Is there a complete reference for HP's diagnostic port 84 and/or port 85 codes?

Question

The HP ProLiant DL580 systems (G5 is the one I'm interested in at the moment) have a two-digit 7-segment display on the system board (visible only inside the chassis) which displays various diagnostic codes which they refer to as "port 84" or "port 85", switchable via a DIP switch.

The manuals mention this display but give only sketchy information about the actual codes displayed. Is there anywhere I could find a more specific & complete reference of the display codes? (I've done some web searches but have so far found only unrelated results.)

Solution

You should not need to reference port codes unless you're really having an issue with the server getting through the POST process.

What behavior is the server exhibiting?

The ProLiant POST boot troubleshooting flowchart still indicates checking the codes as a necessary step. It's not valid on newer boxes, but the ProLiant DL580 G5 you're dealing with uses them.

The full reference of Port 85 codes appears on page 64 of the HP ProLiant DL580 Generation 5 Server Maintenance and Service Guide. In general, the action needed to remediate the issues is reseating of the proper components.

Comments

[Admin]

You really should not need the port codes. Are you experiencing a particular issue where the system is unable to post IML log information?

[WookieeKushin]

I did fix the problem inspiring the question, although I didn't find any good reference. I knew about the small list in the manual, but as someone who'se engineered adapter cards from scratch, I was looking for a more complete, less generalized list. Even for the problem I fixed, the list's recommendation was completely off base (reseating the processor can't fix a watchdog timeout caused by firmware misconfiguration).

[ewwhite]

I would have been more interested in knowing what the original problem was.

[WookieeKushin]

I actually wanted a better list even before any problem came up. I've noticed several codes show even when no problem is evident. The problem I did have showed a 5xh code I don't recall, maybe 51h. The system hung on boot with no video. Eventually I let it run long enough to find that it actually would start booting after 20+ min, and emit video characters one-by-one. I then suspected it was trying to output to a non-existent serial console. Sure enough that's what it was. I assume BIOS halted the CPU too long waiting for CTS, causing some kind of watchdog timeout and the 5xh code.