HP ProLiant ML350 G4 Server Harddrive Problem

[Julien Rath]

Hi
I have a ML350 G4 Server and would like to replace the harddrives that are inside. The problem is that i can't make one of the new harddrives a logical drive. using the old hdds which already had windows server 2003 installed, and the 2 new ones attached the server doesn't want to start. without the new hdds it boots to windows perfectly. with only the 2 new hdds it boots to cd. i tried to use ACU then but it keeps staying on detecting controllers. when i reboot and want to use ORCA i don't have the option to press F8 to enter the ORCA process. The 2 new hdds are 80 pin but i have a controller for both of them to 68 pin. The smart array controller is the Hp 641 Smart Array controller. How can i fix this problem.
Thanks already to everybody for the help.

[Piotr Kirklewski · Accepted solution]

Hi there

Maybe this can halp you:

ORCA Limitations


For the most efficient use of drive space, do not mix drives of different capacities within the same array. The configuration utility treats all physical drives in an array as if they have the same capacity as the smallest drive in the array. The excess capacity of any larger drives is wasted because it is unavailable for data storage.

The probability that an array will experience a drive failure increases with the number of physical drives in the array. If you configure a logical drive with RAID 5, keep the probability of failure low by using no more than 14 physical drives in the array.

Regards

(assign some points if helpfull please)

[Julien Rath]

Hi
Thanks for your response. Does this always count? Even if only the new 300 GB drives are hooked up? What do I have to do then, somehow reset the array or what? How do I do that then?

Thanks very much for your help!

[Julien Rath]

hi
i also forgot to say that i get the error 1775 storage enclosure not responding

and

1785 no storage drives detected.

i already switch the array to another pci slot. same thing! could it be the scsi-cable? or something else?

[Jaloosk]

It may be that the new hard drives are not supported by the SmartArray controller. What kind of drives are you using?

It's also possible that the firmware for the SA controller is out of date and needs to be updated before installing the new drives.

Try downloading the latest HP Firmware Maintanance CD and updating the SA firmware. You may need to disconnect the 300GB drives before doing this though.