Troubleshooting a hard disk drive

Last Updated : Mar 10, 2025 |

About this task

Use this procedure to troubleshoot hard disk drive (HDD) problems on the drive: R640 SRVR 600 GB 10K SAS 2.5” HDD.

Caution:

This troubleshooting procedure can erase data stored on the hard drive. Before you proceed, back up files from the hard drives.

Note:

ASP R6.0.0.1 or later includes perccli command support to enable users to query RAID HDD health. Reference Chapter 31: Dell R660xs and R640 perccli debugging.

Procedure

  1. Ensure that there are no loose connections and all drives are fully seated.
  2. Check hard drive LED indicator patterns for indication of problems. For more information, see Status LED indicators and Hard drive indicator patterns.
  3. View LCD display for any HDD error messages.
  4. Ensure drive blanks are installed properly when the server is operating otherwise drives may overheat and cause sluggish response or drive failure.
  5. Ensure the replacement drives within an array are the same capacity size or larger.
  6. Ensure the replacement drives within an array are the same drive type such as SAS, SATA or SSD. Currently, ASP servers only utilize SAS HDDs.
  7. If you can access the iDRAC interface, log in to the iDRAC web interface and view the status from Storage tab:
    1. Check summary of disks and view virtual and physical disk status.
    2. Ensure virtual disk is online and reporting no errors.
    3. If error persists, replace failed or failing drive. See, Replacing a hard disk drive.
    4. If no errors are observed from iDRAC storage, observe logs reported on the iDRAC dashboard. If no errors are reported go to Maintenance/System Event logs. View logs for any HDDs events or errors reported.
    5. If no HDD errors can be detected go to step 9.
  8. If you are not using iDRAC and running diagnostics is required, reboot the server according to Avaya application procedures:
    Warning:

    This step is service impacting, conduct this activity during a customer approved maintenance window.

    1. Connect a monitor, USB keyboard, and mouse to Dell R640 server.
    2. Reboot the server. From the Dell splash screen, press F2 to go to System Setup > iDRAC Settings > System Event Log.
    3. View the event log for any errors pertaining to an HDD failure or HDD predictive failure. If HDD is identified as bad, replace the HDD as per Replacing a hard disk drive.
    4. If no failure can be isolated, back out of System Setup menu and reboot system, and go to next step.
  9. If running diagnostic or further HDD debugging is required, reboot server according to Avaya application procedures:
    Warning:

    This step is service impacting, conduct this activity during a customer approved maintenance window.

    1. Connect a monitor, USB keyboard, and mouse to Dell R640 server.
    2. Reboot server. From the Dell splash screen, press F10 to go to Lifecycle Controller, and cancel out of Setup Wizard if prompted.
    3. Select Hardware Diagnostics  > Run Hardware Diagnostics.

      Testing of the server begins. You can abort the testing to select specific component testing by pressing Esc. Select + to run individual tests. Select help to see testing options.

    4. Select appropriate HDDs to be tested by selecting Hard Drive Icons. You can select thorough testing if desired. The Results tab can be used to view pass or failure of a device.
    5. If failed or failing HDD is detected, replace the HDD as per the Replacing a hard disk drive procedure.