Proliant 7000 won't start after a system erase

[Ayman Altounji]

I have a number of Proliant 7000's with Pentium Pro processors that will not start after performing a system erase. We have several other Proliant models that don't have this problem and I am convinced that there is a firmware bug in the current version of 7000's system ROM. We are currently using the latest system rom dated 4/30/99. When this has happened in the past, we have noticed that after a couple of days the problem has gone away and the server will start. In this instance I can't wait a couple of days and need a solution urgently. If anyone at Compaq can help I promise to buy you a beer for your efforts.

Thanks

Jeff Westwood

[Ayman Altounji]

Try clearing NVRAM manually if this happens... Set SW1 switch 6 to "ON and power up, when errors start appearing, power off and set it back to "OFF".

What version of System Erase are you using?

[Ayman Altounji]

I had the same problem as Jeff when we rebuild the first of our 7000's [Pentium Pro] - the server came up fine after being left down for the weekend. The second went through fine. The third experienced the same problem as the first.

The system om is the same version [30/04/99] across all servers. SMART START used was v4.80/v4.70 (we tried both!)

On the third upgrade, I had a hardware engineer on-site and I believe he cleared NV RAM as suggested by on I - In the end he replaced EVERY board in the server! and of course it came up fine.

Still, the question remains, why would the server come up fine after a couple of days? Does an internal clock' or something wait for a certain period before the server clears NV RAM or something else? How long is this period ?

[Ayman Altounji]

The sever will not automatically clear NVRAM while down unless the CMOS battery dies, thus losing the configuration information.