HP proliant ML110 G6 question.

[RobWHS]

Hi

I hope this is the right place to ask this question.

I have a HP proliant ML110 G6 server I use at home for learning and recently purchased a refurbished motherboard that is only 6 months old for backup.

Naturally I tried it out, switched it on and all was looking good. 2 minutes into the boot cycle it shuts down with the green case fan error LED blinking on the motherboard. I did this 10 times and checked all the hardware but couldn't find any issues. I even unplugged the chassis fan but it kept shutting down with the green case fan LED blinking.

I've gone through all the HP troubleshooting paperwork and even asked the question on HP's support forums. No replies at all.

Before I decide to return the motherboard has anyone run into this type of problem?
I don't fancy looking a dork if I send it back and the suppliers point out something simple!

All help appreciated.

 

[Saberus]

Have you checked in the Lights Out 100 to see if it's thinking there's something wrong with the fans? If they're spinning but the Lights Out doesn't see it, then you have a faulty fan speed sensor and the fan needs replacing. If it's an after market fan it may just not work because it's not set up to the HP standard for this model.

The system will refuse to run unless both the case fan and CPU fan are working.

Also make sure the firmware is up to date, I believe one of the older versions had a real bad bug regarding the fan sensors.

 

[RobWHS]

Have you checked in the Lights Out 100 to see if it's thinking there's something wrong with the fans? If they're spinning but the Lights Out doesn't see it, then you have a faulty fan speed sensor and the fan needs replacing. If it's an after market fan it may just not work because it's not set up to the HP standard for this model.

I can't check anything in the bios or operating system as the machine won't stay on long enough.

The system will refuse to run unless both the case fan and CPU fan are working.

Now that's something I suspect but have not heard anyone say before. I've ordered a fan to see if this could be the problem. (It's annoying that it will take 2 weeks for a fan to arrive!)
I've tried disconnecting the fan in a G5 server to see if a similar thing happened....I didn't, it just kept running.
I guess HP may have done this to the G6 to limit damage.

Also make sure the firmware is up to date, I believe one of the older versions had a real bad bug regarding the fan sensors.

I can't do that, as I said above the machine won't stay on long enough for me to do anything.

Thanks for responding. As soon as the new fan arrives I'll post an update.

 

[GhislainG]

You wrote "I have a HP proliant ML110 G6 server I use at home for learning and recently purchased a refurbished motherboard that is only 6 months old for backup." Does the original motherboard still work or did you buy a replacement because the original one failed?

 

[Saberus]

The Lights Out I referred to isn't through the OS. It is through the management NIC port. It defaults to DHCP but can be set to a static IP in BIOS or POST as the BMC or baseboard management controller.

 

[RobWHS]

You wrote "I have a HP proliant ML110 G6 server I use at home for learning and recently purchased a refurbished motherboard that is only 6 months old for backup." Does the original motherboard still work or did you buy a replacement because the original one failed?

Sorry I should have been clearer. The motherboard failed on my G6 so I purchased a refurb.
It seems the chassis fan failed (even though it was running) when I rigged it up to the refurbished motherboard, either that or the motherboard is dodgy. Waiting for a fan to arrive so I can test further.

 

[RobWHS]

The Lights Out I referred to isn't through the OS. It is through the management NIC port. It defaults to DHCP but can be set to a static IP in BIOS or POST as the BMC or baseboard management controller.

The Server will only stay on for 2 mins max so i guess this procedure is out of bounds for now?
I'm sorry I'm still in the learning process, a lot to learn by the look of things :/

 

[Saberus]

If you can at the least capture the IP of the LO100i/BMC, it should remain running as long as the server is plugged in, whether the machine boots or not. It's a great help when you can use it, as it can provide you a means to see just what is triggering the shutdowns.

Hopefully it's just the fan's not properly reporting that it's running.

Don't worry about the power supply or any other hardware with these shut downs, the machine is issuing a shutdown that brings everything down properly.

Good hunting.

 

[RobWHS]

@Saberus

Thanks for the valuable info, It's a shame I couldn't get a single reply on the HP forums...you'd be a God on that forum
A fan is on it's way (via pony express by the look of it!) fingers crossed it is the fan and nothing else.
Will post again once it arrives.

Again, many thanks.

 

[Saberus]

@Saberus

Thanks for the valuable info, It's a shame I couldn't get a single reply on the HP forums...you'd be a god there
A fan is on it's way (via pony express by the look of it!) fingers crossed it is the fan and nothing else.
Will post again once it arrives.

Again, many thanks.

That's because I'm no longer on the HP forums, they run far too slow on the Lithium platform. 😉

The ProLiant DL/ML/BL series is my bread and butter, I know most of them better than the back of my hand.

 

[RobWHS]

@Saberus

Thanks for the valuable info, It's a shame I couldn't get a single reply on the HP forums...you'd be a god there
A fan is on it's way (via pony express by the look of it!) fingers crossed it is the fan and nothing else.
Will post again once it arrives.

Again, many thanks.

That's because I'm no longer on the HP forums, they run far too slow on the Lithium platform. 😉

The ProLiant DL/ML/BL series is my bread and butter, I know most of them better than the back of my hand.

HAHA!

No wonder there are many posts left unanswered on the HP forums 😀

You were correct about the fan BTW....So I went and purchased 2 cheap Xeon ML110 G6 servers on eBay.
Will start a new thread as I need info on how to use one as a home server with hardware RAID.

Again, many thanks for your help