Xserve G5 - won't boot from disk, only network

I recently installed Yellow Dog 4.0 on a drive (far left) in a 3 bay G5 and I cannot get it to boot from the disk in the drive (not even by lighting the 3rd light on the lightshow). However, when I take the drive out and put it into a different G5 server that has only a single bay it works fine. I've also put the drive from the working G5 into the new G5 and it tries to boot from the network as well. I've looked at the Open Firmware for both G5's and they seem to be the exact same, including the 'boot-device':
/ht@0,f2000000/pci@7/k2-sata-root@c/k2-sata@0/disk0:2,\\:tbxi
When installing, I took the default partitions:
sda2 (1M) type=AppleBoot
sda3 (76439M) type=ext3, mountpoint=/
sda4 (1992M) type=swap
sda5 (100M) type=ext3, mountpoint=/boot
Thanks for any help, and let me know if more info can help.

gjortega,
I had the same problem. I found a very illogical fix to boot my G5 listed below. When it won't boot I take the side panel and the plastic shield out of the tower and then boot. This makes the fans run at full speed but in my case it starts right up. After it starts just replace both panels and the fan will revert to a slower speed and the computer will continue. I don't know why it works for me but I have found that others on the forum have had it work for them also.
Let me know if it works for you.
Regards, Phil
Macintosh b'Gosh

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does that mean I have to send it to Apple to fix
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Lee:
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Message was edited by: Dick Deaton

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Message was edited by: Rob Devlin
Message was edited by: Rob Devlin

Okay the computer now works but not sure I solved the problem. I did remove the ram and re-installed one pair at a time. It worked. Removed the ram again and tried the second set. It worked again. Then install all ram and the computer started fine.
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Message was edited by: Rob Devlin

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PS, drives are unlocked.

MrHoffman wrote:
The EFI firmware, the SMC and possibly the disk I/O path seem good potential candidates for culprit.
Load and run the hardware diagnostics.
Reset the SMC, and reset the LOM.
I'm running the EFI diagnostic tool now. Firmware and disk I/O path came to mind, let's just hope it's not a major hardware issue
beatle20359 wrote:
Hi Jeff,
Do you have the specs of the xserve and the version of OSX server you are trying to install? Does the Xserve have the RAID card installed in it and what size are the drive modules.
All the best
Beatle
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I just installed a new hard drive in my G3 Wallstreet and I can't get it to boot from the original Apple CD.
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Message was edited by: rick268 Also, I can boot into Open Firmware just fine.

Thanks for your help.
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Allan Jones wrote:
I maintatined three Wallstreets for a friend for years. They stayed in regular service from new until he replaced them with MacBook Pros last summer!
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http://www.ifixit.com/Device/PowerBook_G3_Wallstreet

Xserve G5 - won't boot from disk, only network

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