My EX475 has suddenly started acting up where it will only be reachable for about 30 minutes after booting it.
I tried a restore, but this seems to have failed.
Now, the restore process fails to find it.
I've tried plugging the EX475 directly into my PC's ethernet port (Cat 5 from EX475 directly to the laptop).
The NIC port is supposed to auto-switch for this, right?

Could it simply be that my NIC has gone bad?

How do I verify that? And if it is bad, any suggestions on where to source a replacement?

(and in the process, I seem to have wiped out my system disk, but I assume I can restore - probably take a reset at this point) once I can actually see the server...

The easiest way I know of to verify connectivity on the EX47x models is to disconnect all the internal and external drives and anything connected to the USB and eSATA ports. Make certain your server is connected to your network, direct connection to the router is best. Then turn it on and observe the health light and wait a few minutes for it to blink Purple and Red. Then logon to your router and look at the DHCP Listing and look for a device starting with the name MININT followed by other things. If you see this then you will know your servers LAN Port is functioning properly. While your there you should also see the MAC Address and this would be a good time to write it down. The name the server on the router will change but the MAC Address remains the same and it will better help you identify the server in future.

Basically what you are doing here is forcing the server to boot into its recovery mode which it will do when it does not find any bootable devices and the server will always show up as a device with the name MININT followed by other things. Anytime I actually perform a recovery on an EX47x I always back out the System Drive then turn the server on and as soon as I see the health light blink PURPLE and RED I then slide in the system drive and start the recovery. I never liked pressing the Status/Reset button to get the server into its recovery mode and find the method I described to be more reliable.

Try what I suggest and let me know what happens.

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

I finally got it to respond... I pulled all the drives and plugged it directly into my router.
It seemed to take a couple tries, but I finally saw it show up in my DHCP table...

Took a couple additional tries to then get it to show up with a system drive and the restore utility, but once I got that, I was able to restore it and it's behaving perfectly ever since that. Still unclear what the original problem was, but it's healthy again now...

Thanks!

Great to hear you got it working again. If you search through the forums you will find a wealth of information to help you keep your server running well. You may also find new and interesting uses for your server. One thing that is clear is that having a server opens up a wonderful world of opertunities.

Sometimes I think its a timming issue with pressing the Status/Reset Button. Sometimes the system drive can cause an issue with getting the server to boot into its recovery mode. Regardless of the reason I just find it easier to back out the system drive and then to reseat it when the server is in its recovery mode.

Should you need additional help please feel free to stop by again and ask.

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8