Resolving an operating system boot failure

Learn how to identify the service action that is needed to resolve a failure while booting your operating system.

1. Was the system recently installed, serviced, moved, or upgraded?

   If	Then
   Yes:	Ensure that all cables are properly seated in the connection path to the designated boot device. This ends the procedure.
   No:	Continue with the next step.

2. Are you booting the operating system from a network location?

   If	Then
   Yes:	Continue with the next step.
   No:	Continue with step 4.

3. Complete the following actions, one at a time until the problem is resolved:
   1. Ensure that a problem does not exist with the connection to the network location.
   2. Ensure that the adapter has a valid IP address for the network.
   3. Replace the network adapter.
      • If your system is an 8001-12C or 8005-12N, go to 8001-12C or 8005-12N locations to identify the physical location and the removal and replacement procedure.
      • If your system is an 8001-22C or 8005-22N, go to 8001-22C or 8005-22N locations to identify the physical location and the removal and replacement procedure.
4. Petitboot displays all recognized bootable images to use by default. Is the boot image recognized by Petitboot?

   If	Then
   Yes:	Continue with step 10.
   No:	Select the Petitboot menu option to refresh the boot images. If the problem persists, continue with the next step.

5. To determine the command to type on the Petitboot command line to verify that the boot drive is recognized and in optimal status, use Table 1.

   Table 1. Determine the command to verify that the boot drive is recognized and in optimal status

   Boot drive configuration	Commands
   Virtual drive configured through an LSI SAS3 9361-8I adapter	storcli /c0 /vall show all
   Virtual drive configured through an LSI S3008L-L8I adapter	sas3ircu 0 display Note: A status of okay indicates optimal status.
   Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) drive	Use the nvme list command to verify that the boot drive is recognized: nvme list Use the nvme smart-log command to verify the smart status of the boot drive: nvme smart-log /dev/nvmeX, where X is the ID that is associated with the drive. Note: If you do not know which drive is the boot drive, check the smart status of all of the drives that are listed in the nvme list command output.
   Virtual drive connected directly to the system backplane	mvcli info -o vd
   Physical drive connected directly to the system backplane	mvcli info -o pd

   Is the boot drive recognized and in optimal status?

   If	Then
   Yes:	Reinstall the operating system on the boot drive. This ends the procedure.
   No:	Continue with the next step.

6. Are the drives properly seated in their respective drive bays?
   Note:

   • If your system is an 8001-12C or 8005-12N, go to 8001-12C or 8005-12N locations to identify the physical location and the removal and replacement procedure.
   • If your system is an 8001-22C or 8005-22N, go to 8001-22C or 8005-22N locations to identify the physical location and the removal and replacement procedure.

   If	Then
   Yes:	Continue with the next step.
   No:	Properly seat the drives in the drive bays. Then, go to step 4.

7. Refresh the Petitboot boot options. Is the boot image on the boot drive recognized?

   If	Then
   Yes:	Boot the operating system. Then, continue with step 10.
   No:	Continue with the next step.

8. To determine the command to type on the Petitboot command line to verify that the drives that are known to be in a RAID array are recognized, use Table 2.

   Table 2. Determine the command to verify that the drives that are known to be in a RAID array are recognized

   Drive configuration	Commands
   Virtual drive configured through an LSI SAS3 9361-8I adapter	storcli /c0 /vall show all
   Virtual drive configured through an LSI S3008L-L8I adapter	sas3ircu 0 display Note: A status of okay indicates optimal status.
   Drive connected directly to the system backplane	mvcli info -o vd info -o pd

   Are the drives that are known to be in the RAID array recognized?

   If	Then
   Yes:	Reinstall the operating system on the boot drive. This ends the procedure.
   No:	Continue with the next step.

9. Complete the following actions, one at a time until the physical drives are recognized in the RAID array:
   Note:

   • If your system is an 8001-12C or 8005-12N, go to 8001-12C or 8005-12N locations to identify the physical location and the removal and replacement procedure.
   • If your system is an 8001-22C or 8005-22N, go to 8001-22C or 8005-22N locations to identify the physical location and the removal and replacement procedure.
   1. Ensure that the SAS cable is securely seated in the RAID adapter and the disk drive backplane. If the drive is an NVMe drive, ensure that the NVMe cable is connected from the disk drive backplane to the NVMe PCIe host bus adapter (HBA). If the drive is connected directly to the system backplane, ensure that the mini-SAS cable and SATA cables are properly seated in the disk drive backplane and system backplane.
   2. If the drive is configured through a RAID adapter, replace the RAID adapter.
   3. Replace the SAS, SATA, or NVMe cable.
   4. If the drive is connected directly to the system backplane, replace the system backplane.
   This ends the procedure.
10. Does an operating system error occur during the boot?

    If	Then
    Yes:	Recover the operating system with the tools for the operating system. If that does not resolve the problem, reinstall the operating system. This ends the procedure.
    No:	Reinstall the operating system. This ends the procedure.