Understand, Maintain, and Troubleshoot Hard Drives and RAID Storage in Dell PowerEdge Servers

Version 2.0	Hard Drive and RAID error messages	Version 3.0

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How to better understand and troubleshoot Dell PowerEdge hard disk drives (HDD), Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC), and other storage hardware such as cables, backplane, so forth. Through the navigational menu below, find Dell articles for hard drives and RAID in PowerEdge servers, or see some of our helpful articles at the bottom.

Information: Hard Drive, RAID, and Controller types

• Various Hard Disk Drive Types - Understanding Hard Drive Types, RAID, and RAID Controllers on Dell PowerEdge and Blade Chassis Servers
• Most commonly used RAID levels - Dell Servers - What are the RAID levels and their specifications?
• Different RAID controller types - List of PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) types for Dell systems
• Operating System Support: Installation and Configuration - The PowerEdge Server Operating System Support Library

Error Messages: What they mean and what to do next

• System Error messages and how they can be viewed - Error messages in the PowerEdge system event log and how to view the error messages
• PERC Controller Battery errors - How to Troubleshoot PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) Battery Errors on a Dell PowerEdge™ Server

Performance: Measure, diagnose, and resolve

• How to measure hard drive and RAID performance - Performance issues: How to measure.
• How to diagnose performance issues - Performance issues: How to diagnose and troubleshoot
• How to resolve performance issues - Performance issues: How to resolve or improve.
• PowerEdge hard drive: What is predicted Drive Failure and how to solve it? - PowerEdge hard drive: What is Predicted Drive Failure and How to Solve it?
• Double Faults and Punctures in RAID Arrays - Double Faults and Punctures in RAID Arrays

Maintenance: Automated and manual operations

• Automated Maintenance: Controller operations
• Manual Maintenance: RAID and Hard Drive operations
• Dell PowerEdge: Update Server Firmware for Optimal Performance

Hard Drive Failure: Speed up replacement

• Gathering logs for advanced troubleshooting on PowerEdge servers
• How to contact Dell Enterprise Support and open an Online Case?

Video Archive for Hard Drive and RAID-related content

• Dell Technical Videos
• Tech Support Dell
• Quick Resource Locator Dell

Helpful Videos regarding RAID

• PowerEdge R730xd: Remove or Install Midboard Hard Drive Tray Assembly
• PowerEdge R730xd: Remove or Install Midboard Hard Drives
• PowerEdge R730cd: Remove or Install hard drive backplane

Helpful Articles:

• PowerEdge hard drive: How to identify the hard drive properties and update the firmware?
• Understanding Hard Drive Types, RAID and RAID Controllers on Dell PowerEdge and Blade Chassis Servers
• Dell SupportAssist Enterprise 2.x - Guide and Download  
• The PowerEdge Server Operating System Support Library
• How to troubleshoot various Hard Drive, PERC, RAID, and OpenManage issues (Hardware and Software RAID Controllers)
• Dell PowerEdge: Troubleshooting a Server that does not start (No Power, No POST, No Boot and No Video)