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Problem I have a Dell R610 Server that I am trying to upgrade with some new disks and a new operating system. The server has a PERC H700 RAID Controller with firmware 12.0.7.001 (which is the latest I could find on the Dell site).

I ran firmware, bios and driver updates from the Dell support page. BIOS, Lifecycle Controller, IDRAC 6, OS Driver pack, and PERC H700 should all be running the latest available versions for this service tag.

After installing Windows I connected it to the network and rebooted the system. Prior to reboot I show 1 virtual disk in a RAID 1 configuration with x2 2TB Seagate HDDs. After the first reboot I perform post-Windows install, I show 0 virtual disks and the system won't boot to Windows again.

From other questions I have read here on ServerFault, I don't think these disks are too large for this controller/firmware and although they aren't Dell branded disks, I think they should still work.

What might cause the disappearance the virtual disk/RAID I setup prior to the OS install?

Thank you in advance for any advice you might have.

Aaron
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    If you access the Lifecycle Controller during POST do you see your virtual disk? Did you install Windows using the Lifecycle Controller? – joeqwerty Sep 02 '20 at 15:48
  • I did not install via the lifecycle controller as it errors out and tells me I "cannot deploy operating systems" when I try to show the list of available OSs to deploy. I used the lifecycle controller wizard to create the raid 1, then booted into UEFI to a thumb drive to install the OS. – Aaron Sep 02 '20 at 15:56
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    Enter the RAID BIOS and see if the drives are listed there. If they are, try importing foreign configuration. – Michael Hampton Sep 02 '20 at 16:57
  • I did go into the RAID BIOS and the drives seem to be showing up inconsistently every few reboots. I think these drives may not be compatible with the PERC card. They're some Seagate 2.5" SATA drives. We're looking at ordering some SAS Dell drives to see if we can make those work. – Aaron Sep 03 '20 at 17:37

1 Answers1

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It seems that these disks aren't compatible with this RAID controller.

Aaron
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    Many OEMs use custom firmware on drives so if Dell ships you a Seagate drive under the Dell SKU the "same" Seagate (or whatever) drive will be different and the RAID controller will not recognize the drive as valid. – Dave M Sep 08 '20 at 17:47
  • Thanks Dave- In this case the RAID controller recognized them long enough to configure the raid and install Windows. I sort of expected a pass/fail in terms of compatibility and these disk just behaved strangely. One reboot would cause Disk 0 to disappear from the RAID and another would result in Disk 1 or both disks to disappear from the config. We found some dell certified disks so i'm going to give those a try once they arrive. – Aaron Sep 09 '20 at 16:09