Hello,
On my PowerEdge 1950, I ran into a rather interesting issue. Once I install Ubuntu, the system does not boot unless the USB which I installed the system from is connected to the server and the server is booted via the USB. This issue happens regardless of the version of Ubuntu and regardless of whether it is 86 bit or 64 bit. I am sorry if the problem sounds hard to understand but English isn't my native language so I will try to explain my problem step by step from start up:
1. I use Universal USB Installer 1.9.5.1 to allow me to install Ubuntu on the server. I tried using Ubuntu 13.10, 14.04 and 12.04 in both amd64 and i386 versions.
2. I check whether the installation works on a desktop. Everything works fine.
3. I install the OS on the server. The installation runs successfully.
4. The server reboots and gets stuck during boot up. To be specific, these are the last two lines I see:
Press <Ctrl-E> for Remote Access Setup within 5 sec......
_ (blinking cursor)
5. The system does not respond to any input from the keyboard EXCEPT for Ctrl+Alt+Del to reboot the system.
6. I reboot the system and iirc I press F11 to go to the boot menu and select booting from USB.
7. I see the purple Ubuntu loading screen and the system boots up.
8. I can continue using the system as long as I don't have to reboot. This includes altering files, making directories, running commands, updating, upgrading and what not. I can also unplug the USB and the system still works, meaning that I couldn't have installed the system on the USB by accident (I triple checked the settings during installation).
9. Upon reboot, I have to press F11 to boot from the USB otherwise the server hangs at the aforementioned point.
What is interesting about this issue is the fact that I cannot use the USB on the same server to reinstall Ubuntu from it, however, if I plug it into my desktop, the files were not altered, ie: the files are laid out the same way the Universal Installer set them out as.
I used this method in the past and it worked, even on the same server about 6 months ago.
I am not sure how to solve this issue but I am pretty sure that there is no problem in the server itself as the system POSTs well without any errors, I can access all BIOS settings, etc. The only thing I am not sure of is the HDD as it seems to be the only piece of hardware which could be possibly messing up or maybe there are some options in the BIOS which are set up incorrectly, however, due to my limited knowledge, what I am saying may be very incorrect.
Thanks for any tips,
Milan