What if the Controller Does Not Boot?

Several problems can cause a controller not to boot. Here are some things to look for and possible solutions.

Things to Notice:

  • Which LEDs come on? The PWROK/FAULT LED should stay lit green. The Drive LED should blink during boot as the disk is accessed.
  • What appears on the display? Does it hang at some particular point (BIOS, Operating System, and so on)? If nothing appears on the screen, try a different monitor. Does your monitor work with a different PC? If it hangs, note the last screen output that you saw for reference when consulting National Instruments technical support.
  • What has changed about the system? Did you recently move the system? Was there electrical storm activity? Did you recently add a new module, memory chip, or piece of software?
  • Refer to your chassis documentation for additional troubleshooting steps.

Things to Try:

  • Make sure the chassis is plugged in to a working power source.
  • Check any fuses or circuit breakers in the chassis or other power supply (possibly a UPS).
  • Make sure the controller module is firmly seated in the chassis.
  • Remove all other modules from the chassis.
  • Remove any nonessential cables or devices.
  • Try the controller in a different chassis.
  • Try a similar controller in the same chassis.
  • Clear the CMOS.
  • Recover the hard drive on the controller.
  • Make sure the RAM is properly seated.