IBM M1015 boot problem.

Shaqalac · March 20, 2014

Hi LTT.

So I've just built a NAS and I'm about to install Debian on it from a USB stick to another USB stick (OS drive). Yesterday I had some problems with the installations so I've turned the computer on and off a couple of times. Today I continued to install Debian and had to turn the computer off as I was stuck in installation. When I turned the computer on again, the fans started spinning and I could see light from the RAID controller but no image on the screen. The screen turns on, then tells you there's no signal and go into standby-mode. I also experience that when I booted the system the fans started spinning, there was light from the RAID controller, then after ~20sec the whole system restarted itself and goes back to not showing an image. At this point I've booted the system several times without any problems but now it started to do this black screen and restart.

So I've tried with a couple of different screens, a old VGA with a VGA-->DVI converter and a new Sony HDMI TV. Once with either screen I had an image appear but it's just stuck on this image/page.

I tried to reboot the system a few times trying to get past this as it stayed like this for 15min or so. Once I tried to wait until something happened (a risky move if nothing will happen), something did happen though, it said something about the LSI controller. I didn't managed to read all of it or remember it.

After that I figured it might be something with the LSI controller, so I tried to disconnect it from the system and now it boots without any problems. Conclusion: The LSI controller is causing the black screen or spontaneous restart.

What could be a solution to this?

Here's all my parts:

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220T
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-L9i
RAM: Kingston HyperX Black 4GB 1333MHz
Motherboard: MSI B85I
Power supply: SilverStone SFX ST45SF-G
Case: Lian-Li PC-Q25B
Expansion card: IBM ServeRAID M1015
Storage: SeaGate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 4TB x 4
USB for OS: SanDisk Cruzer Fit 16GB
Other: Noctua NF-A14 PWM, Noctua NF-F12 PWM, Mini SAS to 4 SATA x 2, cable ties

Cheers McLarsen.

MG2R · March 21, 2014

This'll probably be a long shot, but is there a BIOS reset on the RAID card?

You could also try resetting your mobo's BIOS.

Shaqalac · March 21, 2014

This'll probably be a long shot, but is there a BIOS reset on the RAID card?

I'll have to check this tomorrow.

You could also try resetting your mobo's BIOS.

This is done by the clear CMOS switch right? In that case I've tried that a couple of times, no change in the result, still doesn't show a picture and if it does it's stuck.

Found this over at the FreeNAS forum: http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/ibm-m1015-boot-problem.17686/

From that it sounds like I need to flash the M1015 but it just seems weird as I was able to boot with the M1015 connected and suddenly it wouldn't.