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Resolving installation issues

Use the information in this section to diagnose and resolve problems that you might encounter during the initial installation and setup of your server.

Server does not power on​

Complete the following steps until the problem is resolved:
Note
The power-control button will not function until approximately 5 to 10 seconds after the server has been connected to power.

  1. Make sure that the power-control button is working correctly:

    1. Disconnect the server power cords.

    2. Reconnect the power cords.

    3. (Trained technician only) Reseat the operator information panel cable, and then repeat steps 1a and 1b.

      • (Trained technician only) If the server starts, reseat the operator information panel. If the problem remains, replace the operator information panel.

      • If the server does not start, bypass the power-control button by using the force power-on jumper. If the server starts, reseat the operator information panel. If the problem remains, replace the operator information panel.

  2. Make sure that the reset button is working correctly:

    1. Disconnect the server power cords.

    2. Reconnect the power cords.

    3. (Trained technician only) Reseat the operator information panel cable, and then repeat steps 2a and 2b.

      • (Trained technician only) If the server starts, replace the operator information panel.

      • If the server does not start, go to step 3.

  3. Make sure that both power supplies installed in the server are of the same type. Mixing different power supplies in the server will cause a system error (the system-error LED on the front panel turns on).

  4. Make sure that:

    • The power cords are correctly connected to the server and to a working electrical outlet.

    • The type of memory that is installed is correct.

    • The DIMMs are fully seated.

    • The LEDs on the power supply do not indicate a problem.

    • The processors are installed in the correct sequence.

  5. Reseat the following components:

    1. Operator information panel connector

    2. Power supplies

  6. Replace the following components. restarting the server each time:

    1. Operator information panel connector

    2. Power supplies

  7. If you just installed an optional device, remove it, and restart the server. If the server now starts, you might have installed more devices than the power supply supports.

  8. See Power supply LEDs.

The server immediately displays the POST Event Viewer when it is turned on​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved.

  1. Correct any errors that are indicated by the light path diagnostics LEDs.

  2. Make sure that the server supports all the processors and that the processors match in speed and cache size.

    You can view processor details from system setup.

    To determine if the processor is supported for the server, see Lenovo ServerProven website.

  3. (Trained technician only) Make sure that processor 1 is seated correctly

  4. (Trained technician only) Remove processor 2 and restart the server.

  5. Replace the following components one at a time, in the order shown, restarting the server each time:

    1. (Trained technician only) Processor

    2. (Trained technician only) System board

Embedded hypervisor is not in the boot list​

Complete the following steps until the problem is resolved:

  1. Make sure that the optional embedded hypervisor flash device is selected on the boot manager <F12> Select Boot Device at startup.

  2. Make sure that the embedded hypervisor flash device is seated in the connector correctly.

  3. See the documentation that comes with the optional embedded hypervisor flash device to validate that the device is configured correctly.

  4. Make sure that other software works on the server.

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.

Displayed system memory is less than installed physical memory​

Complete the following procedure to solve the problem.

Note
Each time you install or remove a memory module, you must disconnect the server from the power source; then, wait 10 seconds before restarting the server.
  1. Make sure that:

    • No error LEDs are lit on the operator information panel.

    • No memory module error LEDs are lit on the system board.

    • Memory mirrored channel does not account for the discrepancy.

    • The memory modules are seated correctly.

    • You have installed the correct type of memory module (see PMEM rules for requirements).

    • After changing or replacing a memory module, memory configuration is updated accordingly in the Setup Utility.

    • All banks of memory are enabled. The server might have automatically disabled a memory bank when it detected a problem, or a memory bank might have been manually disabled.

    • There is no memory mismatch when the server is at the minimum memory configuration.

    • When PMEMs are installed:

      1. If the memory is set in App Direct Mode, all the saved data have been backed up, and created namespaces are deleted before any PMEM is replaced or added.

      2. Refer to PMEM rules and see if the displayed memory fits the mode description.

      3. If PMEMs are recently set in Memory Mode, turn it back to App Direct Mode and examine if there is namespace that has not been deleted.

      4. Go to the Setup Utility, select System Configuration and Boot Management > Intel Optane PMEMs > Security, and make sure security of all the PMEM units is disabled.

  2. Reseat the memory modules, and then restart the server.

  3. Check the POST error log:

    • If a memory module was disabled by a systems-management interrupt (SMI), replace the memory module.

    • If a memory module was disabled by the user or by POST, reseat the memory module; then, run the Setup utility and enable the memory module.

  4. Run memory diagnostics. When you start a solution and press F1, the LXPM interface is displayed by default. You can perform memory diagnostics with this interface. From the Diagnostic page, go to Run Diagnostic > Memory test or PMEM test.

    Note
    When PMEMs are installed, run diagnostics based on the mode that is set presently:

    • App Direct Mode:

      • Run Memory Test for DRAM memory modules.

      • Run PMEM Test for PMEMs.

    • Memory Mode:

      Run both Memory Test and PMEM Test for PMEMs.

  5. Reverse the modules between the channels (of the same processor), and then restart the server. If the problem is related to a memory module, replace the failing memory module.
    Note
    When PMEMs are installed, only adopt this method in Memory Mode.

  6. Re-enable all memory modules using the Setup utility, and then restart the server.

  7. (Trained technician only) Install the failing memory module into a memory module connector for processor 2 (if installed) to verify that the problem is not the processor or the memory module connector.

  8. (Trained technician only) Replace the system board.

Migrated PMEMs are not supported​

Intel Optane PMEM interleave set (DIMM X) is migrated from another system (Platform ID: 0x00), these migrated PMEMs are not supported nor warranted in this system.
If this warning message appears, complete the following steps:
  1. Move the modules back to the original system with the exact same configuration as the previous one.
  2. Back up stored data in PMEM namespaces.
  3. Disable PMEM security with one of the following options:

    • LXPM

      Go to UEFI Setup > System Settings > Intel Optane PMEMs > Security > Press to Disable Security, and input passphrase to disable security.

    • Setup Utility

      Go to System Configuration and Boot Management > System Settings > Intel Optane PMEMs > Security > Press to Disable Security, and input passphrase to disable security.

  4. Delete namespaces with command corresponding to the operating system that is installed:

    • Linux command:

      ndctl destroy-namespace all -f
      ndctl destroy-namespace all -f

    • Windows Powershell command

      Get-PmemDisk | Remove-PmemDisk

  5. Clear Platform Configuration Data (PCD) and Namespace Label Storage Area (LSA) with the following ipmctl command (for both Linux and Windows).

    ipmctl delete -pcd
    Note
    See the following links to learn how to download and use impctl in different operating systems:
  6. Reboot the system, and press F1 to enter Setup Utility.
  7. Power off the system.
  8. Remove the modules to be reused for a new system or configuration.

A Lenovo optional device that was just installed does not work.​

  1. Make sure that:

    • The device is supported for the server (see Lenovo ServerProven website).

    • You followed the installation instructions that came with the device and the device is installed correctly.

    • You have not loosened any other installed devices or cables.

    • You updated the configuration information in system setup. When you start a server and press the key according to the on-screen instructions to display the Setup Utility. (For more information, see the “Startup” section in the LXPM documentation compatible with your server at Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager portal page.) Whenever memory or any other device is changed, you must update the configuration.

  2. Reseat the device that you have just installed.

  3. Replace the device that you have just installed.

  4. Reseat the cable connection and check there is no physical damage to the cable.

  5. If there is any cable damages, then replace the cable.

Voltage planar fault is displayed in the event log​

Complete the following steps until the problem is solved.

  1. Revert the system to the minimum configuration. See Specifications for the minimally required number of processors and DIMMs.

  2. Restart the system.

    • If the system restarts, add each of the removed items one at a time and restart the system each time until the error occurs. Replace the item for which the error occurs.

    • If the system does not restart, suspect the system board.