Ok, so I attempted to do the upgrade today and now I cannot get my server to go into recovery mode. I have tried pulling out all the drives including the system drive but that wont work either.

It ends up going to a solid red light. I cannot access the server in this state.

I tried replacing the drive with a new one and I get the same thing! Help Help Help.

If you have a USB device connected to the bottom rear USB Port then remove it and or relocate it to another available USB port then try putting your server into recovery mode.

As for removing drives to put your server into recovery mode its just the system drive you need to pull out and boot your server then after a couple mins you can plug it back in and proceed.

Good Luck

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I neglected to mention this before. I had already removed any usb connections prior to starting the Upgrade.
When I first started the upgrade, the recovery program would find the server but would fail to do the server recovery. I then tried to do the server factory reset with the same result.

Now the server will not go into recover mode and gives the 1 blue 4 red indications.

This is sooo frustrating. Fortunately my critical data was backed up on the other drives but I do want to get my server back up and running.

I am at a loss for what to do.

Try relocating the server close to the computer your using to perform the Serve Update then direct connect the computer to the server's network cable. Verify the network cable is in good working order before using. Once the computers network port is connected to the servers netwok port attempt to put the server into recovery mode and see what happens.

Note there is no need for a cross over cable a standard network cable will work just fine as the server network port will detect the cable type and autonegotiate the connection.

Good Luck...........

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No good... was only 5 ft away through the Linksys router/switch but directly connected to see. Server still won't go into recovery mode and I get the same indication with 1 blue and 4 reds after pressing the reset switch once the constant red comes on.

I realize your frustration but I would like for you to do one more thing just to test recovery mode. I know you have done this already but one more time will not hurt. What I would like for you to do is pull out the system drive, start your MSS, do not press the little recovery/reset button just let the server sit there for about 5 minutes and let me know if you get the same Health Light Code of 1 Blue and 4 Red or does it alternate Blue and Red.

If it does the 1 Blue and 4 Red then we need to get you a copy of the SMI USB files and then you will need to create a bootable USB RAM Drive and place the files on that RAM Drive. This will enable your server to boot off that RAM Drive and place it into recovery mode. I will need to look at a couple things to make sure I am clear on the process because I only know it works but have no need to do it because I have video on both my EX470's so I do not have to do anything blind anymore.

Basically if successful then you will need to do one additional thing and that is to restore the SMI USB on your motherboard but the only way I have seen people do this is to install it from a Ghost image and recovery it. For that I recommend you contact a user on this site named Diehard I do believe he and another person just recently did what I believe you will need to do to bring your server back 100%.

So please relax and be patient just abit longer. I understand your frustration and have been where you are in past but under different circumstances. Once you get your server back running you may want to add video to it and if this is of interest to you I will tell you where you can buy a debug cable and provide you some installation ideas although everyone installs them differently but I think mine is the easiest to install and service although the left side of your MSS will not be so pretty with the cable comming out and the debug box attached to the side its 100% servicable, easy to access and its barely noticable after its there for a few months but we can talk about this later right now whats most important is to get your server back up and running which I know will lower your blood pressure which will make your doctor and family happy and also keep you from placing the EX470 in the driveway so it can meet the tires of your vehicle which only gives you momentary happiness of revenge. Stay cool if all goes well we should be able to get you back up later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

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~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

Oh yea one more thing. I will stay close by. If I run out I will bring a netbook and a mobile broadband card to check on your progress so I have 8 hrs of battery in the netbook, 4 in the broadband MIFI plus I have and inverter in the car to provide 110v should I need more power so I will be close by to assist you further.

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~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

First of all let me take the time to thank you for assisting. But this is not a priority to interrupt your life with. If you have time I appreciate it.

I removed the first drive and turned on the server and did not touch the reset button. It blinked blue and red for a few seconds and then purple and now is solid red. If I press the reset, I believe it will show the 1 blue and 4 reds again. Not sure if you wanted me to do that. This is pretty much what it has done ever since I attempted the factory reset which failed to run after finding the server.

I dont see the server on my network but and the recovery disk does not find it either.

I am trying to get the files from rapid share... waiting to see if the download will start....

My time right now is not a problem. The solid red health light is an indication of Operating System Failure which is a good indication that you have an issue with your on board SMI USB files not being loaded, lost or currupt meaning no OS was loaded at all so your server has no instructions on what to do with itself. So hopefully you will be able to get the SMI files and make a bootable USB RAM Drive and then place those SMI files on the USB RAM Drive then place it in the bottom rear USB Port to boot from then hopefully your server will boot from that and enter recovery mode so you can finish your update. I just need to find a link for creating the USB RAM DRIVE written by Diehard to help guide you with this process but it was really written for an EX49x USB recovery process but just ingnore the EX49x stuff and use only the EX47x stuff and I believe you will be fine.

Here is a link to review of another user with the same issue your experiencing now which should help guide you too.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7892&start=0

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~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

shazzzam,

Just wanted to check on you to see how your making out. Please update me on your progress. If all is well then that would be the best news.

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Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

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~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

Have not been able to create a bootable USB thumb drive - I run DiskPart and the thumb drive does not show up. I went into Manage and reformatted but there is no option to make it a system disk. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

Also how will I know if the server boots up with the thumb drive?

Shazzzam...

Ok, here's what I was able to do.

I creatd a bootable USB thumb drive using Active Boot Disk Builder. I copied the smi files over to the thumb drive and appear to have the server up on the network using the thumb drive based on the information I see in Cisco Networking Magic. I see that it up with Windows 2003 which it should have pulled from the thumb drive.

I run the Server restore disk and it finds the server. I selected Factory Reset option but it fails saying that it cannot reformat the drives. I used the original server recovery DVD.

I put a new formatted drive in the first drive slot. Will try the original drive that was reformatted also.

Great looks like your on the right track. Hopefully soon you will have your server up and running then its just a matter of getting the Ghost Image of the SMI files and have it put them back for you. In the mean time I will see if Diehard will help me get them with the instructions on how to get the image back on your SMI USB Drive so your server can be 100% again. Keep up the good work and do not lose faith sometimes our servers act like a problem child or a spouce who is MIA...

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Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

GRRR.....
So it keeps failing at the recovery either using the restore or factory reset. Ocassionally it wipes the thumb drive. Not sure why that is happening. I am still able to see the server on the network. I assume that no ability to RDP is available at this point.

I pulled the drive from the first slot. When I plug it into a External SATA drive connector (blackX duet - Themaltake), the drive show up as not initialized.

I initialize the drive, then partition it and then format it.. Should I? I would then need to do the factory reset option I assume.

I've tried the old server recovery disk.

Shazzzam.....

Also, at what point should I reboot and push the drive in? I assume it has to happen right after the server tries to boot off of the thumb drive - when will it recognize the drive is there?