HELP: Need help finding SCSI driver for Netfinity 5000

[lsgko]

I tried upgrading with uptomp.exe to multiprocessor and when I try to boot I got an error message that NT can't read \winnt\system32\drivers\ntfs.sys. Then it said to run a repair using the setup. In order to run the setup, I need to have the SCSI IBM ServeRaid driver. There is a disk that came with the server but after I loaded it in setup it said it couldn't find the hard disks.

What do I need to do to get NT setup/repair to see the hard disks?

 

[Stiddy]

you need to visit IBM web page and download the .iso file for the lastest ServRAID cdrom and create a cd. This cdrom will be bootable and allow you to setup your RAID configuration on you r hard disks. Keep in mind that this will delete any current data that you have on the disks. At the same time, the cdrom will update you bios and some firmware and let you know exactly what kind of scsi controller you have. Afterwards, explore the cdrom on another pc and you can create a floppy disk with the scsi drivers directly from the cdrom. I can help you with this more once you determine which scsi driver you need.

 

[lsgko]

Is there a way to find out what server card I have without erasing the data on the disks? From what I can tell it is an IBM ServeRAID 4.70.17.

 

[catorze]

Assuming that you already had the OS installed (hence using UPTOMP.EXE), reconfiguring the RAID via booting to the ServeRAID CD is the wrong approach. Based on the error message, you need to re-install the RAID driver for the version of firmware you are currently running. If it's v4.70, it's very very old, and should have been updated long ago. The current version is 7.10. Updating the ServeRAID firmware and driver is a normal part of server maintenance, and DOES NOT destroy data!!! Until your current issue is resolved, I don't recommend changing any more than you have to to get to a working environment. You can contact IBM Support to have them send you the v4.70 ServeRAID device driver for NT.

Before you call, some things you should know:
1. IBM does not support UPTOMP.EXE, so any support will be on a "best effort" basis - not a huge concern.

2. Access the ServeRAID mini-configuration utility (Ctrl+I) to determine the state of the RAID configuration. If all the drives are online (ONL), and the ServeRAID POST indicates the state of the Logical Drive/Array is OK, DO NOT initialize the controller and load the configuration from the HDDs - if the Controller knows the drive and array state, you introduce a risk by doing this. If Support suggests you do this, request immediate escalation to the next level of support.

3. As soon as you recover from this failure, you should update the ServeRAID driver in the OS, then the ServeRAID Controller firmware.

If you do not see the option to select Ctrl+I, confirm your hot-swap backplane is actually connected to a RAID controller. The Netfinity 5000 ships by default with the backplane connected to the onboard dual-channel SCSI controller.

Also, the RAID controller should be installed in Slot 5, so POST sees it before the onboard SCSI controller. This is a last thing to do once all the other issues are resolved. Don't change it before you're fixed.

 

[lsgko]

I was able to undo what uptomp.exe did and was able to boot but it was slow and then I got a message "1601 The Service Processor flash needs to be updated". The Service processor light on the motherboard was on and the machine was acting unstable (and froze). When I tried to install Service pack 6a the machine froze and now when I boot it just blue screens.

Catorze, thanks for the detailed and informative response. If I can't get the 4.70 ServeRaid drivers, would the following work?
1) Update the bios on the ServeRaid card.
2) Can I then try to run the NT repair use the newer (v 7) serveraid drivers to run the repair?

 

[catorze]

Flash the system BIOS and Service Processor before you make any other changes. Then apply SP6a, reboot, and install the current RAID device driver. Then flash the ServeRAID Controller firmware. You will want the OS to have the current driver BEFORE you flash the controller.