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Hard disk drive problems

Use this information to resolve issues related to the hard disk drives.

Server cannot recognize a hard drive​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved.

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

  2. If the status 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 hard disk drive backplane.

  3. Observe the associated green hard disk drive activity LED and the yellow status LED and perform corresponding operations in different situations:

    • 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 server and press the key according to the on-screen instructions, the LXPM is displayed by default. (For more information, see the “Startup” section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server 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.*

    • 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 whether the hard disk drive backplane is correctly seated. For details, go to step 4.

    • 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 Hard disk drive problems. If the activity of the LEDs changes, return to step 1.

  4. Make sure that the hard disk 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 hard disk drives. When you start a server and press the key according to the on-screen instructions, the LXPM is displayed by default. (For more information, see the “Startup” section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server 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.*

    Based on those tests:

    • If the backplane 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 hard drives fail​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved:

  • 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 server are at the latest level

Important
Some cluster solutions require specific code levels or coordinated code updates. If the device is part of a cluster solution, verify that the latest level of code is supported for the cluster solution before you update the code.

Multiple hard drives are offline​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved:

  • 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.

One or two 7mm drives identified as failing​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved:

  1. Remove and reinstall the reported drive(s) in the same drive bay or another drive bay.

  2. If the problem persists, consider replacing the current drives with new ones.

  3. If the problem still persists, consider replacing the bottom backplane.

  4. If the problem still persists, consider replacing the top backplane.

A replacement hard disk drive does not rebuild​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved:

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

  2. Review the SAS/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 steps until the problem is solved:

  1. If the green hard disk 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 server and press the key according to the on-screen instructions, the LXPM is displayed by default. (For more information, see the “Startup” section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server 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.*

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

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

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

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved:

  1. Turn off the server.

  2. Reseat the SATA/SAS adapter.

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

  4. Reseat the drive.

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

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

U.3 NVMe drive can be detected in NVMe connection, but cannot be detected in Tri-mode​

In Tri-mode, NVMe drives are connected via a PCIe x1 link to the controller. To support Tri-mode with U.3 NVMe drives, U.3 x1 mode must be enabled for the selected drive slots on the backplane through the XCC Web GUI. By default, the backplane setting is U.2 x4 mode.

Complete the following steps to enable U.3 x1 mode:

  1. Log into the XCC Web GUI, and choose Storage > Detail from the navigation tree on the left.

  2. In the window that is displayed, click the icon next to Backplane.

  3. In the dialog box that is displayed, select the target drive slots and click Apply.

  4. Do a DC power cycle to make the setting take effect.