3VR System not turning ON

Owned by Anand Rajaraman
Last updated: Dec 16, 2019
2 min read

Solution

Ruling out a 3VR issue:

  1. Is the power light on? 

    1. E-Series: steady blue power indicator light next to the power button

    2. S-Series: steady blue power indicator light next to the power button

    3. S-Series 2:  steady white power indicator light above the power symbol on the front of the unit, below the 3VR Logo

    4. P-Series: steady pinkish-white light from the 3VR logo on the front of the box

    5. M-Series: steady green light on the front

  2. Are the system's cooling fans on?  (Not to be confused with the fan directly on the S-Series power brick.)

  3. Is the hard drive activity light on (steady or flashing) or any internal LEDs visible from the back?

    • E-Series: green LED on the front, flashes during activity and steady during chkdsk

    • S-Series: blue LED on the front, flashes to amber

    • S-Series 2: green LED on the front flashes during activity, flashes at steady interval if chkdsk or rebuild

    • P-Series: green LEDs on each HD bay behind the front panel

    • M-Series: amber LED on the front

  4. Disconnect the system from the wall completely and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then try to power on again.

  5. Does the system emit a beep or series of beeps when the hitting the power button? This indicates a problem with the RAM or a bad RAM port.

  6. Note in case: Have there been any recent power issues (failures/surges)?

  • For units shipped prior to Q1 2010: lights indicate power, but not activity so all 4 will be on and solid during normal operation

  • For units shipped after Q1 2010: one light indicates data access which will blink and the other will be a power indicator which will always be on when the system is powered up

If the system is obviously receiving power but boots to a blank, black screen, see solution E-Series boots to a black screen, green hard drive light is solidly on .

To Rule out an external power issue:

  1. Have they verified the power cable is securely connected on both ends (and in good shape)?

  2. Have they verified the power outlet/cable voltage with their multimeter (or otherwise)?

  3. Have the customer try a different wall outlet / power strip.

  4. If the system is plugged into a UPS, does it meet the  power requirements?

S-Series, S-Series 2, and M-Series:

The S-Series, S-Series 2, and M-Series have an external power adapter (aka power brick) similar to a laptop's. Rule out an issue with the power supply:

  1. S-Series: Is the fan built into the external power adapter running?

  2. Is the green LED indicator light on the power adapter solidly lit? 

    • On the S-series, the LED is on the jack connecting the power supply to the unit.

      • The S-Series 2 does not have an LED on it, see #4 to check for activity

    • On an M-Series, the LED is on the brick part of the power adapter.

  3. Does the green LED change if it is dis/connected to the Smart Recorder?

  4. Check the voltage coming from the power supply.

    • If it is <19v, it is a failed power adapter. The external power adapter can be easliy replaced; issue an RMA for this part.

    • For an S-Series 2, check if it 12v>, it is a failed power adapter. For an appliance that’s in warrantee, issue an RMA for this part. Out of Warrantee should be an OOW system RMA.