# IBM X3500 "Operating System Not Found"



## WahooWah (Feb 16, 2012)

I'm thoroughly baffled... (please bear through my diatribe)

I'm running Windows 2008 Server on an IBM X3500 (7977-AC1). All was working fine and I didn't touch/change anything. A few more details: The X3500 has a ServRaid 8K (<- Adaptec) controller with qty=8 identical IBM HDs organized in 4 RAID sets. BIOS is v1.7.4 (most current) - no unusual lights a-flashin'. 

Also new (another problem that has just happened) is an Error 1801 - "No more room for option ROM".

I can get into BIOS setup during POST and all looks fine. I can get into the ServRaid BIOS/setup and I see the (correct) RAID sets with one marked "bootable" (so why doesn't it boot?). The boot sequence remains correct: CD -> USB -> HD (where "HD" = RAID). Lights on the HDs flash during boot (e.g. they are being "acknowledged" and BIOS shows/IDs them all during POST. There's a "diagnostic panel" on the X3500 that displays a lot of (potential) error lights - none are lit. There are a lot of LEDs on the MB (good ol' IBM) and all are green. I can boot from a CD (e.g. run a bootable CD) just fine. Oh yes, the error code for the "operating system not found" is i9990305 if it matters. 

What I"ve tried: Re-seating all of the HDs. Re-seating all of the (internal) cards including the RAID card. Re-flashing the BIOS ROM. (I've also tried to disable some PCI "images" to free up the ROM space (?) and eliminate "LAN Boot" from the boot sequence in an effort to eliminate the 1801 error - neither worked, I still get the no more room for option ROM error - and operating system not found)

Any thoughts/suggestions? It all worked fine yesterday (and for the last two years). I have no idea as "why" but I'd settle for "getting things back to operating/where it was".

Thanks!


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## WahooWah (Feb 16, 2012)

Problems solved - details follow in the hope it will help somebody else in the future...

The 1801 firmware problem was circumvented by eliminating the LAN (PXE) in the boot sequence. Why it started acting up now I don't know.

Perhaps more useful to the general public is the fix to the "operating system was not found problem". The short answer is that it is due to the disk partition containing the system being marked inactive. I have no idea what caused that to occur but here is the fix that worked for me:

- Boot from the install DVD (that was the Windows 2008 install DVD in my case)
- After the initial "language" prompt, choose the "recover" option
- In my case, the recover process did not find a system to recover (but read on...)
- Hit next and get to the command prompt (e.g. C:>) - basically "DOS"
- I was able to see my logical volumes (e.g. C:, D:, E:, ...) and access them (attrib, copy, ...), I just could not boot from what looked to be a good system volume.
- I did a "bootrec /scanos" and indeed it found my good system
- I tried a "bootrec /rebuildbcd" - again, it found my good system but when I tried to select it (Add - "Yes"), it replied with a "Element not found" error - (aargh again)
- Enter "diskpart" (yet another DOS command) - it puts you into a sort of "disk partition shell of sub-commands"
- LIST DISK <- gives you a list of the active disks
- SELECT DISK n <- where n is the number of the disk that has your operating system on it
- LIST PARTITION <- gives you a list of partitions on the disk you've selected
- SELECT PARTITION q <- where q is the number of the partition (on disk n) in which your operating system is installed
- ACTIVE <- ah, the magic command to reactivate the partition (partition q on disk n)
- EXIT <- to get you out of "diskpart mode" and back to the command prompt
- reboot (sans install DVD) and the actual Windows 2008 system magically booted as it should!

Whereas I was lucky enough (I can't believe I'm writing that) to have everything boot normally, I would suspect that at this point one could boot from the install DVD and find/recover a saved system image if necessary.

I would speculate this would also be effective for Vista, Windows 7, ...

As to why I suddenly had the firmware option ROM problem (I guess I have circumvented the effects of that problem although the cause of it is probably still lurking under the covers) or a disk partition that was rendered inactive, I'll probably never know.

I'm busy making another set of backups of the system as I write this.

I hope this is helpful to somebody.


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## daouddajani (Dec 24, 2013)

greetings, I know this is an old post. but i had this problem today. and was wondering if this will work if the server has a RAD5. i have 3 300GB SAS hard disk installed as a RAID5. and when i boot the server they donot flash(light) and when booting from the support CD it doesnot see the RAD it says not controllers found. please advice


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