Server shutdown problem!!!

[skfm]

Hi, the last few months I have been getting some weird response from my server.Everytime when I try restarting the server or shutting it down, it ends up having a black screen with a cursor blinking on the top left hand corner.Due to these I would have to restart the server through the reset button.
And recently, sometime...after a long weekend, the server just hangs with a black screen. When I tried to ping it there is no response.
Any idea what could be the cause of the problems, hardware or software??

By the way, i am using a very old IBM server, the spec is as below

Windows 2000 Server (Service Pack 4)
Server xSeries 235,
Intel ® Xeon 2.0 GHz Dual Processor
Model Type : 8671-2AX
4 X IBM 36.4 GB 10K U160 FRU O6P5759, SCSI disk
4 GB ECCRAM (4 Slot Only 2 Slot Empty 33L5039)
Video : Rage XL PCI
Broadcom Netxtreme Gigabit Ethernet (Integrated Gigabit Ethernet)
Adapter AIC-7892 Ultra 160/m PCI SCSI Card
IBM Server RAID 4Lx Controller
LSI Logic 1020/1030 Ultra 320 SCSI Adapter
IBM VLT 3580-TD1 SCSI Sequential Device

I would appreciate it if someone could help me to find a solution, I could not see anything in the event viewer.

Thanks
Lawrence

 

[itsp1965]

It sounds to me like the server is rebooting but hanging when trying to find the OS during bootup. As a suggestion have u tried upgrading the BIOS/firmware for the server to the latest version. Also ensure that you don't have a failing power supply that may be causing your reboots.

You may also want to check the IBM support page since it lists issues on a per server basis

http://www-304.ibm.com/jct01004c/systems/support/supportsite.wss/brandmain?brandind=5000008

Hope this helps.

 

[lhuegele]

It definatly sounds like a hardware issue to me. So many things could be causing it though - memory going bad - bad power supply - hard drive going bad, etc.

Good luck,

 

[w33mhz]

I believe itsp1965 is correct. You should more than likely update your firmware including your RAID and SCSI controllers. Also look into udating your chipset driver. These are the first steps that the vendor support will tell you to do anyways. Also check your System Event log, maybe it will tell you which driver(S) (if any) that it is failing to load.

 

[skfm]

Thanks guys for your reply, to update the firmware, would it mean i need to tear down my raid and start all over again.Is there a tool i can used to find out if there is a problem with the hardware.

 

[itsp1965]

Since your server is an IBM, most firmware/BIOS updates can be done from within Windows itself. Go to the support link that I provided you and look up downloads->firmware/BIOS
As for diagnostics, you can check the BIOS log (when you boot by pressing F1) or you can also check the indicator lights. If you have access to IBM director, you can get director to display alerts when there is a faulty component.

 

[amanua]

Are you aware of any hardware changes you have made recently?.As Ihuegele suggested it could be a hardware so if you recently made some changes to the hardware check that otherwise, call the vendors tech support for any help.
How old is the server? and the power supply is it over 400watts.Change the power supply with Antec 500watts and see the outcome.