H710 Installation Issue?
Precision T3600, H310, two 2tb drives RAID1 (mirror). I bought a H710 and installed. Imported foreign configuration, and Windows 7 booted right up... noticed that it needed a H710 driver (or drivers), and installed a thing or two. After installation, there was a H710 device in the device manager, but also a "RAID Controller" with no driver found ... and wanted to reboot (of course).
Rebooting got to the first Windows splash screen, then reboot (and etc.). It wouldn't even boot into safe mode, but would boot to "last known good configuration."
I futzed with it as much as I could bear, but I couldn't get it to boot. Replaced the H310, imported foreign configuration, and it's running fine. Most up-to-date driver, updated the firmware on the H710 ... and pretty much ran out of ideas.
Did I get a bum H710? Did I do something wrong? Anyone have any idea?
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Hi Adam,
The H710 and H310 share the same driver so I don't think there is a driver issue if your 310 still works, however it could be a firmware issue as some used cards firmware were flashed or patched to to increase the NCQ or to reflash it to IT mode to aid in performance.
Here's a link to the latest firmware from Dell's website. That may help clear the no controller found issues.
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=9mhj5
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But if the card is still not working, you can also try removing the heatsink and reapply fresh thermal paste as some of the cards heatsink do losen if the thermal paste have dried up.
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stormson weathers Good thought... but that was one of the first things I tried -- update the firmware.
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stormson weathers It doesn't work basically immediately - it doesn't have time to get hot.
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Adam Goldberg I only mentioned the heatsink because two of the 710s I bought used there was an air gap between the heatsink and chip because the heatsink shifted possibly during packing and the dried thermal paste couldn't maintain a seal. If the card was used by the prior owner (you didn't specify if the card was used or refurbished) in that kind state for long periods, it can cause the issue you're having.
Another solution is to plug the card in while keeping your H310 installed and boot into Windows and see if the hardware manager can install the MS specific drivers instead in case there is a driver issue.
Baring that, another way to see if the card really is DOA is booting an alternate OS like Linux or even using a Windows 10 boot ISO from Microsoft to see if it can see the drives. Most current Linux Live ISOs recognize both cards and it wont affect your installed system.
I'd be interested in any results you can produce!
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The reboot is a BSOD... STOP: 0x0000007B
"Inaccessible Boot Volume."
A bit of googling finds a recommendation to change the "Start" value in both of the below registry keys to '0'.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IastorV
Also, while I'm at it, I looked at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\percsas2
IastorV has a start value of 3, both Msahci and percsas2 have a start value of '0'.
I'm hesitant to change anything: If I put the H310 in, everything works fine. If I put the H710 in, BSOD 0x7b. No other changes. Is the H310 not an AHCI boot device and the H710 is? Did I miss a H710 setting somewhere?
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Hmm, I've seen the regstry issue before and the problem is a simple fix that won't affect your setup for the h310. All you have to do is simply boot into safe mode. Once it's in safe mode shutdown and start normally. What this does is it copies what boot files that are missing to your install without affecting your previous one, but if you still feel hesitant then I fully understand.
Another thing I forgot to ask was can you send me a picture or the mfg # of the h710 as it turns out there were a couple of variants with different chipsets?
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stormson weathers The Dell part number is 0VM02C. Also says P/N: 01040LJ00-000-G, and PWB XXXXX REV A02.
Last time I tried to boot to safe mode, it rebooted the same way.
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Adam Goldberg Thanks for the #. You can use the driver for the H710P. That driver works with the H310 and H710 as well.
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=0tm0h
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stormson weathers , version 5.2.222.64, dated 5/2/2013. Something is very wrong with the 710, it boots fine with the 310, fails with the 710. Whatever the problem is, it's not having the right driver installed.
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Adam Goldberg Then I'm guessing the 710 is DOA. Will you be able to get an exchange or refund?
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stormson weathers I want to apologise for not being able to help you get your card to work. I can understand it can be a bit trying when things don't work as expected. Also, may I recommend a H700 card #0HCR2Y instead? While the H700 was made for a Dell Poweredge 410, the card can work with a T5500 by adding a bracket from another unneeded card and can be found at more than half the cost of the H710, plus the onboard cache is expandable and a drop in replacement in terms of RAID support.
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stormson weathers The only downside are your boot options. While a H700 can boot a drive off the card, it will only boot from drives converted to RAID, but if you're booting from your SATA ports or another card then it's fine. The card can also be added along side of the H310 and even shows up in the H310 config settings.
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stormson weathers
Adam Goldberg
I'm a little late to the party on this one.
I would agree that the card appears to be overheating and is failing.
Dell did make an H710P card specifically for Precision Workstations. It also has different firmware than the poweredge version that you are installing. That is not to say that the poweredge version won't work.
I'll post the pn when when I have a chance to dig it up.
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Very interested to know what the pn is for a Precision-specific H710 or H710p... and I'm going to return the one I have because I continue to suspect it's not 100% good.
But note that the failures come immediately. Unless it's overheating in ~2min, the main problem isn't an overheating one.
Interestingly, when I looked at msconfig, it had me booting a Selective Startup, and the Boot tab shows a "recovered" configuration. I switched it to normal startup, and it failed to boot even with the H310. Boot to the recovery console, rebuilt the BCD, and it booted properly (and no longer in recovered configuration). I haven't had the guts/time to try the H710 again, though.
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Jbigticket23 this page (https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln287084/precision-workstation-raid-controller-setup?lang=en) has this text:
Note: Please be aware that these same cards are also used in Dell Enterprise Server systems and may sometimes be referred to as a PERC card. PERC stands for PowerEdge Raid Controller. They are the same card.
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Adam Goldberg they are indeed the same cards. However, Dell did make pn that was made specifically for the precision workstations. The firmware is different from the poweredge version. Also, unless you have that specific pn, you can't flash it to the workstation firmware. The firmware is supposed to be optimized for the precision workstations.
I believe the PN is: KYJRD
That being said, both seem to work in the precision workstations. I still think you have a card that failed.
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Thanks a bunch for all your help!
I think there's two different part numbers, one a later rev but both essentially the same. The only thing I saw about the firmware for a Precision seemed to be an older version than the most-current version of the firmware. Shrug.
At the end of the day, I couldn't get the system to boot properly with the H710 installed, and can only conclude that it's broke. It's going back.
Interestingly, it seems like a H710 never came in a Precision T36x0 (just either the H310 or H710P). I'm going to get a P at some point.
Anyone have a line on known-good H710P for a good price?
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Adam Goldberg The H710P cards are still very expensive. The last time we purchased one it was $150. However, they do post better benchmarks then the regular H710 512MB. Good luck hunting!
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