S-Series Drive Configuration Warning

Owned by Anand Rajaraman
Last updated: Jan 17, 2020
7 min read

This symptom and solution applies only to both models of the S-Series (1 and 2).

Symptom

In the local case, when shell starts, a dialog window will notify the user that the primary storage drive has failed.  Similarly, in the remote case, the user will attempt to log into either SystemManager or OpCenter, and will be notified that their primary storage drive has failed.

Solution

  • Local Diagnosis

  1. Once the drive or partitions has died Shell will present the following local error message indicating a disk issue and prompting the user to either install a new disk or format the new drive:

     

  2. If the user has pushed the Stop, Wait button, the System will be in the Halted state, and a dialogue will show stating “System Halted. The system may now be shut down and a new drive can be installed if necessary.  Contact your technical support representative for more information.”

     

  • Local Troubleshooting

  1. The technical support representative should first have the user attempt to reboot the system. If the system boots up, and the same message is displayed (failed primary storage device), proceed to next step.

  2. The technical support representative should inform the user this is in fact a drive corruption or possible failure, and while we will not be able to recover their data, we can try reformatting the drive to save the system and avoid an RMA. Before doing that, we would like to back up the settings for the system to ensure that the system can at least be reprogrammed with minimal effort.

  3. To Backup Settings from above Drive Configuration Warning:

    1. Insert a USB thumb drive into a USB port on the system.

    2. Click the Backup Settings button from the Drive Configuration Warning

    3. The Backup Settings dialog pops up and click OK.

    4. The following dialogue window will open asking the user to select a directory (External drive).  The user can then name the settings file/folder and save.

    5. After the user saves the settings, the following progress bar will show:

    6. Once the back-up is complete, the user will be notified by the successful completion.

  4. The technical support representative should warn the user that the next step will erase all data on the system.  Also, the user can be reminded that the settings are backed up, and the reprogramming step will be straight forward.

  5. Have the user click the Format Drive button.  This process will take about 5 minutes, during which time the system will reboot. The following steps are outlined below.

    1. Creating Partitions:  erases existing partitions, and recreates new ones

    2. Formatting Drives:  Formats the drives to be compatible with the 3VR File System

    3. Starting Data Services:  Starts up the necessary services to write to the disks

    4. Creating Database:  Creates a new, clean Database

    5. Restarting:  Restarts the system. The System will reboot it should load to the normal 3VR Sign In screen.

  6. If the system fails to properly re-format the primary drive, the same message (Drive Configuration Warning) will display, and you should RMA the system.  You should tell the technician that at this point they should keep the Backup Settings file, and name it appropriately (e.g., BRANCHNAME_BACKUP_ONLY.bak).  They will be able to use this file to program the replacement system in a fraction of the time. They should be sure not to use this settings backup on other systems beyond the replacement for this specific site.

  7. If the system succeeds in re-formatting the primary drive, you can remind the user the all the data on the system is lost, and that they can proceed to restore the settings that they earlier saved.

  8. The settings can be restored by locally logging into SystemManager, and selecting the restore settings button from the Administration Console. See Local Backup/Restore of Settings at the end of this document.

Remote Diagnosis:

The solution has been verified to work for both the D-Link and the secondary NIC scenarios

  1. The technical support representative should have the user read the message to him/her to verify that it is in fact a primary storage drive failure. Below is the exact message they should see when signing into SystemManager.

  2. If the user signs in to SystemManager through Enterprise Appliance, then clicks on system in Manage Servers tab and highlights the SmartRecorder with the failed storage drive, the warning message displays.

  3. Currently, if the user logs in to SystemManager through the Enterprise Appliance, and navigates to the Update Software tab, and clicks Inspect, the server will show that it is “OK."

  4. Similarly, below is the message that the user will receive if the try to log in with OpCenter; this message will show for all levels of login.

Remote Troubleshooting:

  1. The technical support representative should first have the user log in directly to the system with SystemManager and attempt to reboot the system by selecting Restart Server in the logo menu of SystemManager. If the system boots up, and the same message is displayed (failed primary storage device), proceed to next step.

  2. The user should then be guided to the 3VR logo menu, and select Save SmartRecorder Settings to File option, this only available at level 3 or 4.  From this point, the user should

  3. The technical support representative should inform the user this is in fact a drive corruption or possibly failure, and while we will not be able to recover their data, we can however try reformatting the drive to save the system and avoid an RMA.  Before doing that, we would like to Backup the settings for the system to insure that the system can at least be reprogrammed with minimal effort.

  4. To Backup settings the user should be given the level 4 login information, and instructed to login to SystemManager in Maintenance Mode.

  5. The user should then be guided to the 3VR logo menu, and select Save SmartRecorder Settings to File option, this only available at level 3 or 4.  From this point, the user should select a directory and appropriate file name, and then save the settings.

  6. The technical support representative should warn the user that the next step will erase all data on the system.  Also, the user can be reminded that the settings are backed up, and the reprogramming step will be straight forward.

  7. Have the user login to SystemManager with level 3 or 4 access, and direct them to the 3VR logo dropdown, and direct them to select Format New Drive. This process will take ~ 5 mins:

  8. The user should log out of SystemManager and log back in after the 5 minutes. If they see the following message, they are logging in too soon (the system is still rebooting):

  9. If the system fails to properly re-format the primary drive, the same message (Drive Configuration Warning) will display, and you should RMA the system. You should tell the technician that at this point that they should keep the Backup Settings file, and name it appropriately (e.g., BRANCHNAME_BACKUP_ONLY.bak).  They will be able to use this file to program the replacement system in a fraction of the time.  They should be sure not to use this settings backup on other systems beyond the replacement for this specific site. The settings backup can be done during system installation using the Restore Settings button on the Admin Console (See Local Backup/Restore of Settings at the end of this document) or remotely as described below.

  10. If the system succeeds in re-formatting the primary drive, you can remind the user the all the data on the system is lost, and that they can proceed to restore the settings that they earlier saved.

  11. From the drop-down, have the user select Restore SmartRecorder Settings from File… This option is only available to the user is there is not a static drive failure, and the user has logged in with level 4 access.

  12. A dialog window will pop-up asking the user ‘Restore SmartRecorder Settings?’ have the user click Restore.

  13.  Instruct the user to browse for the backup file that was created earlier, highlight it, and click OK.  This will begin the settings import/restore.

Local Backup/Restore of Settings

  1. If the user logs in locally, the Restore Settings button can be accessed from the Administration Console.  This option is available by logging in with level 3 privileges.

  2. If the user selects Restore Settings from the Administrator Panel, a dialog will ask if the user would like to use a backup that is automatically is written to the c:\ every night at 11:00 (provided that the settings have changed).  The file is named settings.bak, and is located in the c:\3VR\support directory:

  3. If the user selects No, a new dialog will open prompting the user to browse for an alternate settings file.  Once the settings have been successfully restored (either locally or remotely), the user will be notified by a “Restore SmartRecorder Settings” dialog “