C H A P T E R 2

Troubleshooting

This chapter contains information on troubleshooting procedures, power-on self-test (POST) codes and technical support contacts.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Section 2.1, Troubleshooting Overview

Section 2.2, Visual Inspection

Section 2.3, Troubleshooting Procedures

Section 2.4, Technical Assistance

2.1 Troubleshooting Overview

Before troubleshooting your specific server problem, answer the following questions:

What events occurred prior to the failure?

Was any hardware or software modified or installed?

Was the server recently installed or moved?

How long has the server exhibited symptoms?

What is the duration or frequency of the problem?

After you have assessed the problem and noted your current configuration and environment, you can choose from several ways to troubleshoot your server:

Visually inspect your system as described in Section 2.2, Visual Inspection.

View the troubleshooting procedures in Section 2.3, Troubleshooting Procedures to see if any of them solve the problem.

If the BIOS halts without displaying an error message, see the Port 80 LED for BIOS POST messages. Appendix B lists the descriptions of the BIOS POST codes.

Execute a diagnostics test as described in Chapter 3.

If you are not able to resolve the problem, contact Sun technical support. Support numbers are shown in Section 2.4, Technical Assistance.

2.2 Visual Inspection

Improperly set controls and loose or improperly connected cables are common causes of problems with hardware components. When investigating a system problem, first check all the external switches, controls, and cable connections. See Section 2.2.1, Performing an External Visual Inspection.

If this does not resolve your problem, then visually inspect the system's interior hardware for problems such as a loose card, cable connector, or mounting screw. See Section 2.2.2, Performing an Internal Visual Inspection.

2.2.1 Performing an External Visual Inspection

1. Turn off the system and any attached peripherals.

2. Verify that all power cables are properly connected to the system box, the monitor, and the peripherals.

3. Inspect connections to any attached devices, including network cables, keyboard, monitor, and mouse, as well as any devices attached to the serial port.

2.2.2 Performing an Internal Visual Inspection

1. Shut down the operating system, if necessary.

2. Disconnect the power cord from the back of the system box.

3. Turn off any attached peripherals.

4. Remove the server cover, using the procedures in Section 4.2, Installation Precautions.

Caution - Some components, such as the heatsink, can become extremely hot during system operations. Allow these components to cool before handling them.

5. Verify that the interior components are fully seated in their sockets or connectors and that the sockets are clean.

6. Verify that all cables inside the system are firmly attached to their respective connectors.

7. Replace the top cover.

8. Reconnect the power cord to the system box, the monitor and any attached peripherals.

9. Power on the system.

2.3 Troubleshooting Procedures

TABLE 2-1 lists problems that might arise as you use your server. Possible solutions are listed for each problem. If the solutions listed here do not fix the problem, run the appropriate diagnostic test (see Chapter 3).

TABLE 2-1 Troubleshooting Procedures
Problem	Possible solution
Server does not power on when you press the front panel power button.	Keep notes on the following situations in case you need to call for service: Is the power LED illuminated on the front of the system? (Ensure that the power cord is connected to the system and to a grounded power receptacle.) Does the wall outlet have power? Test by connecting another device. Does the system beep when it is powered on? (Ensure that the keyboard is connected). Test with another keyboard that you know is functional. Does the monitor sync within 5 minutes after power on? (The green LED on the monitor stops flashing and remains illuminated.)
Server powers on, but the monitor does not.	Is the Power button for the monitor turned on? Is the monitor power cord connected to a wall outlet? Does the wall outlet have power? Test by connecting another device.
CD or DVD does not eject from the media tray when you press the Eject button.	Move the mouse or press any key on the keyboard. The drive might be in the low-power mode. Use the utility software installed on your server to eject the CD.
Server does not power off when the front panel power button is pressed.	Try all of the power-off options shown in Section 1.4.2, Powering Off the Server. If the server still does not power off, disconnect the power cable from the rear of the chassis.
The network status LED does not turn on.	Check the cabling and network equipment to make sure that all cables are correctly seated. Reinstall the network drivers.
An external device connected to a USB connector does not work.	Reduce the number of external devices connected to a USB hub. Refer to the documentation that comes with the device.
System cannot read the disk information.	Do the following: 1. Turn off the server by pressing the Power button. 2. Check to make sure that the power and data cables are connected to the disk drive and that the pins in the cable and connector are not bent. 3. Turn on the server.
System cannot read the CD information.	Check the following: Are you using the correct type of compact disc? Is the compact disc properly inserted into the drive? Is the compact disc clean and unscratched? Are the cables connected to the CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive?
Keyboard or mouse does not respond to action.	Verify that the mouse and keyboard cables are connected to the on-board USB 2.0 connectors on the server. Verify that the server is powered on and that the front power LED is illuminated.
Server appears to be in low-power mode, but the Power button LED does not blink.	The power-indicator LED only blinks when all server components are in low-power mode. A tape drive might be connected to your server. Because tape drives do not enter low-power mode, the power-indicator LED does not blink.
Hung or frozen server: No response from mouse or keyboard or any application.	Try to access your system from a different server on the network. From a terminal window, type: `ping` hostname If no response, remotely log in from another system, using `telnet` or `rlogin`, and ping the system again. Attempt to kill processes until the system responds. If the above procedures do not work: Press the Power button to power off the system. Wait 20 to 30 seconds and power on the system. See Section 1.4.2, Powering Off the Server for more detailed information.
No video is displayed on the monitor screen.	Check the following: Is the cable connected to the video connector? Is the monitor power cord connected to the power outlet? Does the wall outlet have power? Test it by connecting another device. Is the video card seated correctly in its connector? Are the internal cables properly connected to the video card? Does the monitor work when connected to another system. If you have another monitor, does it work when connected to the original system? Verify that the BIOS settings are correct.
External device is not working.	Check the documentation that came with the device to see if any device drivers must be installed. Ensure that the cables for the external device are firmly connected and that the pins in the cable and connector are not bent. Power off the system, reattach the external device, and power on the system.
Newly installed memory is not detected.	Make sure that the memory is properly seated on the DIMM sockets. For information removing and replacing DIMMs, see Section 4.5.9, Dual Inline Memory Modules Move the memory to the other DIMM socket to determine whether the socket is defective. Make sure that you are using 512 MB or 1 GB DDR 400 SDRAM modules with 3.05 cm max. height. Make sure that the memory is installed in pairs.

2.4 Technical Assistance

If the troubleshooting procedures in this chapter fail to solve your problem, see TABLE 2-2, which lists the Sun web sites and telephone numbers for additional technical support.

TABLE 2-2 Sun Web Sites and Telephone Numbers
Server Documents and Support Resources	URL or Telephone Number
PDF files for all the current Sun Fire X2100 Server documents.	`http://www.docs.sun.com/documentation/`
Solaris and other software documents. This web site has full search capabilities.	`http://docs.sun.com/documentation/`
Discussion and troubleshooting forums.	`http://supportforum.sun.com/`
Support, diagnostic tools, and alerts for all Sun products.	`http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/`
SunSolveSM web site. Contains links to software patches. Lists some system specifications, troubleshooting and maintenance information, and other tools.	`http://www.sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/`
Service support phone numbers.	1-800-872-4786 (1-800-USA-4Sun) Select Option 1.
International telephone numbers for Sun support.	`http://www.sun.com/service/contacting/ solution.html`
Warranty and contract support contacts. Links to other service tools.	`http://www.sun.com/service/online/`
Warranties for every Sun product.	`http://www.sun.com/service/support/warranty`