We've just been given a compaq DL380 dual P3-933 with a SmartArray 5300 controller. On boot it goes through the post, checks the processors and smartarray then, when I'd usually see the F10 option, it says non-system disk or disk error. We've tried booting from floppy and cd, but no luck there. As we don't get the option to use smartstart we can't change the boot sequence etc. I suspect the smartstart partition is not there and we have no other disks with the 380. Any ideas as to what we can do? Thanks!!
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Compaq DL380 - no smartstart 2
- Thread starter MarkTech
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UPDATE: Since the original post I've located disks for SmartStart 5.50.0 and made a set of SCU floppies. The same problem remains, the 380 won't boot from CD or floppy. Just noticed that the CD light is flashing, so have reseated everything inside the case, but no change. Please help or the machine gets it! #-)
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UPDATE 2: Two steps forward, one backward.
Using the maintenance dip switch I have reset the config to allow me to boot from cd. The SmartStart disk I have isn't bootable (although it will boot another machine), so I tried a Windows Server 2003 disk and, knock me down with a feather, it worked!!! Setup proceeded right up to the bit where it says it's starting windows, when click - the power goes off and 10 seconds later, while I'm still crying on the floor, the machine powers itself back up and we play the same game again. Except that after three of four rounds of this, I've decided to reboot myself and am going to get a beer. If there is any top-notch ace who can save the life of this baby, please step forward now.... (Thanks!!)
Using the maintenance dip switch I have reset the config to allow me to boot from cd. The SmartStart disk I have isn't bootable (although it will boot another machine), so I tried a Windows Server 2003 disk and, knock me down with a feather, it worked!!! Setup proceeded right up to the bit where it says it's starting windows, when click - the power goes off and 10 seconds later, while I'm still crying on the floor, the machine powers itself back up and we play the same game again. Except that after three of four rounds of this, I've decided to reboot myself and am going to get a beer. If there is any top-notch ace who can save the life of this baby, please step forward now.... (Thanks!!)
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FINAL UPDATE: All now resolved. In case it helps anyone else, I'll try to condense over 12 hours into a few lines.
1) The reboot turned out to be a windows setup problem. It dawned on me that as the machine says it is starting windows (at T-13 mins) it is checking the hardware as a background task. Win2003 found something it didn't like, so zap and reboot. Resolved by manually selecting the HAL (press F5 when asked to press F6 for 3rd party SCSI drivers...)
2) The SmartStart disc worked fine in every CD drive other than the one in the 380. After completing setting up Windows Server 2003, I finally made a new SmartStart disc by reburning the iso image onto another cd using a really old toaster. From there I was able to get everything back to normal.
3) What also helped was removing a large cupful (no exaggeration!) of dust and/or lint from the PSUs, the processors' heatsinks and every socket and component on the motherboard.
1) The reboot turned out to be a windows setup problem. It dawned on me that as the machine says it is starting windows (at T-13 mins) it is checking the hardware as a background task. Win2003 found something it didn't like, so zap and reboot. Resolved by manually selecting the HAL (press F5 when asked to press F6 for 3rd party SCSI drivers...)
2) The SmartStart disc worked fine in every CD drive other than the one in the 380. After completing setting up Windows Server 2003, I finally made a new SmartStart disc by reburning the iso image onto another cd using a really old toaster. From there I was able to get everything back to normal.
3) What also helped was removing a large cupful (no exaggeration!) of dust and/or lint from the PSUs, the processors' heatsinks and every socket and component on the motherboard.
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You can download a copy of SmartStart v5.5 from the HP website, I think it is an ISO image:
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"It's true, its damn true!"
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"It's true, its damn true!"
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FYI: The CD drives in our DL380s appear to be very sensitive to the type of disc you burn the image to, perhaps because of their age and accumulated dust!! In the end, the easiest solution was for us to install a usb PCI card and plug in an external CD drive. I'll clean the original drive when I get some more time and see if that makes a difference...
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