Server 2011 Crashing

[Deek]

Hi all!

Server SBS 2011 Essentials x64
16gb ram
Intel Raid 1, and 10
Fully updated

I am getting random reboots, I had the auto-restart function turned on so no BSOD info but I also can't find and .dmp files for windows?

Nothing obvious in the event log prior to the reboots, just the standard "the previous shutdown was unexpected" after is starts to reboot.

I already verified UPS functionality and the battery backup is fine (not related to a self test or something)

So my question is, where do I go from here to get the info needed to be able to diagnose the issue?

Thanks, Derek

 

[Deek]

I should also mention that my pagefile has 2gb on c: and 4-8gb on D:

C: is the boot drive.


Would that be the reason for no .dmp's??

 

[2xg]

Hi Deek,

I've had issues with SBS 2011 before and it can be a nightmare troubleshooting. I'd like to share some of the troubleshooting process that I've done....

- Run BPA or Best Practice Analyzer, one of the best Windows Server diagnostic tools that will scan and detects all the issues then provide you with possible resolutions.

- Make sure that your page file meets the requirement of the SBS 2011, please check out my recommended setting in my SBS 2011.


- Make sure that you have the latest SP installed.

- For others disabling IPv6 works, but you must follow the suggestion from this link to properly disable IPv6.

Hope this helps...post your progress please.

 

[Deek]

ok, I put the whole pagefile on C and disabled IPv6 properly. I am short space on C so I did 17408mb pagefile for 16384mb ram...will that be OK?

It has all it's windows updates, but I will recheck this after the reboot.

 

[Deek]

Ok, I confirmed SP1 is installed, pagefile is good,TCPv6 is properly disabled, and I fixed three minor issues with DNS in BPA....I will let it ride for now and see what happens.

 

[jcgriff2]

Page file must be on OS drive and the size must be > physical RAM + 1 MB to generate BSOD kernel memory dump files

https://www.sysnative.com/forums/bs...-information/325-bsods-but-no-dump-files.html

 

[2xg]

@ Deek please let us know..... hopefully that took care of your issue. Keep an eye out on your SBS server and inform us if the issue still persist.

 

[Deek]

Still crashing and still no .dmp? I did notice that there was no %systemroot%\Minidump folder, so I created it...would that be why there are no .dmp files? Are there any special perm's it will need? Right now it just has what it inherited, so administrators and system have full control.

Also, I am starting to suspect the power supply. Were it glitching out, would that cause no .dmp files? If it was just losing power, I don't see how it could write a .dmp file??


There are quite a few Dfsr00xxx.log.gz files in the C:\Windows\debug folder...might those be of any help?

 

[x BlueRobot]

It shouldn't matter, that there is no Minidump folder, I'm sure it's recreated upon the event of a Minidump being successfully written. I'm not sure about those log files, you could upload them and someone could check if there is anything useful.

A Minidump won't get written if the computer loses power during the process of the memory contents being paged into a dump file.

 

[jcgriff2]

Hi Deek. . .

I agree with x BlueRobot -

It shouldn't matter, that there is no Minidump folder, I'm sure it's recreated upon the event of a Minidump being successfully written.
<...>
A Minidump won't get written if the computer loses power during the process of the memory contents being paged into a dump file.

​

Has the system been rebooted since increasing the page file size?

Check page file size - Bring up Admin CMD prompt - paste:

dir /a c:\pagefile.sys >0 & start notepad 0

A notepad will open.

Please also run WMI app to verify crash settings -

To check your system's "Recoveros" (Recovery) and Page File settings via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), run the following -

HTML output - WMI - "Recoveros" and Page File Settings (HTML)
Text file output - WMI - "Recoveros" and Page File Settings (TEXT)

​

Regards. . .

John

 

[2xg]

What type of AV/Security program(s) are you running in the SBS?

Also, there are a few useful suggestions here.

Edit: You should enable IPv6 back.