Intel® Server System SR1500AL User’s Guide 87
Hardware Diagnostic Testing
This section provides a more detailed approach to identifying a hardware problem and
locating its source.
Caution: Turn off devices before disconnecting cables: Before disconnecting any peripheral cables
from the system, turn off the system and any external peripheral devices. Failure to do so
can cause permanent damage to the system and/or the peripheral devices.
1. Turn off the system and all external peripheral devices. Disconnect each device
from the system, except for the keyboard and the video monitor.
2. Make sure the system power cord is plugged into a properly grounded AC outlet.
3. Make sure your video display monitor and keyboard are correctly connected to the
system. Turn on the video monitor. Set its brightness and contrast controls to at
least two thirds of their maximum ranges (see the documentation supplied with
your video display monitor).
4. If the operating system normally loads from the hard disk drive, make sure there is
no CD-ROM / DVD disk in the optical drive.
5. If the power LED does light, attempt to boot from a USB floppy or from a CD-
ROM disk.
6. Turn on the system. If the power LED does not light, see “Power Light Does Not
Light”.

Verifying Proper Operation of Key System Lights

As POST determines the system configuration, it tests for the presence of each mass
storage device installed in the system. As each device is checked, its activity light should
turn on briefly. Check for the following:
Does the drive activity light turn on briefly? If not, see “Drive Activity Light Does
Not Light”.
If system LEDs are illuminated, see “Make sure the BIOS is configured to allow the
CD-ROM to be the first bootable device.” for a description of the light and steps to
take to correct the problem.

Confirming Loading of the Operating System

Once the system boots up, the operating system prompt appears on the screen. The prompt
varies according to the operating system. If the operating system prompt does not appear,
see “No Characters Appear on Screen”.