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I have a DELL PowerEdge R520. On boot, just after loading the RAID Controller, I get a weird message: "Upgrade Key Missing! An upgrade key was present on a previous power cycle, but it is not connected. This can result in inaccessible data unless it is addressed. Please re-attach the upgrade key and reboot."

Of course, I don't know anything about any "upgrade key", or even what it is.

A google search has thrown three documents: one from IBM and two from Hitachi, all of them in japanese: http://itdoc.hitachi.co.jp/manuals/bds/5030019/bs2000_users_guide25.pdf http://itdoc.hitachi.co.jp/manuals/ha8000/hard/xm/2_operation/r44bm01200/r44bm01200-1.pdf http://www-06.ibm.com/jp/servers/eserver/xseries/manual/2012/1205/49Y9855.pdf

They seem to be about some raid controller, but that's all I could discover.

Does anyone have any clue about what is the problem, and how to fix it, or can translate the entries in the document?

Edit: The RAID controller is a "PERC-H310 Mini", manufactured by LSI (I think).

raven
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2 Answers2

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This is potentially a little weird; but consider powering off and removing/reseating the hardware key for the RAID. I don't specifically know for your model; but many Dell's have a tiny little daughter card for this purpose.

ericx
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  • What is this "hardware key", exactly? A tiny card attached to the RAID controller? – raven Aug 13 '14 at 07:44
  • I haven't found anything like that. Removing the controller and attaching it again fixed the problem. Then we did the same and it reappeared. Then we fixed it again. Then we reboot and it started failing again. We removed and reattached the controller one last time, and it seems to work now, but I wonder when will it fail again. – raven Aug 13 '14 at 10:19
  • The use of the hardware license keys may have stopped before your machine was made; but this is an example: http://3.imimg.com/data3/PH/IH/MY-4538454646/-kgrhqj-h-e2ek3wbkhbnuqwy2f-q-_35-500x500.jpg However, you've obviously found the problem. I've had good luck using E-bay for replacement parts. – ericx Aug 13 '14 at 15:22
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Dell PERC daughtercards have a tendency to wiggle their way slightly out of their socket, usually as a result of careful handling by the shipping company. ;-)

Many on-boot RAID controller problems on Dells can be resolved by simply removing the daughtercard and then reseating it. Note the blue circles on the card, those are the places where you should push down.

You should also unplug and replug in the SAS/SATA cables as well. Same issue, delicate handling by a shipping company can cause them to be loose.

Boscoe
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  • I live on an island in the Atlantic. And even with year-round A/C it's quite common for connections to fail from oxidation. We're in the habit of reseating everything. RAM seems to be the most common failure; but that's anecdotal. – ericx Aug 13 '14 at 15:26