observe the associated green drive activity LED and the yellow status LED:

    • If the green activity LED is flashing and the yellow status LED is not lit, the drive is recognized by the controller and is working correctly. Run the diagnostics tests for the hard disk drives. When you start a solution and press the key specified in the on-screen instructions, the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager interface is displayed by default. You can perform hard drive diagnostics from this interface. From the Diagnostic page, click Run Diagnostic > Disk Drive Test.

    • If the green activity LED is flashing and the yellow status LED is flashing slowly, the drive is recognized by the controller and is rebuilding.

    • If neither LED is lit or flashing, check the drive backplane.

    • If the green activity LED is flashing and the yellow status LED is lit, replace the drive. If the activity of the LEDs remains the same, go to step drive problems. If the activity of the LEDs changes, return to step 1.

  4. Make sure that the drive backplane is correctly seated. When it is correctly seated, the drive assemblies correctly connect to the backplane without bowing or causing movement of the backplane.

  5. Reseat the backplane power cable and repeat steps 1 through 3.

  6. Reseat the backplane signal cable and repeat steps 1 through 3.

  7. Suspect the backplane signal cable or the backplane:

    • Replace the affected backplane signal cable.

    • Replace the affected backplane.

  8. Run the diagnostics tests for the SAS/SATA adapter and hard disk drives. When you start a solution and press the key according to the on-screen instructions, the LXPM interface is displayed by default. (For more information, see the “Startup” section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your solution at Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager portal page.) You can perform hard drive diagnostics from this interface. From the Diagnostic page, click Run Diagnostic > HDD test/Disk Drive Test.

    Depending on the LXPM version, you may see HDD test or Disk Drive Test.

    Based on those tests:

    • If the adapter passes the test but the drives are not recognized, replace the backplane signal cable and run the tests again.

    • Replace the backplane.

    • If the adapter fails the test, disconnect the backplane signal cable from the adapter and run the tests again.

    • If the adapter fails the test, replace the adapter.

Multiple drives fail​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  • View the Lenovo XClarity Controller event log for events related to power supplies or vibration issues and resolve those events.

  • Make sure that the device drivers and firmware for the hard disk drive and solution are at the latest level

Multiple drives are offline​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  • View the Lenovo XClarity Controller event log for events related to power supplies or vibration issues and resolve those events.

  • View the storage subsystem log for events related to the storage subsystem and resolve those events.

A replacement drive does not rebuild​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Make sure that the drive is recognized by the adapter (the green drive activity LED is flashing).

  2. Review the SATA RAID adapter documentation to determine the correct configuration parameters and settings.

Green drive activity LED does not represent actual state of associated drive​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. If the green drive activity LED does not flash when the drive is in use, run the diagnostics tests for the hard disk drives. When you start a solution and press the key specified in the on-screen instructions, the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager interface is displayed by default. You can perform hard drive diagnostics from this interface. From the Diagnostic page, click Run Diagnostic > Disk Drive Test

  2. If the drive passes the test, replace the backplane.

  3. If the drive fails the test, replace the drive.

Yellow drive status LED does not represent actual state of associated drive​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Turn off the solution.

  2. Reseat the SATA adapter.

  3. Reseat the backplane signal cable and backplane power cable.

  4. Reseat the drive.

  5. Power on the solution and observe the activity of the drive LEDs.

Not all drives are recognized​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Set up RAID configuration before you run the drive stress test.

  2. Remove the drive that is not recognized (see Remove a hot-swap solid-state drive); then, run the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager drive test.

  3. Make sure all installed drives are recognized.

Solution stops responding during drive stress test​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Set up RAID configuration before you run the drive stress test.

  2. Remove the drive that was being tested when the solution stopped responding (see Remove a hot-swap solid-state drive), and run the diagnostics again.

A drive has failed with yellow LED lit​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Check the Lenovo XClarity Controller event log for drive events and resolve the problem.

A newly installed drive is not recognized.​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

  1. Set up RAID configuration.

  2. Check the Lenovo XClarity Controller event log, and resolve related errors if found any.

  3. If the LED is lit, remove the drive from the drive bay, wait 45 seconds, and reinsert the drive. Make sure that the drive assembly connects to the drive backplane.

  4. Observe the associated green drive activity LED and the yellow status LED:

    • If the green activity LED is flashing and the yellow status LED is not lit, the drive is recognized by the controller and is working correctly. Run the Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager drive test to determine whether the drive is detected (see https://sysmgt.lenovofiles.com/help/topic/LXPM/diagnostics.html).

    • If the green activity LED is flashing and the yellow status LED is flashing slowly, the drive is recognized by the controller and is rebuilding.

    • If neither LED is lit or flashing, check the drive backplane.

    • If the green activity LED is flashing and the yellow status LED is lit, replace the drive. If the activity of the LEDs remain the same, go to step

  5. If the activity of the LEDs changes, return to step 1. 5. Make sure that a drive backplane is present to install the drive into.

  6. Make sure that the drive backplane is correctly seated. When it is correctly seated, the drive assemblies would be correctly connected to the backplane without bowing or causing movement of the backplane.

  7. Reseat the backplane power cable and repeat step 1 to step 3.

  8. Reseat the backplane signal cable and repeat step 1 to sept 3.

  9. Suspect the backplane signal cable or the backplane:

    1. Replace the affected backplane signal cable.

    2. Replace the affected backplane.

  10. (Trained service technician only) Replace the system board.