To perform certain procedures in this document, you must remove the system cover and work inside the system. While working inside the system, do not attempt to service the system except as explained in this guide and elsewhere in your system documentation.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Start-Up Routine
Look and listen during the system's start-up routine for the indications described in Table 5-1.
If the power indicator on the system front panel or power supply does not indicate that power
is available to the system, ensure that the power cable is securely connected to the power
supply.
If the system is connected to a PDU or UPS, turn the PDU or UPS off and then on.
If the PDU or UPS is not receiving power, plug it into another electrical outlet. If it still is not
receiving power, try another PDU or UPS.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet and turn on the system.
NOTE: The 1470-W power supplies require 200–240 V to operate. If they are plugged into 110-V electrical outlets, the power supplies do not power up.
This section provides troubleshooting procedures for external devices attached to the system, such as the monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Before you perform any of the procedures, see "Troubleshooting External Connections."
Troubleshooting External Connections
Loose or improperly connected cables are the most likely source of problems for the system, monitor, and other peripherals (such as a printer, keyboard, mouse, or other external device). Ensure that all external cables are securely attached to the external connectors on your system. See Figure 2-1 and Figure 2-2 for the front-panel and back-panel connectors on your system.
Troubleshooting the Video Subsystem
Problem
Monitor is not working properly.
Video memory is faulty.
Action
Check the system and power connections to the monitor.
If the mouse is damaged, continue to the next step.
Swap the faulty mouse with a working mouse.
If the problem is resolved, replace the faulty mouse.
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the USB ports are enabled. See "Using the
System Setup Program" in your User's Guide.
If the problem is not resolved, see "Getting Help."
Troubleshooting Basic I/O Functions
Problem
Error message indicates a problem with the serial port.
Device connected to the serial port is not operating properly.
Action
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the serial port is enabled. See "Using the
System Setup Program" in the User's Guide.
If the problem is confined to a particular application, see the application documentation for
specific port configuration requirements that the program may require.
Enter the System Setup program and confirm that the NICs are enabled. See "Using the
System Setup Program" in your User's Guide.
Check the appropriate indicator on the NIC connector. See "NIC Indicator Codes" in
"Indicators, Messages, and Codes."
If the link indicator does not light, check all cable connections.
If the activity indicator does not light, the network driver files might be damaged or missing.
Remove and reinstall the drivers if applicable. See the NIC's documentation.
Use another connector on the switch or hub.
If you are using a NIC card instead of an integrated NIC, see the documentation for the NIC card.
Ensure that the appropriate drivers are installed and the protocols are bound. See the NIC's
documentation.
Ensure that the NICs, hubs, and switches on the network are all set to the same data
transmission speed. See the network equipment documentation.
Ensure that all network cables are of the proper type and do not exceed the maximum length.
See "Network Cable Requirements" in your User's Guide.
Responding to a Systems Management Software
Alert Message
Systems management software monitors critical system voltages and temperatures, fans, and hard drives in the system. Alert messages appear in the Alert Log window. For information about the Alert Log window, see the systems management software documentation.
Inside the System
In Figure 5-1, the bezel and system cover are removed to provide an interior view of the system.
NOTICE: Do not remove the cooling shroud if the system is turned on. The cooling shroud must be installed to direct the airflow from the fans.
Figure 5-1. Inside the System
The system board holds the system's control circuitry and other electronic components. The processor and memory riser cards are installed directly on the system board. The system can accommodate up to seven expansion cards, four memory riser cards, and one integrated Fibre Channel module card.
The SCSI backplane supports up to five 3.5-inch SCSI hard drives. A removable drive carrier supports an optional diskette drive and optional optical drive. Power is supplied to the system board and drives through one or two power supplies.
Opening the System
The system is enclosed by an optional bezel and cover. To upgrade or troubleshoot the system, remove the bezel and cover to access the drives and internal system components.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Rotate the left end of the bezel away from the front panel.
Unhook the right end of the bezel and pull the bezel away from the system.
Figure 5-2. Installing and Removing the Optional Bezel
Unless you are installing a hot-plug component such as a cooling fan or hot-plug expansion
card, turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the
electrical outlet and peripherals.
To remove the system cover, loosen the two captive screws at the front of the system. See
Figure 5-3.
Slide the cover backward about 1.3 cm (0.5 inch), and grasp the cover on both sides.
Carefully lift the cover away from the system.
Figure 5-3. Installing and Removing the System Cover
Closing the System
Ensure that you did not leave tools or loose parts inside the system.
Place the cover over the sides of the chassis, and slide the cover forward.
Tighten the two captive screws at the front of the system to secure the cover. See Figure 5-3.
Reconnect the peripheral cables.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system.
To replace the optional bezel, hook the right end of the bezel onto the chassis, then fit the
free end of the bezel onto the system. Secure the bezel with the keylock. See Figure 5-2.
Troubleshooting a Wet System
Problem
Liquid spilled on the system.
Excessive humidity.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical
outlet.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Ensure that the following components are properly installed:
Expansion cards
Memory modules and memory riser cards
Processor(s)
Power supplies
Fans
Hard drives
Ensure that all cables are properly connected. See "SCSI Hard-Drive Cabling Guidelines" in
"Installing Drives" for SCSI cabling information and Figure A-3 for the locations of the
system board connectors.
System message indicates a problem with the battery.
System Setup program loses system configuration information.
System date and time do not remain current.
NOTE: If the system is turned off for long periods of time (for weeks or months), the NVRAM may lose its system configuration information. This situation is caused by a defective battery.
Action
Re-enter the time and date through the System Setup program. See "Using the System Setup
Program" in your User's Guide.
Turn off the system and disconnect it from the electrical outlet for at least one hour.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet and turn on the system.
Enter the System Setup program.
If the date and time are not correct in the System Setup program, replace the battery. See "System Battery" in "Installing System Components."
If the problem is not resolved by replacing the battery, see "Getting Help."
NOTE: Some software may cause the system time to speed up or slow down. If the system seems to operate normally except for the time kept in the System Setup program, the problem may be caused by software rather than by a defective battery.
Troubleshooting Power Supplies
NOTE: The 1470-W power supplies require 200–240 V to operate. If they are plugged into 110-V electrical outlets, the power supplies will not power up.
The power supply's fault indicator is lit. See "Power Indicator Codes" in "Indicators, Messages, and Codes."
NOTICE: The power supplies are hot-pluggable. Remove and install only one power supply at a time in a system that is powered on. The system is in the redundant mode when two power supplies are installed and both power supplies are connected to an AC power source. Operating the system with only one power supply installed for extended periods of time can cause the system to overheat.
Ensure that the power supply is properly installed by removing and reinstalling it. See "Power
Supplies" in "Installing System Components."
NOTE: After installing a power supply, allow several seconds for the system to recognize the power supply and to determine if it is working properly. The power indicator turns green to signify that the power supply is functioning properly. See "Power Indicator Codes" in "Indicators, Messages, and Codes."
If the problem persists, remove the faulty power supply. See "Removing a Power Supply" in "Installing System Components."
Systems management software issues a fan-related error message.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached
peripherals.
If the problem is not resolved, install a new fan. See "Fans" in "Installing System
Components."
If the replacement fan does not operate, see "Getting Help."
Troubleshooting System Memory
Problem
Faulty memory riser card.
Faulty memory module.
Faulty system board.
System status indicator is amber.
LCD error code or system beep code indicates a memory problem.
Systems management software issues a memory-related message through the LCD display or systems management software.
Action
Memory-related beep code during system startup.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical
outlet.
Repeat step d through step h in step 6 for each memory module installed.
If you have tested all the memory modules and the problem persists, or none of the memory
modules passes, the system board is faulty. See "Getting Help."
The system starts up successfully but there are memory-related error messages.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical
outlet.
Replace the memory module(s) identified by the diagnostics. See "Installing Memory
Modules" in "Installing System Components."
Enter the System Setup program and enable the Redundant Memory option, if disabled in
step 1.
Restart the system. If there are still memory-related errors on the system LCD, or in the SEL,
see "Getting Help."
Troubleshooting a Diskette Drive
Problem
Error message indicates a problem with the optional diskette drive.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Enter the System Setup program and verify that the diskette controller is enabled and the
diskette drive is configured correctly. See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's
Guide.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical
outlet.
Remove the diskette/optical drive carrier and ensure that the diskette drive cable is securely
attached. Reinstall the diskette/optical drive carrier, making sure it is fully inserted and
properly seated in the system chassis. See Figure 7-3.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached
peripherals.
Run the appropriate online diagnostic test to see whether the diskette drive works correctly. If
it does not, proceed to the next step.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical
outlet.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached
peripherals.
Run the appropriate online diagnostic test to see whether the diskette drive works correctly.
If the tests run successfully, an expansion card may be conflicting with the diskette drive logic, or an expansion card may be faulty. Continue to the next step.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached
peripherals.
Run the appropriate online diagnostic test to see whether the diskette drive works correctly.
Repeat step 13 through step 18 until all expansion cards are reinstalled or one of the
expansion cards causes the tests to fail.
If the problem is not resolved, see "Getting Help."
Troubleshooting an Optical Drive
Problem
System cannot read data from a CD.
Optical drive indicator does not blink during boot.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Check for scratches or smudges on the CD surfaces and clean the CD.
Try using a different CD that you know works properly.
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the drive's IDE controller is enabled. See
"Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from the electrical
outlet.
Remove the diskette/optical drive carrier and ensure that the optical drive cable is securely
attached. Reinstall the diskette/optical drive carrier, making sure it is fully inserted and
properly seated in the system chassis. See Figure 7-3.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached
peripherals.
If the problem is not resolved, see "Getting Help."
Troubleshooting a SCSI Tape Drive
Problem
Defective tape drive.
Defective tape cartridge.
Missing or corrupted tape-backup software or tape drive device driver.
Defective optional SCSI controller card.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the secondary SCSI channel is enabled and
set to SCSI.
See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide.
Remove the tape cartridge you were using when the problem occurred, and replace it with a
tape cartridge that you know works.
Ensure that the SCSI device drivers for the tape drive are installed and are configured
correctly.
Reinstall the tape-backup software as instructed in the tape-backup software documentation.
Ensure that the tape drive's interface cable is connected to the tape drive and SCSI controller
card, or the external SCSI connector on the system back panel. See Figure 2-2.
Verify that the tape drive is configured for a unique SCSI ID number and that the tape drive
is terminated or not terminated, based on the interface cable used to connect the drive.
See the documentation for the tape drive for instructions on selecting the SCSI ID number and enabling or disabling termination.
If the drive is connected to an optional SCSI controller card, check that the card is firmly
seated in its connector. See "Installing an Expansion Card" in "Installing System
Components."
If the drive is connected to the integrated SCSI controller on the system board using the
optional external SCSI connector on the system back panel, check the cable connection to
the system board.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system, including attached
peripherals.
If the problem is not resolved, see the documentation for the tape drive for additional
troubleshooting instructions.
If you cannot resolve the problem, see "Getting Help."
Troubleshooting SCSI Hard Drives
Problem
Device driver error.
Hard drive not recognized by the system.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
NOTICE: This procedure can destroy data stored on the hard drive. Before you continue, back up all files on the hard drive.
For information about testing the controller, see the SCSI or RAID controller's documentation.
If the tests fail, continue to the next step.
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the SCSI controller is enabled.
See "Using the System Setup Program" in the User's Guide.
If the integrated SCSI host adapter controls the SCSI hard drives, restart the system and press
<Ctrl><a> to enter the SCSI configuration utility program.
NOTE: If your system has an optional RAID controller card or RAID on motherboard (ROMB) is enabled, restart the system and press <Ctrl><a> or <Ctrl><m>, depending on the utility. See the documentation supplied with the controller for information about the configuration utility.
Ensure that the primary SCSI channel is enabled, and restart the system.
See the documentation supplied with the controller for information about the configuration utility.
Verify that the device drivers are installed and configured correctly. See the operating system
documentation.
Remove the hard drive and install it in another drive bay.
If the problem is resolved, reinstall the hard drive in the original bay. See "Installing a SCSI
Hard Drive" in "Installing Drives."
If the hard drive functions properly in the original bay, the drive carrier could have intermittent problems. Replace the drive carrier. See "Getting Help."
If the problem persists, the SCSI backplane board has a defective connector. See "Getting Help."
Check the SCSI cable connections inside the system:
Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from
the electrical outlet.
Verify that the SCSI cable is securely connected to the SCSI backplane, and to the SCSI
host adapter on the system board, or a SCSI host adapter card installed in an expansion
slot.
Error message indicates a problem with the optional integrated RAID controller.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Enter the System Setup program and ensure that the Embedded RAID Controller option is
set to RAID Enabled. See "Using the System Setup Program" in your User's Guide.
Ensure that the integrated RAID controller is configured properly. See the RAID controller's
documentation for information about configuration settings.
If the problem is not resolved, continue to the next step.
Turn off the system and attached peripherals, and disconnect the system from its electrical
outlet.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
NOTE: When troubleshooting a RAID controller card, also see the documentation for your operating system and the RAID controller.
Problem
Error message indicates a RAID controller problem.
RAID controller performs incorrectly or not at all.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
Reconnect the system to the electrical outlet, and turn on the system and attached
peripherals.
If the problem persists, see the RAID controller's documentation for more information on troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting Expansion Cards
NOTE: When troubleshooting an expansion card, see the documentation for your operating system and the expansion card.
Problem
Error message indicates a problem with an expansion card.
Expansion card performs incorrectly or not at all.
Action
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
CAUTION: Many repairs may only be done by a certified service technician. You should only perform troubleshooting and simple repairs as authorized in your product documentation, or as directed by the online or telephone service and support team. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is not covered by your warranty. Read and follow the safety instructions that came with the product.
