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iphone2g&3gfan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 14, 2013
147
103
Orlando, Florida
Hi everyone, I have an issue with a 2008 Xserve, dual cpu @3.0 model. I have had this unit in my house for 3 months, and plugging in the AC power cable to a power supply, it started in 3 seconds delay automatically without need for pressing the power button. the system id light is on, constantly on, without any blinking. the POST lights don't light up, and the front panel blue lights never come up nor do the ethernet link lights (the ethernet will light up both lights constantly if I connect a cable) I have a multi end screwdriver that has a torx or something tip that can open and close the enclosure lock, I have stock upgraded 4x1 gb ram, dual psu. Connecting a monitor to the gpu does nothing, no signal, and the ram lights all turn red at power for 3 seconds, then turn off. (The ram was tested in a Dell power edge server and works fine) The cpu's I also tested on that same power edge and both work fine. Monitor works with another mac. The HDD spins up, no problem. Can anyone shed light on this issue? there is no docs online of a constant yellow light, only blinking. There are 4 buttons on the logic board grouped together and I have used them to reset the smc, etc. There is also a lone button near the edge that has no label, and maybe it can do something? please help.
 

iphone2g&3gfan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 14, 2013
147
103
Orlando, Florida
Hi everyone, I have an issue with a 2008 Xserve, dual cpu @3.0 model. I have had this unit in my house for 3 months, and plugging in the AC power cable to a power supply, it started in 3 seconds delay automatically without need for pressing the power button. the system id light is on, constantly on, without any blinking. the POST lights don't light up, and the front panel blue lights never come up nor do the ethernet link lights (the ethernet will light up both lights constantly if I connect a cable) I have a multi end screwdriver that has a torx or something tip that can open and close the enclosure lock, I have stock upgraded 4x1 gb ram, dual psu. Connecting a monitor to the gpu does nothing, no signal, and the ram lights all turn red at power for 3 seconds, then turn off. (The ram was tested in a Dell power edge server and works fine) The cpu's I also tested on that same power edge and both work fine. Monitor works with another mac. The HDD spins up, no problem. Can anyone shed light on this issue? there is no docs online of a constant yellow light, only blinking. There are 4 buttons on the logic board grouped together and I have used them to reset the smc, etc. There is also a lone button near the edge that has no label, and maybe it can do something? please help.
bump
 

jamall

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2003
181
29
Canberra, Australia
You describe the fans spinning up and various lights illuminating when you connect your Xserve to a power source, but you never mentioned actually pressing the power button...

What you describe is the Xserve's normal stand-by state - the ethernet lights are on because the Lights Out Management system is on and waiting for instructions, and the fans are running to keep the LOM components cool. Apple's LOM conforms to the Intelligent Platform Management Interface standard, and can perform basic on/off functions, report on the status of the many internal sensors, alert you to changes in any of those sensor readings and configure your LAN settings. There's a handy app for iOS called IPMI touch, but the more capable command-line utility ipmitool has been incorporated into OS X since Mountain Lion and is included in several distributions of Linux and BSD. The power button on one of my Xserves ceased to function about a year ago so issuing the chassis power on command is the only way I can turn it on.
 
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