Support Services - How to run Ultimate boot cd on Switchvox to test hard drives and memory
- Merry Arpaia
The Ultimate boot CD is just a collection of diagnostic tests. We use the UBCD for testing hard drives and the memory in Switchvox PBX's. UBCD is a free download available for download here. We recommend that you download one of the UBCD ISO's from one of the 'Mirror Sites' location the UBCD download link. To run UBCD on Switchvox PBX you will need a USB DVD drive (if your Switchvox does not have an internal DVD drive), a USB keyboard and VGA monitor.
Note: The below HDD test steps only apply to the following SMB products: 65, 305, and 355. For newer hardware, check the hardware specific instructions for the SMB 80 and 450/470.
HDD Test:
Once the ISO is downloaded you will now need to copy it to a CD so we can run it in the PBX. Depending on the operating system you are using, this should be fairly simple. If you are unsure how to make a bootable CD from an ISO image see Google.
Note: When attempting to run UBCD on the AA355 you will first need to bypass the RAID card. By default, the AA355 has two mirrored HDD's and when connected to the RAID card, UBCD won't be able to detect the drives. So we need to physically disconnect HDD0 from the RAID card and connect to SATA1 on the mother board (as SATA0 should be used by the DVD drive). UBCD can only detect the master HDD so we can only have one of the two HDDs directly connected to the SATA1 on the board at a time. You also do not need to remove the RAID card, it can still seated in the PCI slot during the HDD test. It is also worth noting to make sure to disconnect both of the SATA cables from the RAID card on the AA355 and having only one HDD connected to SATA port1 on the board when running HDD test.
Warning: Please make sure the PBX is entirely shut down and the power cables disconnected from the PBX BEFORE disconnecting from the RAID card on the AA355.
If your Switchvox PBX does not have an internal DVD drive, you will need to connect a USB DVD drive to the PBX. When using an external USB DVD drive, we need to access the Switchvox BIOS and check the boot order to ensure the drive is first being recognized by the PBX and that the USB drive is 1st on the boot order priority.
Once the USB drive is in first boot order, insert UBCD into the internal DVD drive (if using AA355) or the USB drive. Reboot the PBX and after a few minutes it should take you direct into the UBCD menu. Using the connected USB keyboard, use the arrow keys and arrow down to HDD -> Diagnosis -> MHDD32 v4.5.
At this point, it should ask you if want to load the test with SCSI support, say No to this option as we do not want to allow SCSI support.
After this, it should load you into the MHDD test and should scan the system and detect your HDD. It will be assigned a specific number, at the bottom enter in the number that is assigned to your HDD then hit the Enter key.
On the next screen, it should look like a command line. You can type help and it should show a list of commands. All we want to do is type scan then hit Enter again.
This should bring up a smaller window with some settings you can adjust but we just want to hit Ctrl+Enter or Fon keyboard to begin the scan of the selected HDD.
If scanning the HDD results in any errors, please take a screenshot of the errors and contact technical support for assistance.
Memory Test:
From the UBCD menu, use the keyboards arrow keys again and arrow down to Memory -> then select MemTest86+. After hitting Enter it will begin to scan and test the memory it recognizes in the PBX.
Once the memory scan is complete, if you find any errors please take a screen shot and report the errors for technical support for assistance.