Hi
gferr@northrock.bm welcome to the forums ~ Very sorry to hear about your EX487 not booting,
Your issue is mostly likely a failed PSU but there is a remote chance the motherboard could also have an issue and not allowing the PSU to start. There are two ways to figure out this out without having to spend a ton of money so if your willing to give it a shot then lets see if we can sort this out and get your server backup and running.
First lets look at the actual PSU and we can simply extract the PSU/Motherboard Assembly and disconnect the PSU from the motherboard and install a jumper on Pins 1 and 2 to see if the PSU will start. For this I recommend you connect the PSU to a power strip with an ON/OFF button which will make turning the power on and off easier.
If you have never taken your server apart then review the information in the following link which will show you how to properly disassemble your Server.
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2009/09 ... -hardware/While the above link refers to the EX49x all HP MSS servers are built the same so you can use the instructions on how to disassemble your server from the link above.
The next link covers the actual information on the PSU in an EX47x but all the MSS PSU's are compatible with each other as they all use a Flex ATX PSU but are wired differently which makes them somewhat unique.
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/wiki/in ... wer_SupplyHere what you will want to do once the PSU/Motherboard Assembly is removed and the PSU Connector has been removed from the Motherboard is to place a jumper into pins 1 & 2 which will turn the PSU on when power is applied. This is where a power strip with an on/off switch comes in handy and I highly recommend you use one for this task.
Once the jumper is installed and power is turned on to the PSU if its working you should see it the fan start up but you can take voltage measurements just incase the 40mm fan has failed. If the PSU is not working then you know the PSU needs to be replaced but for some spending $76-125 USD in not always an option because the concern is with the condition of the motherboard and is it functional.
To verify this if you have an ATX or Flex ATX PSU then get an 24-20 Pin ATX PSU extension cable and rewire it so that its compatible with the MSS. A company on eBay (KDMPower) does make these cables for the PSU's they sell for the MSS and they may be willing to sell you one.
http://kdmpower.com/ Having such a cable handy makes it quite easy to take a standard PSU and connect it to any MSS to see if the server will power up.
If you have the ability to repair PSU's then the most common issue with the MSS PSU is with the Capacitors and Voltage Regulators which also take out the 5A PCB Fuse if you want to go down that road let me know and I will search out that information for you but you can do a site search and find the information too.
If you want to purchase a replacement PSU then the only company which sells a direct replacement PSU is Overtek LTD in the UK but currently they are out of stock and have not sold PSU's for several weeks but should be selling them again soon and when they do you will be able to find them on eBay.
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2012/02 ... t-servers/ Another company which sells replacement PSU's for the MSS is KDMPower but their PSU although only has 1 cable its short and so they ship it with a modified extension cable. The PSU with the extension cable does work but its difficult to install thus I do not consider it to be a direct replacement PSU just one that will get the job done. My guess is they want to sell that PSU for other units possibly the shuttle so they use the modified extension cable to make it easier on them. KDMPower has multiple PSU's for the MSS and they sell them on eBay just search for HP MEDIASMART SERVER and you will find them.
Other then that you can perform a site search on the PSU and you will find a ton of information to help you out.
My experience with MSS units is that for the most part are as follows:
(1) Hard Drive Corruption after a power failure
(2) PSU Failure
(3) NIC Failure
(4) Damage to the backplane during installation or extraction (Issue with breaking one or more capacitors off - end user issue)
(5) Motherboard damage after installing an improper CPU or from static discharge from improper handling
(6) Bricking the BIOS after modifying it improperly
(7) Failed SMI in the EX47x and EX48x which prevents the server from booting into recovery
For the most part the issue most common with not being able to turn on an MSS is the PSU but if you have recently taken apart the MSS there could be other issues.
Good Luck and let me know how you make out.
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