Proliant 1850R Error 212 Second Processor Failed

[Jeff Girard_4]

I have two matched PII 400 MHz processors. I have two power modules. I can insert any combination of proc and power module in slot 1 and system boots fine. Install second proc and I get the 212 error. Have tested both procs and power modules. Just flashed the ROM to the latest I could find (P07). Any help? Do I need to set the DIP switches? I acquired these servers and I do not have any original software (any links to the management software downloads might be helpful). Is there a way to get into the BIOS during the boot? Like hitting the delete key in most POST cycles

[Brian_Murdoch · Accepted solution]

Hi Jeff,

212 is considered a critical error and needs to be manually cleared, so replacing or swapping the CPU's won't fix it.

Here's what to do.

Boot the system and enter the System Configuration Utility (Press F10 when the cursor jumps to the top right side of the screen). If you don't have a System Partition installed to boot into F10 then you can use the Smartstart CD (V5.50 or below) to boot up and run the SCU.

Once you enter the SCU you will see a screen which informs you that the last error was critical. You can then confirm that the fault has been repaired. Until this is done you will always get the 212 error.

Once cleared both CPU's should work fine together.

If you need Smartstart 5.50, the ISO image can now be downloaded free from HP at the following link.

http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/Server/us/download/22678.html

Good luck.

Brian

[Jeff Girard_4]

Thanks for the response, Brian. I will download/burn a SmartStart CD, use that to create the partition, and then see if I can clear this error.

Jeff

[Brian_Murdoch]

Jeff,

Just to clarify.

You can boot the Smartstart CD and run the SCU from it directly. You don't have to build the System Partition to access the SCU although if you plan to build an operating system from scratch then you would do so.

Either way clearing the 212 error should restore full operation.

Brian

[Jeff Girard_4]

Brian -
I downloaded the file, unzipped it, and then burned the ISO image onto a CD-RW. I then rebooted the server with the CD in the drive. Error message indicated that it did not like the CD. So I booted up the machine into Win2K Adv server (on the 18 GB SCSI drive that I installed) and popped the CD back into the drive. It autostarted. I was presented with two options. 1) create floppies 2) install software. I chose option 2 and installed all the software. After installation, I looked around at the software that was installed to try to find a place to fix my processor error, but was unable to find any. I then restarted the server, pressed F10, and it still told me that the system partition was not present - and I still got the 212 error.

Hope you have more ideas.

Jeff

[Brian_Murdoch]

Hi Jeff,

The old CD drive in your 1850R probably won't know what a CD-RW is. Burn it to a CD-R instead at 8X or 16X burn speeed and it should boot.

Regards,

Brian

[Jeff Girard_4]

Brian -
I really do appreciate all the time that you have devoted to my issue, however, my problem is still not fixed. When I acquired the server, it did not have a CD drive. I installed an HP 9100 CD Writer. The CD is recognized and works fine (that is how I was able to load my OS). I reburned the image file onto a CD-R and rebooted with the CDR in the drive. Same thing. "Invalid system disk" is the error message.
The link that you pointed me to is for the SmartStart version 5 application suite. It appears to create a CD that is AUTORUN, but is not a bootable CD.
Any other ideas for me?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Brian_Murdoch]

Hi Jeff,

No, Smartstart CD's do both. You can boot them and they will also Autorun from any Windows 32bit O/S to allow you to build driver diskettes etc.
Can you boot from floppy disk?
Can you boot this CD Writer with an operating system disk inserted? In other words, will a CD actually boot OK from it other than with the Smartstart CD you built?

If there is still a problem you might have to use the boot floppies to run the SCU.

Have a look here for the SCU diskette kit. This will do the same job using floppies.

http://www.geocities.com/rlcomp_1999/manual-smartstart.html

Regards,

Brian

[Jeff Girard_4]

Just confirmed that the server will boot from the CD drive (I put my Win2K Adv Server disk in the drive, rebooted server, and it booted from the CD).

I Googled for the software configuration utility and got a hit at http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/13227.html

It is version 2.58A dated 17 Jan 02, but I am going to download it, build the floppies, and see what I get

Jeff

[Jeff Girard_4]

OK, that did it. I used the floppy disk version of the Config Utility. After navigating through several menus, it asked me if the proc had been fixed. I answered yes, and rebooted, and now the BIOS sees and initilizes both processors.

Now, I just have to figure out why Win2K Adv Svr still only sees the one proc. Prob as it only saw one when it was installed and I doubt the second proc would be considered plug and play.

So, that is another mystery to figure out.

Brian, thanks for all your help

Jeff