PE 2600 Loud Fan Noise & Flashing Amber Status Light

[andyshriver]

I felt that I had done due diligence by scouring this site for a problem that mirrors the one I have been having, but this I have yet to find such a thread. Hopefully, someone here has had a similar experience to the one I am about to relate.

I inherited an IT scenario that includes a Dell PE 2600 server running Citrix MetaFrame XP Presentation Server on top of MS Terminal Services - the OS is Win2KAdvSvr SP# (at the recommendation of the original contractor who installed this system in early 2003). To the best of my knowledge, this system is out of warranty, and its service contract has expired. The only Dell Utility running on this system is Array Manager 3.4 (the system has 4 SCSI HDDs in RAID-5).

We recently purchased a new file server, and, in the course of installing it, it was necessary to shut down, disconnect, move and reinstall the aforementioned PE 2600. After reconnecting and re-starting the server (yes - both power supplies are plugged in), I noticed during start-up that the fan noise got considerably louder than it ever had in the past (this occurred at the point at which the RAID Controller BIOS displayed in POST), and the amber status light behind the front bezel was flashing. I have since restarted the machine twice and have achieved the same outcomes. It is worth noting that no error messages display on the monitor and that nothing in any event viewer logs shows that anything unusual is happening. Additionally, none of the indicator lights on the hard drives or the power supplies are doing anything out of the ordinary.

I have the Dell Open Source software (v5.3) that came with the new PE 2900 that we just bought, but I am hesitant to install this on the PE 2600 especially given that I have read that installing the new software will uninstall Array Mgr 3.4 for fear that the integrity or the array might be compromised. Is this fear unfounded?

I would greatly appreciate any recommendations or advice that anyone might have, and I thank you all in advance for your time and efforts.

Andy

 

[LawnBoy]

First, your question: The RAID controller BIOS keeps the config info, the Array Manager is only a way to view/edit that BIOS without having to reboot. Removing Array Manager should have no effect on the operation of the RAID.

Second, your problem: You may not have one. I don't have any 2600's but I've a bunch of 2650's, and yes the fans do spinup to full speed on bootup causing quite a roar for a minute or so. The Amber light will also blink, indicating the machine is booting.

"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[andyshriver]

LawnBoy - thank you for your reply. The accelerated fan speed & noise have remained constant for 2 days now, as has the the amber light. Should I go ahead and install the Dell System Manger app?

 

[LawnBoy]

If those fans run constantly at full speed, that is an indication of problems with the Motherboard.

I've not used the Dell Systems Mgr, don't know if it'll help. If you think it'll give you clues, now is the time.

One thought (my quota for the day)... You say this started after you moved this server. Have you opened the box up and cleaned it out? You could have a plugged up fan, something knocked loose, etc.

I had a server once that was so dirty the dust had collected like a blanket around one of the fans. When I moved the box, the "blanket" slid down and was sucked into the fan on next bootup.

"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[jkupski]

Doesn't the 2600 have the a front panel LCD on it? If so, it should be displaying a fault code to go along with the flashing amber light. What's the error code?

 

[andyshriver]

Lawnboy & jkupski,

Thank you both for your responses and suggestions. Before getting around reading your posts, I thought it possible that moving things around may have "shaken something loose", as it were, so I shut down and disconnected the PE2600 and opened her up. It immediately became evident to me that my predecessors had probably never glimpsed inside this box after it was installed!
I was choking on clouds of dust as I removed the components and cleaned out what seemed like cubic yards of dust! Finally, after reassembling the machine and reconnecting it, I powered it up. Sure enough, after the initial spin up, the fan noise quieted to its normal pitch as POST and startup proceeded. The machine (he said with a gambler's grin) has been quiet and shining its usual blue LED ever since.
For purposes of clarification, it should be noted that the PE2600 (at least this version) does not have an LCD display. The 2900 that I just installed does, but I don't think such a display was an option for that model in 2003.
I thank you both again!

 

[jkupski]

I don't actually have any 2600s, so that was just a guess. I DO have a pair of 2650s, and they have front panel displays, as does my 4600. It seemed probable, but I guess not.

In any event, glad to see your issue is resolved.