Jump to content

All Drives Missing, unable to start array


Go to solution Solved by fmjets11,

Recommended Posts

I just got back from being out of town and my server is in shambles it seems. I have never had any issues since I have built this thing a few years ago.

 

When I powered it on the main message is that 7 of the devices (not the two cache drives - see screenshot) are all missing and the array is unable to be started. I hope I can get some help as far as where do I even start. They are not showing up in un-assigned devices that I can tell. 

 

I am no Unraid expert but this feels to me like it could be hardware related but I do not know what to do to even begin to figure that out. I checked all connections twice, re-seeded everything and confirmed the drives have power so my gut goes to, is this the SATA expansion card? 

 

Hoping someone can guide me here and see something in the logs that gives me a path forward. Would the hardware profiler be helpful here to help diagnose a potential issue? 

 

I appreciate any help in advance. 

unraid server.PNG

tower-syslog-20240315-1732.zip tower-diagnostics-20240315-1331.zip

Edited by fmjets11
added info
Link to comment
12 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

The expander must be connected to a SAS HBA/controller, it won't work by itself.

Not sure I understand exactly what you mean, but the SAS Expander Card is connected into the motherboard via two separate Mini SAS 36-Pin to SFF-8087 Cables then SATA connections from the expander card go directly to the hard drives. 

Link to comment
7 minutes ago, fmjets11 said:

SAS Expander Card is connected into the motherboard via two separate Mini SAS 36-Pin to SFF-8087

OK, so the board includes an onboard SAS controller, it's not being detected on LSPCI, check the BIOS to see if it's enabled.

Link to comment
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, JorgeB said:

OK, so the board includes an onboard SAS controller, it's not being detected on LSPCI, check the BIOS to see if it's enabled.

Confirmed the expansion card is in PCI-E slot one and it is enabled. There is another open PCI-E slot, I moved the expansion card there and nothing changed. 

Edited by fmjets11
Link to comment
Posted (edited)

I just looked at how everything is wired in and this is the breakdown:

 

2 SATA onboard connections go to the SSD drives (the two that are showing up)

 

There are 3 SAS connections on the board - These connect to 7 Hard Drives and one CD ROM / BluRay Drive (cd/dvd HL-DT-ST BD-RE WH16NS40)

 

2 SAS connections go from the motherboard to the expansion card (which then connect to 7 hard drives in total

 

1 of the connections from the motherboard has a SAS to SATA connector cable (with 4 SATAs connections on it - 3 have always been disconnected and still are) but one of the four connects to the CD ROM drive that is showing up successfully (cd/dvd HL-DT-ST BD-RE WH16NS40)

 

Not sure if this means there is possibly something that has gone bad with the SAS part of the motherboard, or if something has happened relating to SAS BIOS (I originally followed this tutorial here: https://www.serverbuilds.net/flashing-onboard-sas-2008 ) 

 

Additional Info: Motherboard Specs - https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Enterprise/Server-Motherboard/GA-7PESH2-rev-10#Support-Manual

 

Original Server Guide Used to Build- https://www.serverbuilds.net/anniversary

 

Edited by fmjets11
Link to comment
  • Solution

I got it figured out. No idea how this happens (especially when I am not home) but somehow in the bios Advanced - PCI Subsystem setting - LSI onboard Oprom - was set to disabled. 

 

Once I went in and enabled this it detected all of the drives right away with no issues. Hopefully this helps someone else. 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...