ML370 G3 i/o eroor on boot, will not boot up

[ML360 G3]

Anyone

I am the proud owner of a ML370 G3. Recently, I received an i/o error on boot up. the server will not boot. I have used the smartstart cd 8. it says all is fine. I can install win2003 and when it does the reboot. same thing. i/o error. and will not boot. can someone please offer advice. I can not believe this thing is giving me such a fit. :)
I have attached my summary.

thanks in advance.

[Brian_Murdoch]

Hi,

If the error is "101 Rom I/O Error" then it is most likely caused by an add-in PCI device and not the motherboard.

I didn't go through the whole report but start by removing any PCI devices.

Since you don't appear to have a Smart Array controller I assume your disks are off connected to one of the embedded SCSI ports on the system board. Try using the other SCSI port by moving the cable.
Also be aware that if you are using hotplug drives in the 6-bay SCSI backplane you need to use a point-to-point SCSI cable from the 68-pin connector on the system board to the drive backplane. This is simply a cable with a 68-pin connector at either end and has no terminator on it. The drive backplane is self-terminating so you can't use a cable with a terminator (one you would use for a SCSI tape drive for example to daisy-chain devices on the SCSI bus).

I hope this helps.

Brian

[ML360 G3]

yes, it is a 101 i/o rom error. I have removed all pci cards. At least, what I thought were pci cards. the only card that was in it was an additional nic. I am thinking this has something to do with the scsi. I will check your advice and let you know. thanks. Christopher

[ML360 G3]

Brian

your information is right on for the hardware. I am using a 6 bay scsi backplane. I re-checked all the cabling connections. nothing lose or disconnected. I swapped scsi ports. same results 101 i/o rom error. I think it is the backplane is bad. any last thoughts before I replace the backplane?

[Brian_Murdoch]

Christopher,

The easiest way to eliminate the backplane is to simply remove the SCSI cable at the system board or backplane end and boot.

The system should still POST OK but you just won't see any attached drives when the SCSI controller initialises. A 101 Rom I/O error would normally indicate a plug-in PCI device fault however if you have removed absolutely all PCI cards (Including any Remote Lights Out cards) and there are no PCI cards in any slots then it may be an embedded PCI device which is at fault.

The embedded NIC and SCSI adapter should report themselves during POST. At what point does the Rom I/O error occur? SCSI would probably initialise before embedded NIC. Do you see the "banners" for the embedded SCSI and NIC devices during POST?

A screenshot might be handy if you can capture it. Alternatively write down everything that appears on the screen after the CPU's and memory have been detected.

I hope this helps.

Brian

[ML360 G3]

Brian,

I disconnected the scsi backplane. turned on the server. same error. I even disconnected the tape drive. only things connected were cdrom, and floppy.

I do get a long beep then short beep. like 2 second beep, then a 1 second beep.

on the screen:

4096mb detected

proliant system bios - p28 (09/15/2004)

processor 1 initialized at 2.80ghz/400mhx (512 kbyte L2)

advanced memory protection mode: advanced ecc support
redundant rom detected this system contains a valid backup system rom
(long beep,short beep)
101 - i/0 rom error
(long beep, short beep)
101 - i/o rom error

system currently configured for microsoft windows 2000/windows server 2003

press f1 key to continue
press f9 key for rom based setup utility
press f10 key for system partition utilities

I have attached an actual picture of the screen, since there is no other way for you to actually see it.

[Brian_Murdoch]

Hi Christopher,

I'm fairly certain you should be getting a banner on screen at that point for the embedded SCSI controller followed by a scan of the two SCSI ports looking for devices.

Since this is missing and it reports the I/O error twice, I think your problem lies with the embedded SCSI controller on the system board.

If you go into F9 and select PCI devices, can you "see" the dual channel SCSI controller? If so, take note of the current IRQ values. You can then select each channel, hit return and it will prompt you to set the IRQ value - select DISABLED. Do this for both channels and then reboot. If on reboot you don't get the I/O error then you know it's because those SCSI ports have been disabled. Go back into the BIOS and try setting the IRQ's to something different and try again. If that fails try using the BACKUP copy of the BIOS to see if that makes any difference. You can do this in the Advanced Options section go down to ROM Selection and choose Switch to Backup ROM.

Please post back your results.

Brian

[ML360 G3]

Brian

I have completed your suggestions. I do not get any other results for any changes, except the backup bios. when I changed to the backup, the bios says to cycle power. when turning the server back on, I do not get anything (no screen, post, nothing) but I do get a long beep, about 10 seconds.

[ML360 G3]

I am thinking that this is a main system board issue. agreed?