E50 Server with PCI USB card

[Rene Zwart]

Team, I've tried to add a USB PCI card to my E50 server, but after fitting the card the machine wouldn't start up. Some hard disk movement, but no video appeared at all. Yellow light remained on.
Any advise/experience? Thanks, Rene.

[Sean T. Craig]

Hi Rene

Some more details would be helpful here. When you remove the card does the server work normally now? What are the specs on the card? Is it 32-bit? 33MHz? What slot are you installing it in? Are there any other PCI cards installed? In which slots? Which Operating System is installed? If it's NT4, you won't be able to use it even if you could boot since NT4 won't support USB (or DVD for that matter).

HP's official answer to this would be that it is not supported in this server, but you still may be able to get one to work in the right circumstances.

Best of luck,

Sean T. Craig Sr. C.E.T., M.C.P.

[Rene Zwart]

Hi Sean, thanks for the reply and appreciate the request for more info. Meantime I've been fooling around (as one tend to do) and found that after removal of the card the server started OK (W2K server). Further that with another PCI card (sound, no less) in the same location it worked OK (PCI slot 4, 1 is SCSI and 3 is Netw.). I'm wondering if it has to do with the PCI versions. Both card are for PCI 33MHz, but sound is V2.1 and USB is V2.2, could that be it? Thanks!

[Rene Zwart]

Cards are both 32-bit, same manufacturer.

[Sean T. Craig]

Hi Rene,

That could have something to do with it. The E50 uses a 2.1 PCI Bus structure so there's no guaranty that a 2.2 card will work.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful,

Sean T. Craig Sr. C.E.T., M.C.P.