Chapter 4. General Checkout; Diagnosing A Problem - Lenovo ThinkServer RD210 Hardware Maintenance Manual

Chapter 4. General Checkout

You can solve many problems without outside assistance by following the troubleshooting procedures in this
Hardware Maintenance Manual and on the Lenovo Web site. This document describes the diagnostic tests
that you can perform, troubleshooting procedures, and explanations of error messages and error codes.
The documentation that comes with your operating system and software also contains troubleshooting
information.

Diagnosing a problem

Before you contact Lenovo or an approved warranty service provider, follow these procedures in the order
in which they are presented to diagnose a problem with your server:
1. Determine what has changed.Determine whether any of the following items were added, removed,
replaced, or updated before the problem occurred:
• UEFI
• Device drivers
• Firmware
• Hardware components
• Software
If possible, return the server to the condition it was in before the problem occurred.
2. Collect data.Thorough data collection is necessary for diagnosing hardware and software problems.
a. Document error codes and system-board LEDs.
• System error codes: See the Installation and User Guide for information about a specific error
code.
• See the Installation and User Guide for the location of the system-board LEDs.
• Software or operating-system error codes: See the documentation for the software or
operating system for information about a specific error code. See the manufacturer's Web site for
documentation.
• Light path diagnostics LEDs: See the Installation and User Guide for information about LEDs
that are lit.
b. Collect system data.Run Dynamic System Analysis (DSA) Preboot diagnostics program to
collect information about the hardware, firmware, software, and operating system. Have this
information available when you contact Lenovo or an approved warranty service provider. See
http://www.lenovo.com/support for the instructions to run the DSA Preboot program.
If you need to download the latest version of DSA Preboot, go to http://www.lenovo.com/support
For information about DSA command-line options, go to http://www.lenovo.com/support
3. Follow the problem-resolution procedures.The four problem-resolution procedures are presented in
the order in which they are most likely to solve your problem. Follow these procedures in the order
in which they are presented:
a. Check for and apply code updates.Most problems that appear to be caused by faulty hardware are
actually caused by the UEFI firmware (formerly BIOS firmware), device firmware, or device drivers that
are not at the latest levels.
1) Determine the existing code levels.In DSA, click Firmware/VPD to view system firmware levels,
or click Software to view operating-system levels.
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