Dell PowerEdge T310 with 5 SATA HDD

[Khuzaima]

Hello,

I am trying to build a NAS server on Dell PowerEdge T310 / 16 GB. I have installed a 120 GB SSD for FreeNAS installation and other 5 SATA HDD of 3 TB each for creating pool.

Problem:
The System does not go beyond POST screen if I plug in the 4th HDD (3TB). It works fine with 120GB SSD + 3 nos. 3TB SATA HDD.

Has anyone faced such issue? Please help solve this issue.

Thanks.

 

[HoneyBadger]

My immediate instinct is "bad hardware."

See if the problem follows a specific drive or SATA port; eg. does the problem persist even if you change what the fourth drive in question is? Eg: you have drives A, B, C, and D. Is it always drive "D" for example that causes a no-post scenario, or is it any combination of four drives?

Did it ever successfully post with all five drives connected for the initial FreeNAS installation?

 

[Khuzaima]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I had tried swapping all the HDDs with new ones also. All the HDDs were found working ok.

Finally, I reinstalled FreeNAS using UEFI option and in boot options on PowerEdge System setup, I selected UEFI as boot mode. This has solved the problem and now the system is up and running with 5 x 3TB HDDs as pool.

 

[melloa]

Also, for future thoughts, how are your drives connected to the motherboard? If your server has a HBA, you will probably need to re-flash and/or replace with one on IT mode, to won't have a hardware raid in the mix.

 

[Khuzaima]

Hi Melloa,

I just replied to the thread. Problem is solved by reinstalling FreeNAS in UEFI mode.

 

[Yorick]

You didn't say which 120GB SSD you used for boot. If this required UEFI, chances are it's an NVMe drive. Or your BIOS was set for UEFI-boot only, with a SATA SSD. Either way.

I'm glad to see you solved it!