Skip to main content
  • Place orders quickly and easily
  • View orders and track your shipping status
  • Enjoy members-only rewards and discounts
  • Create and access a list of your products

How to Run Hardware Diagnostics on your PowerEdge Server

Summary: Hardware Diagnostics are embedded tools installed in the pre-OPERATING SYSTEM of your server to check hardware is working as designed.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Symptoms

This article shows how to start the Hardware Diagnostic on PowerEdge servers, which is a tool provided by Dell for basic troubleshooting and maintenance.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. PowerEdge Servers 12G, 13G and all newer generation servers
  3. PowerEdge Servers 11G
  4. PowerEdge Servers 9G or 10G

1. Introduction

Hardware Diagnostics are embedded tools installed in the pre-OPERATING SYSTEM of your server. Dell provides the hardware diagnostics tools.

It is recommended that you run diagnostics using the Hardware Diagnostics utility, as part of a regular maintenance plan to validate that the attached hardware is functioning properly.

Diagnostics utility has a physical (as opposed to logical) view of the attached hardware, it can identify hardware problems that the operating system and other online tools cannot identify.

You can use the hardware diagnostics utility to validate the memory, I/O devices, CPU, hard drives, and other peripherals.

The procedure depends on your Server Generation, shortcuts and screenshots are available below.

Find detailed information in the User Manual of your PowerEdge Server:

  1. Go to the PowerEdge section on Dell.com/Support
  2. Choose the matching system type and click it
  3. All available manuals are displayed
Note: Need help with defining the generation of your Dell server? See the article: How to identify the generation of my server.
 

2. PowerEdge Servers 12G, 13G and all newer generation servers

  1. Press F10 at startup.
  2. In the left pane of Lifecycle Controller, click Hardware Diagnostics.
  3. In the right pane, click Run Hardware Diagnostics. The diagnostics utility is launched.
  4. Follow the instructions on the screen. When the tests are complete, the results of the diagnostics tests are displayed on the screen. (Figure 1 - in English only)

 
Run Hardware Diagnostics
Figure 1: ePSA Diagnostics
 
Note: You may stop testing by pressing the ESC key. Restarting without clicking Exit at the top of the screen will cause the Lifecycle controller menu to load again after reboot.

3. PowerEdge Servers 11G

  1. At startup, press F10 to enter into LifeCycle Controller.
  2. Click Hardware Diagnostics.
  3. On the screen, select
    • Run Diags to test components (Figure 2 (English-only))
    • MPMemory to run diagnostics on the memory modules (Figure 2 (English-only)).

MPM Memory

Figure 2: Running the Diags


3.1 Starting the embedded Hardware Diagnostic tool

 

Note: The steps below describe the latest version of the Hardware Diagnostics embedded in the Unified Server Controller (USC) of 11G PowerEdge servers. Older versions may look different, but the options are similar.


If you chose to Run Diags, you must:

  1. Select Express Test to quick test all components
  2. Select Extended Test to test all components intensively
  3. Select the Custom Test to test single components

Run Diagnostics Options

Figure 3: Test Options


Testing one device

  1. Choose Custom Test
  2. On the next page, you have to select the component you want to test.

    For example, for testing a hard disk: (Figure 4-English-only.)
    1. Choose the Drive that you want to test
    2. Choose the type of Test that you want to perform (for example, Drive Self-Test)
    3. Choose your preferred Diagnostic Options
      Recommended:
      • Non-Interactive Tests Only
      • Log output file pathname (to save the results)
      • Continue on Failure (to prevent interruption when failures are found)
  3. Click Run Test to start the process

Run Test

Figure 4: Testing a hard drive
 

3.2 Memory Diagnostics

MpMemory allows you to check the state of your memory.
If you chose the MPMemory option, you must select the type of test you want to run:

Express or Custom.
For a basic test, you can pick Express.

MPM Memory Express

Figure 5: MpMemory (English)


For a Custom test, check the relevant test that you want to pass.

MPM Memory Custom

Figure 6: Custom Test (English)

The time it takes to run the test varies depending on the amount of memory installed in your server.


4. PowerEdge Servers 9G or 10G

  1. Download the latest Dell 32-Bit Diagnostics for your PowerEdge server from Dell.com/Support
  2. Run the application on your workstation.
  3. Click Continue.
  4. Choose a folder where to extract files.
  5. Click Create a Bootable CD.
  6. Choose a folder where to save the diags.iso file.
  7. Burn diags.iso as an image to a CD or mount as virtual media in DRAC or Bootable USB.
  8. Boot the server to CD/virtual media.
  9. Choose option #2 - DDGUI Graphics based diagnostics.

Do not forget to record the test results.


Cause

Not required

Resolution

See above

Affected Products

Legacy Server Models, Precision 7920 Rack

Products

PowerEdge R200, PowerEdge R210, PowerEdge R210 II, PowerEdge R220, PowerEdge R300, PowerEdge R310, PowerEdge R320, PowerEdge R410, PowerEdge R415, PowerEdge R420, PowerEdge R510, PowerEdge R515, PowerEdge R520, PowerEdge R610, PowerEdge R620 , PowerEdge R710, PowerEdge R715, PowerEdge R720, PowerEdge R720XD, PowerEdge R805, PowerEdge R810, PowerEdge R815, PowerEdge R820, PowerEdge R900, PowerEdge R905, PowerEdge R910, PowerEdge R920 ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000132726
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 12 Aug 2024
Version:  11
Find answers to your questions from other Dell users
Support Services
Check if your device is covered by Support Services.