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S5000vsa Problem with Raid Controller?

idata
Employee
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I have a server that is entirely Intel. My board is a S5000vsa with two dual core processors and 8gb of RAM. I installed two Seagate 1TB 7200.11 drives in a RAID 1 configuration. I discovered that both drives had been severely damaged and the system would not, of course boot. I sent the drives to Seagate and none of the data is recoverable. Both drives were attached to the imbedded SATA controller.

I installed a new drive and attjempted to boot using my Windows Server 2008 disk. The system would post but could not find the new hard drive. The system did not recognize that a hard drive was attached-system boot error.

I attached a USB external drive and the system found the drive and allowed the Windows Server 2008 menu to load. Windows would not load onto the external hard drive as I expected it wouldn't.

The local computer shop here in Naples, FL thinks because the board BIOS posts that the board is OK. They tested it without any hard dirves attached. I asked them to retest the board with a hard drive attached. I am not confident that they will test the board correctly, hence this post. My server, my only server, has been at their shop all week without any result. I need this server-I am an accountant and this is tax season.

The board and all of the components are still under warranty.

Is the RAID controller on the board gone? Are the processors and the RAM also likley to be damaged? Do I need a new board? What would cause both drives to fail simutaneously?

The server was connected to an APC serge protector and was the only item connected at the time of the failure. None of my other computers were affected and all are on the same breaker as the server, so I don't think the power went off. My workstations do not auto restart after a power interruption and all of them were on.

The system light on the front of the case is a constant green.

I took out all of the RAM and reinserted each stick one at a time and still no joy.

I thank you all for your insight and responses.

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Daniel_O_Intel
Employee
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I can think of a couple things to check:

1) Not all SATA drives will work with that motherboard. Did you check the versions against the list at http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/s5000vsa/sb/CS-022697.htm http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/s5000vsa/sb/CS-022697.htm ? I have never seen untested drives become damaged, but I have seen them not be detected

2) When you put the new drives in, did you disable the onboard RAID first? If not, the motherboard may still be expecting the old drives, and not presenting the new ones properly to the 2008 install.

3) You should still be able to access the System Event Log (SEL) even with no HDs attached. You can run http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18949&ProdId=2487&lang=eng http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=18949&ProdId=2487&lang=eng from DOS, and see if any hardware issues are reported.

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