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This morning, I noticed this light was flashing on the Dell PowerEdge 2450 and 2550 that we have in our rack -

alt text http://web9.twitpic.com/img/37746710-2446a7bb5186d286cc1504ecb8ab636a.4ae07243-full.jpg

No warnings as far as i can see on screen...

Any ideas as to what it might be?

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  • 14
    It's the server's way of saying "I'm almost 10 years old...please replace me". :)
    – Doug Luxem
    Oct 22, 2009 at 15:11
  • 1
    +10 if I could for DLux...
    – KPWINC
    Oct 22, 2009 at 21:28

9 Answers 9

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Its the PSU light. Usually means one of the several Power Supply Units got disconnected. Check the backside of the server, perhaps a power cable went loose.

If it started flashing on both servers, check the sockets/PDU/plugs that are shared between the two servers, perhaps you have a failure in your power equipment.

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From the user manual for the 2550:

The green system status indicator blinks amber when a system failure is detected.

Not familiar with that model personally, but I'd run some diagnostics.

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I'm assuming (because your image didn't post) that the amber light is blinking. The amber light blinking is an indication of an error condition. It could be anything, not just the PS. It could be a memory error, CPU error, PS error, fan error, etc.

My guess, based on the fact that both servers are exhibiting the behavior, is that they have each lost power to one of the power supplies.

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Do you have a remote management card or software on the server? If so see what it says. If not then you may need to reboot to see what the post reports is wrong.

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I would run diagnostics. But, following are some of the obvious ones to check.

1) DELL PE2450 has dual power supplies: Check if both the PSUs are normal.

2) Harddisk failure: The LED on the Harddisk would glow amber.

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Well, if it is a PSU failure, then one of the units at the back should be flickering. Generally (assuming it's loaded and available) I'd suggest checking on the Dell Management software which will boil down the errors and warnings on the system. Luckily the Dell mgmt software runs without bringing the machine down to boot off the diagnostics disc/partition, so it's the least interruption.

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I had this problem this night. Strangely, the solution that worked for me was really simple and stupid, a solution that is not found in any of the other answers.

I had dusted the server a bit and moved it a bit around. Dunno what I must have done, there goes the amber light when I power it on. And the Server doesn't boot. Had searched a lot on the Net, with all kinds of possibilities, all of them worrying and discouraging. I was about to declare holiday for my users, as I live in a small town and repair isn't easy to reach. And then I came across this post.

http://johnlamansky.com/tech/a-blinking-orange-power-light/

Gave me a simple solution: Turn off the spike buster and turn it on back.

What simple stuff. Yes, I turned the spike buster off and on, and bingo, all eez well.

EDIT : Well, by the time I next booted up a few times, the amber/orange light blinking had gone away, but the server wouldn't boot still, would stop after checking of DIMM slots. The same thread above, where multiple solutions are suggested and copiously acknowledged in the comments, came in handy. It was my USB keyboard. I successively disconnected my USB keyboard (yes, Dell), USB mouse (Dell) and my network cable, to check which one was the culprit.

I disconnected the USB keyboard and all is fine again. btw, it's okay to connect the USB keyboard after the server boots up.

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    +1 for mentioning USB. My Dell CS24-NV7 server wouldn't boot with the USB plug for the KVM inserted. Just pulled the USB out and it was away.
    – Daz
    Dec 5, 2016 at 18:59
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Check to make sure it is not the locate server light. I had a new guy freak out over that.

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In my case, one of my 2gb memory sticks had failed. I figured it out by removing both, and slotting them in, in turns and booting up.

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