Hi guys. I have an old Netra T1 that I'm hoping to recover here so I can twiddle around with Solaris 10.
It's been unable to power on despite issuing the "poweron" command or hitting the switch at the back of the server for some time. The LOM command "env" reports ALARM3 ON and everything else OK.
So just today, I decided what the heck I don't really care anymore and took the PSU out took it apart. During the process I got a nasty shock and tripped the entire house as I forgot to unplug the mains. So that's 240volts my friend, don't try this at home. I swear I won't do this again.
Anyhow, I figured that the switch at the rear of the PSU box goes to the service processor connector, so ultimately the motherboard is still responsible for keeping the server powered on.
I decided to make a workaround, so I cut the white cable (power-on) of the ATX connector and permanently soldered it to the outer case (ground) and wolah, the server now powers on, but this is all I get:
LOMlite starting up.
CPU type: H8/3437S, mode 3
Ram-test: 2048 bytes OK
Initialising i2c bus: OK
Searching for EEPROMs: 50(cfg)
I2c eeprom @50: OK
i2c bus speed code 01... OK
Probing for lm80s: 28
Initialising lm80 @28: OK
Probing for lm75s: none
System functions: PSUs fans breakers rails gpio temps host CLI ebus clock
Unexpected reset
LOMlite console
lom>
LOM event: +0h0m0s LOM FAULT: unexpected reset
lom>
LOM event: +0h0m0s host power on
And it stops right there. I don't even get the usual POST message with the CPU and RAM info, etc. If I hit "#.", I go back to the LOM prompt. "env" command shows everything OK. I tried altering bootmode, but it goes back to "normal" once I disconnect/reconnect the power (since I have permanently soldered the power-on ATX line, the box is always powered on when a power cord is connected, so the only way to reboot the machine is to pull the plug)
Anybody has any idea what's wrong? Or is my board really dead?
lom>env
Fault OFF
Alarm1 OFF
Alarm2 OFF
Alarm3 OFF
Fans:
1 fan1 OK speed 83%
2 fan2 OK speed 79%
3 cpu OK speed 100%
4 psu OK speed 100%
PSUs:
1 OK
Temperature sensors:
1 Enclosure 31degC OK
Overheat sensors:
1 CPU OK
Circuit breakers:
1 SCSI-Term OK
2 USB0 OK
3 USB1 OK
4 SCC OK
Supply rails:
1 5V OK
2 3V3 OK
3 +12V OK
4 -12V OK
5 CPU core OK
6 +3VSB OK
I guessed wrong. My colleague had came across this problem before and infd that it was due to loose power cord(something like that). In the end, replaced the PSU. Then the system has been working fine since
I have a PSU shipping from USA to SG right now that I bought off eBay. However that PSU has the same manufacturer model but the connector looks wrong. I will have to figure out how to attach the current connector when it arrives.
Meanwhile, the PSU actually powers up fine with my manual bypass. I have a voltmeter and it reads the voltage correctly. I am worried it might be a dead board and I end up wasting $ on a PSU since the 'poweron' function is just an electronic switch within the board.
Do you have any idea what ALARM3 actually means? From what I know thats a user programmable alarm, but I don't see any logs or anything indicating a bad PSU.
Hey folks, after a few months of tinkering (was busy with work), I've confirmed it to be a board issue.
Conclusion:
As long as your system doesn't respond at ALL to a 'poweron' command, e.g. no fans or disks spinning, no power, no lights... that's most likely a dead board.
The Netra T1 AC200 uses a standard ATX connector - you could hook up any normal PC's ATX PSU to test. If your motherboard's working, it should still power up with a 3rd party ATX PSU but report a dead PSU fan (fan #4). Don't waste your money trying a replacement PSU yet.
