MD3820F error code 5E dF

Hello 

do you have the serial cable to know more about this error?

Probably an issue with Storage controllers. Did you try to change batteries?

Sorry I see that you already replaced battery.

This issue comes with new batteries? And if you put the old ones?

image press the C key to continue

i have a serial cable and i access it and i have to press C to continue and when i press c the device is working fine but when i turn it off and on again the error appears again and i have also replaced the old battery but still not Feasibility

Hi, also please review recovery guru for errors and alerts. Might be it can suggest something. 

The Recovery Guru is a component of MD Storage Manager that diagnoses critical events on the storage array and recommends step-bystep recovery procedures for problem resolution.
In the AMW, to display the Recovery Guru, perform one of these actions:
• Select Monitor > Health > View Health (Recovery Guru).
• On the Summary tab, click the Storage Array Needs Attention link.
You can detect a problem using the following indicators:
• Non-Optimal status icons
• Alert notification messages that are sent to the appropriate destinations
• Hardware indicator lights
The status icons return to Optimal status as problems are resolved.

it could be fixed remotely, whether dell would do that i dont know.

it hangs at that step so it can't connect to MD Storage Manager only when pressing C the device can access and then it's optimal but when shutting down and turning on again it hangs at that step .image below is when I press C continues

Hi, the only thing that came to my mind run the command lemClearLockdown but you mentioned already did it. Feeling a little stuck here, let's see if the community will recommended anything.

Thank you for your help, hope someone can help me

I have exactly the same issue. I had to replace mSATA in the controller, did it correctly and the sytem came back healthy, but then I replaced the RTC battery and the fat LFP backup battery too, thinking that I would give the controller a little more juice for staying normal for longer time. Shoot --- a very bad decision. The system hangs during bootup, complaining that RTC battery is low. I always have to press C(ontinue) on the console every time it reboots. Just out of curiosity, I opened up the other perfectly working controller and took out the RCT battery and then replugged it in in its place, and voila!, it also hangs during bootup with the same complaint. Maybe the RTC battery in an MD3820f controller should never be taken out. (If it was designed that way, Dell should have soldered it or put a warning or something!!!)

Does anyone happen to know how this situation (Getting RTC battery low warning even though battery is OK) can be fixed?

Thank you very much all!

YM

Hi @Pororo2,

If during the storage POST in serial shell is showing this error "RTC Warning:  Battery for real-time clock and NVSRAM must be replaced" then the RTC chip and battery is having an issue. I've checked the field replacement component for MD3820F user guide, the RTC battery is not a replaceable component. Only the RAID Controller battery is a replaceable component. When the RTC chip itself or the battery has failed the controller is not able to keep time. The controllers got out of sync when one was not able to keep its RTC chip up and caused the RC lockdown condition. 

Try running lemClearLockdown and clearHardwareLockdown. If issue still persist, then the RTC chip has been damaged. There is no other solution than to replace the controller.

Gentronic Solutions can fix this issue. based in the UK

I frankly do not understand the situation. NetApp, the OEM manufacturer, allows RTC battery replacement (written in their manual), but Dell doesn't. I think it is some sort of design failure --- you take out the RTC battery and your controller dies.

Anyhow, I got upset about the situation, and spent some time to hack the firmware.It was relatively easy --- found sysRtcTestBatteryFail() function, disassembled the code, and changed the code behavior such that the function returns normally even when it finds an RTC battery failure. Now both of my controllers boot up OK without any console inteference. Although battery-related complaints are printed out on a regular basis, it doesn't (and shouldn't) appear to affect the functionality of MD3820F, and MDSM program is not even noticing any difference.

I feel absurd that I am answering to my own question, but I think it is better to put a note here in case anybody else in the world has the same issue. I can pass the hacked firmware binary upon a request, of course at no cost. Yes, you should use it at your own risk...

It is not an official solution supported by Dell, but thank you it can surely help other customers

Hi! Thanks for the info. At least it's not firmware corruption --- after the incidence, I upgraded it to the newest one, and the problem persisted even after the upgrade. I agree on your opinion that the situation without a CMOS battery does do some harm. I am just surprised that it is not documented at all, even though it is so reproducible with multiple controllers. 

Anyhow, my hacked firmware is working just fine (so far so good), and I will just stick to that hacked version instead of tediously pressing C on its console screen whenever the machine reboots.