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Rear M.2 LEDs

This topic provides troubleshooting information for the rear M.2 drive assembly.

LEDs on the rear M.2 interposer​

Figure 1. Rear M.2 interposer LEDs

The normal status of the LEDs on the interposer is that activity LED blinks and status LED remains off.

LEDStatus and description
1 Activity LED (green)On: The M.2 drive is idle.
Off: The M.2 drive appears de-asserted.
Blinking (about four flashes per second): The I/O activity of the M.2 drive is in progress.
2 Status LED (yellow)On: A drive fault occurs.
Off: The M.2 drive is working normally.
Fast blinking (about four flashes per second): The M.2 drive is being located.
Slow blinking (about one flash per second): The M.2 drive is being rebuilt.

Rear M.2 drive de-asserted problem​

  1. Hot-swap the two side-by-side M.2 drive assemblies with each other to see if the problem persists.

  2. If the problem persists:

    • Scenario 1: activity LED remains off, replace the interposer. If replacing interposers does not work, it can be a power or PSoC fault, collect FFDC file and contact Lenovo Support.

    • Scenario 2: both LEDs are on, access the drive information on XCC:

      • If the information is accessible but the drive remains de-asserted, replace the drive or check RAID chip log in FFDC file to see if any helpful information is available.

      • If the information is not accessible, check RAID chip log in FFDC file, replace the interposer or drive.

  3. If the problem persists after replacing the interposer and drive, contact Lenovo Support.

LEDs on the rear M.2 backplane​

Figure 2. Rear M.2 backplane LEDs

The normal status of the LEDs on the backplane is that both system heartbeat LED and PSoC heartbeat LED blink.

LEDStatus and description
1 System heartbeat LED (green)Blinking: The M.2 backplane has power on.
2 PSoC heartbeat LED (green)On: The PSoC firmware is not initialized or in a hung state.
Off: Power off or in a hung state.
Fast blinking (about one flash per second): Updating code (bootloader mode).
Slow blinking (about one flash every two seconds): Exiting initialization (application mode).

Rear M.2 drive backplane troubleshooting procedure​

  • Visually inspect the LEDs on the backplane, with system power on and top cover removed.

    • If the PSoC heartbeat LED is always on or off, replace the backplane. If the problem persists after replacing, collect FFDC file and contact Lenovo Support.

    • If the system heartbeat LED is not blinking, it indicates that RAID chip problems occur. Replace the backplane. If the problem persists after replacing, collect FFDC file and contact Lenovo Support.

  • If XCC event log shows PCIe errors concerning the rear M.2 drive and removing the top cover is not feasible.

    • Replace the backplane. If the problem persists after replacing, collect FFDC file and contact Lenovo Support.

    • Check PSoC register in the PSoC folder to further identify if PSoC is working normally:

      • If not, try to replace the backplane or update PSoC firmware. If they do not work, contact Lenovo Support.

      • If yes, check if RAID chip information is accessible on FFDC file device list. If yes, replace the backplane or collect FFDC file and contact Lenovo Support; if not, replace the backplane.