Compaq 1850R -> IDE Raid

[KarlBlau]

Hallo,

I want to add an IDE raid system into my server. I bought the DC-133 RAID Controler from Dawicontrol. I plugged in the PCI card and started the server.
I have some experience in repairing 'usual' computers but I am new to server systems. I am missing the bios where I can change options for anything on the computer. A 'normal' PC lets me configure the raid parameters when I start the system. But with the 1850R I can't see even if the Raid controler was found.

Hm...

Can anyone give me a hint?

Thanks,

Karl Blau

 

[anawrocki]

If memory serves correctly, you need a Smart Start CD of the same vintage as your server. I think the 1850R had an EISA BIOS that was loaded on the hard drive. Nuke the drives and you need to run it from the Smart Start CD.

 

[KarlBlau]

The oldest version of SmartStart that I found on hp.com is 5.50.
I hope this will work. I just started the download. I will let you know soon.
Thanks for your comment.
Karl

 

[KarlBlau]

http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/subscription/ssdownloads.asp

 

[anawrocki]

5.50 should do fine.

 

[KarlBlau]

I actually could boot from the Smart Start 5.50 CD!!!
The IDE Controler could be found. System looked all right. I installed Win2k. When I install any program in Win I get an error message:

*** Hardware Malfunction
Call your hardware vendor for support
NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error
*** The system has halted

This seems as if the memory was defect.
How can I make sure this causes the error? And which one of the four 256MB sticks is the bad?

I read on the internet that on the SmartStart CD is a tool that checks the computer for errors. I went all through the menu, but I couldn't find a thing like this system check tool.

Can anyone help me?

Karl

 

[anawrocki]

You should be able to boot from the Smart Start CD and run either run diags or install to hard drive.

 

[KarlBlau]

I cannot find any diagnostic tool on the smart start cd. Do I have a wrong version? What is the name of the tool with which I should be able to find any errors?
Further I have used an other memory testing program which passed about two hours of checking the 1024MB of memory. No error was found.
What else could the error message mean?

*** Hardware Malfunction
Call your hardware vendor for support
NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error
*** The system has halted

Thanks,

Karl

 

[terry712]

compaq servers dont like non compaq kit

i would be very surprise if it worked with this

 

[marvhuffaker]

If I recall, most compaq servers don't even support IDE hard drives. Not sure if it's different if you have an add-in IDE card with it's own bios..

If it's going to find it.. Start the SMARTSTART CD, then once it's up and you have a bunch of Icons, click on the very first icon (Can't remember what it's called). But it goes into a text based program - it's the "BIOS" like you want and you can view the hardware that is installed in there. You should be able to see each device installed in each slot. It should identify that a new device has been installed and allocate the resources for it.. HOwever, as terry mentioned, Compaq isn't too fond of non-compaq parts so you're pretty much on your own here.


Marvin Huffaker MCNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

Home of the BLUEGUNK Punk

http://www.bluegunk.com

 

[KarlBlau]

The RAID Controler is found at this menu. Also the RAID configuration of the IDE harddisks is shown during the startup.
I could setup MS Win2k on the computer. All worked fine. But if I work a while with it, espacially when I want to install further programs, the monitor switches to blue screen and the error is shown (white letters on blue background). System halts. I cannot restart the machine by pressing [Strg]+[Alt]+[Del].

What does 'NMI' mean? I couldn't find an explanation of this abbreviation.

I guess I will try to update the ROMs. Maybe this will help.

Thanks,

Karl

 

[terry712]

nmi's are normally ram related

or sometimes with ms it's os related witha dodgey driver but noramally ram

updating the firmware etc will not do any harm
and get all the latest os drivers