I have some questions on an IBM X Series 245 server we have laying around here at work.

Sorry, we're phasing out all our IBM for Dell (I'd prefer HP). I never got to know them very well so I 'm not much help I know... your post just looked lonely.

We've phased out all of our IBM equipment over the years and now we just make up generic boxes instead.

Hey Fred

We run a lot of IBM gear where I work. I'll have to double check to see if we use that particular model... Whaddya wanna know?

snazzed

Yeah, ask the question. I don't know specifics of those machines, but may be able to help if it isn't a specific question.

He is using IBM encryption. If you put on a white shirt and a plain black tie and look at his message again, you will see his question.

Sorry, I was a little tired when posting last night.

I'm trying to figure out if it is worth using for a lab I want to set up at home. I fired it up last night and it wails like a banshee, but all 8 fans seem to be running full bore.

So, I'm wondering if this thing has some sort of temperature based fan control on it that starts after boot up. It won't boot properly so I have no idea.

What are they, 1U units? The fans are loud when you "power on" but will slow/quiet down when you actually "turn it on" and boot.

The initial power on (fan loud) stage may not necessarily mean the unit is actually "on." You still need to press the "on" button (even though you already hear the banshee fans) to get it to POST and boot. The "on" button is different from the "master" power supply on/off button at the back.

Of course, if the unit doesn't work then you'll be wasting gobbs of time, so try and find out if they are indeed working. Then, open it up to make sure parts aren't missing. Good luck.

The fans are staying on full power after boot. It is getting as far as the Novell startup screens, but startup does not appear to complete. I expect this is a config issue as there were a number of 'configuration changed' messages at startup.

Hmm. Maybe I need to attempt to set this thing up here to verify everything is working.

Sometimes older servers don't ramp down, though.

Also check the BIOS settings, there may be fan speed settings there.

That is what I was expecting, but I didn't find anything.

You likely won't find fan speed settings in the BIOS with these servers. Either they just don't ramp down be design, or they are full speed because of temp., which you should be able to see in the BIOS.

As for Novell, it's configured for a specific environment and/or connections so those error messages are normal once you move the server elsewhere. You can always just re-do the O/S.

On the IBM Servers I've had direct access to, the fans come up loud with the power on. But they are temperature sensitive... when it gets hot they get even LOUDER.

no joke

snazzed