Can't Power Up Server

could you possibly tell us what type of Power supply you have?

Sometimes when a power supply is blinking it is in standby power mode, and you either have to reset the power supply or unplug it and let it set overnight might help, but really i would be able to tell you how to do this by what type of supply you have.

Typically the flashing LED means you don't have enough power to run the system, or you missed a motherboard power molex.  Are you sure you plugged power into all the appropriate locations?

All the power connectors are connected properly.  

After looking over the motherboard again, I noticed there is no CMOS battery in the round sheath that usually holds one.  It came that way though.  I grabbed a standard size 2032 CMOS battery, but it doesn't fit in the slot.

The power supply is a Delta Electronics DPS-730AB A, Rev: 04. P/N: C46098-005.

What gives?

After reading the quick reference guide, what I thought was the CMOS battery socket is actually the RAID Activation Key Socket.  So, I guess that socket is supposed to be empty.

Do you have another ps you can test with?

It is an expensive hot-swap power supply.  I think it runs about $600-$700.  I have only the one.

Have you verified that the power system is configured for a single power supply?  Some require you to tell it if it's to run with only one, otherwise the power system fails because it's checking for the second one and not finding it.  It's meant as a means to let you know if a power supply fails during boot-up.  

As a last resort, you could try jumping the power supply to see if it's functioning.  The exact method of doing this can vary a bit, so you'd need to check with the power supply manufacturer.

I've seen this before in some hot swap cases...if the light is blinking, that suggests you are running only on one unit. Since it is a hot swap system, get that other power supply installed.

Is the motherboard shorting to the case?  Did you use the proper standoffs, and in all locations?

Actually, this may refer to your problem:

ftp://aiedownload.intel.com/df-support/8950/ENG/release_8_48_662_514i.txt

does it matter which slot your hotswap power supply is plugged in to?  same thing happen when plugging into the other one?

what revision is your board... see this link from intel:
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/cs-021536.htm

The System Fault LED on the front of the chassis is Solid Green, and the System Fault LED near the back panel connectors is Solid Green as well.  The motherboard documentation indicates this means the system is without fault or Ready.  

There are two LED's on the back of the power supply: Yellow and Green.  The Green LED is blinking and the Yellow is not lit.  This occurs no matter which slot the power supply is installed in.

There is a slight difference when I insert the power supply in the alternate slot.  When it is installed in the alternate slot, the system powers on for a couple seconds, then powers down.  When it is installed in the primary slot, I get no power whatsoever.

I have removed all add-in cards, disconnected all drives, tried removing one of the CPU's, swapped CPU's, swapped memory, removed and re-installed the motherboard, checked and re-checked the connections, tried different wall outlets, chanted, prayed, cried, everything.

The last thing I can think to do is order the other power supply, but that will put me over my quote, and I am not sure that will sove the problem.  From my understanding it should be able to boot with the single 730W power supply that ships with the chassis.

I'll check the board revision when I go into work tomorrow, but it was a recent purchase.  The help is greatly appreciated.

The only reference I could find on it said that a blinking green was degraded performance, usually a CPU or dimm failure (their words, not mine.)

a few of the dell poweredge servers that i service now and then, only have one power supply... the second power supply was never installed, they have just the spacer there.  those clients that have only one power supply, the LED on the back of the power supply always blink slowly green, indicating the second power supply is not present or not receiving power.  this is normal.

the system status LED on the front is different, of course... but i think you said this is solid green.

when you try to power it on with nothing but the chasis, power supply, and board (no drives, cards, or cpu's) do you get any beeps?

i know this sounds dumb, but the hardest problems sometimes have a dumb reason and easy fix...  is the reset switch (if present) shorted or stuck 'pressed' ?

are all of the intended fans present and working?  i've seen lots of compaq/hp servers that will not turn on, or only for a few seconds, if the mobo knows that a fan is missing, not spinning, or not spinning fast enough.  

some compaq/hp servers will not turn on if the chasis is open... you've tested with it either closed, or manually trip the panel detector...

It looks like it's a PSU unit. You should be able to call Intel support and server response is very good. they can even do an advanced warranty replacement (if you're IPD or Premier Provider, they will not require a credit card # as bond), and will ship next day.

I got the problem resolved and it is a two part answer:

1)  I had to call Intel to have the Power Distribution Block replaced.  It is the box that the Hot-Swap Power Supply slides into.  However, after I replaced the PDB, the server would power on for only a few seconds, then shut down.

2)  There are two cables coming off of the Hot Swap Drive Cage.  One goes to the Hot-Swap Backplane header on the motherboard, and the other is marked IPMB.  I had this connected to the IPMB header on the motherboard.  It should have been connected to the I2C header on the SRCS16 RAID controller.  As soon as I unplugged the cable from the motherboard the system booted just fine.

Thank you all for your help.