Server crashed. Replacement 533MHz FSB MB required

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Server crashed. Replacement 533MHz FSB MB required

Seems impossible to source. All help/suggestions gratefully received.

AlexK

7:00 pm on Jun 7, 2007 (gmt 0)

Last Friday my 4-year-old server just died. It took until last Tuesday before my repair agent could get it into his hands. No bios messages on attempted boot, nothing. A pretty comprehensive death.

The original MB was a Gigabyte GS-8EGXDR-E, including an Adaptec 2015s zero-channel RAID. This latter is the kicker, as it reduces the number of replacement boards. I had to phone Adaptec in the USA (from England) *and* pay them $80 to discover that an Adaptec 2100s or 2110s PCI SCSI controller will read the disks.

So, what I need is a twin 604-pin CPU (Xeon) server-Motherboard with a 533MHz FSB. Does not seem like a lot to ask, and my money is burning in my hands. If it keeps the server going for another year, that will satisfy me.

Anybody know of a source? I need to get this server up. My so-called business is dead in the water until I can get hold of one.

All help gratefully received.

bcolflesh

7:18 pm on Jun 7, 2007 (gmt 0)

You sure it's: Gigabyte GS-8EGXDR-E

and not:

Gigabyte GA-8EGXDR-E

note the S and A diff - just asking, because G doesn't have any results for the one you specify - I suspect you could go with the GA and the Adaptec PCI card with no probs.

phranque

9:39 pm on Jun 7, 2007 (gmt 0)

there's a certain online auction site where one man's junk becomes another man's treasure...

TypicalSurfer

10:21 pm on Jun 7, 2007 (gmt 0)

Why not just mount your current disk on a new server or an upgraded mother board and copy working files over to new drive/OS?

AlexK

11:13 pm on Jun 7, 2007 (gmt 0)

bcolflesh::

You sure it's ... not ... Gigabyte GA-8EGXDR-E

Yup, you are right; my bad. Gigabyte does not want to know, and no replacements seem available.

TypicalSurfer:

Why not just mount your current disk on a new server or an upgraded mother board and copy working files over to new drive/OS?

Would be nice if it was that simple! It's the "Adaptec 2015s zero-channel RAID".

That adapter is MB-unique. It requires an onboard 7902W SCSI chipset to interface with. Nice catch-22.

jtara

5:56 pm on Jun 9, 2007 (gmt 0)

there's a certain online auction site where one man's junk becomes another man's treasure...

I think we can be explicit in this case - eBay.

Gigabyte may not have any left in stock. But hundreds of junk dealers almost certainly do.

BTW, where's your backup? Did you think that RAID absolved you of that need?

The adapter is not motherboard-unique. Several manaufacturers and models support that card. Search for other motherboards that support it, if you are unable to locate an exact replacement on eBay.

sun818

6:39 pm on Jun 9, 2007 (gmt 0)

Sourcing the same motherboard save you the headache of having to re-locate your OS and data. I've run into a lot of issues transplanting a disk to a different motherboard. Worse case scenario, you can rebuild using a new motherboard and PCI card version of the onboard Adaptec RAID chipset. If you can re-use the processor and memory on the new motherboard, that would save you some money. It also wouldn't hurt to stock duplicate parts next time for your server to minimize downtime due to hardware failure.

AlexK

6:00 am on Jun 16, 2007 (gmt 0)

jtara:

BTW, where's your backup? Did you think that RAID absolved you of that need?

Mea culpa.

Everything was duplicated, but the mysql tables were so old as to be useless in the face of large-scale recent changes.

The adapter is not motherboard-unique. Several manaufacturers and models support that card.

Easy to say, but did not work out in practice - could not source any replacements of compatible MBs. Also, the server-case is a GigaByte GS-SR222E and is specific to the GA-8EGXDR-E MB.

sun818:

Worse case scenario, you can rebuild using a new motherboard and PCI card version of the onboard Adaptec RAID chipset.

I had to pay Adaptec $80 dollars to receive that info from a tech. Obtained an Adaptec 2110s PCI plus an Intel board that was qualified for the adaptec, and was finally able to get access to the HDDs.

Sourcing the same motherboard save you the headache of having to re-locate your OS and data.

Same MB also allow it to fit into the server case! The intel MB will not fit, and is jury-rigged.

Final word:
I think having my own server was the right choice 4 years ago, on prices quoted. Today, I would never have my own hardware. I've accepted the offer by 1&1 for a root server (that they own) with unlimited bandwidth. The cost is less than I was paying for co-location monthly with distinctly limited bandwidth.

Final, final word:
I'm stunned that 4 years is considered a 'normal' lifetime for hardware.

Many thanks to all that responded. I was in despair at the time of the original post, and your replies certainly helped.

PS: anyone want to purchase an old server case, Xeon CPUs, etc?!