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October 10th, 2025 20:00
Unity 300 recovery after simultaneous reimage of both SPs – stuck in Rescue Mode 0x1b04
Hello Dell Community,
I’m working with a Dell EMC Unity 300 system. The Service Tag (taken from the physical label on the chassis) is CKM001xxxxx762 — I couldn’t find the exact service tag in the OS due to the current state.
By mistake, I ran svc_reimage on both SPA and SPB almost simultaneously.
Now the system boots into Rescue Mode with the following exact error:
Rescue reason for code 0x1b04 – "Two or more system drives are in an invalid state. To attempt to correct this problem, first run Data Collection, and then try the following in order: Check all cables, reboot each SP, and reimage each Storage Processor (SP). If this does not resolve the issue, contact your service provider."
From the SPA shell (service@spa), lsblk shows only one internal system SSD (sda). The second drive (sdb) is missing or not detected.
All drives in the DAE remain installed and untouched. I do not need to recover any data — the goal is to restore the system to a fully operational, factory-like state.
My questions:
- Is it possible to perform a complete factory reset, including a backend metadata wipe, so Unity can initialize as a new system?
- The existing system SSD (sda) appears to be functional — I don’t see any SMART errors or physical damage, and the system boots far enough to reach the service shell. Is a second SSD strictly required even for a clean initialization? If so, what is the correct Part Number for the internal M.2 SSD used in Unity 300?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
DELL-Josh Cr
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October 14th, 2025 15:18
Try calling 800-782-4362 if you are in North America.
DELL-Josh Cr
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October 13th, 2025 13:27
Hi,
Thanks for your question.
You should call phone support. It may not be recoverable.
Let us know if you have any additional questions.
Evsukator
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October 13th, 2025 13:53
@DELL-Josh Cr Hi, what do you mean, it's not recoverable? that is, if two or more SAS disks from the system disk pool break, do we need to buy a new storage system? :-)
DELL-Josh Cr
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October 13th, 2025 14:04
Try these steps Dell EMC Unity: Reinitializing the Unity Operating Environment (OE) with the same version as on the Array (Dell EMC Correctable) | Dell US
Evsukator
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October 14th, 2025 14:59
@DELL-Josh Cr Hi, it didn't help. I tried to do it as in the instructions, that's what it displays on the screen.
Either fix the service partition and retry or perform a USB install
is it possible to get this USB image without a dell support contract?
The storage system was working properly before transportation, but it had been idle for a long period of time in the inactive state. Maybe they "enlightened" me during the inspection, and the file tables on both the SPS were damaged (fantastic). But when I turned it on, the system immediately reported that two or more disks were inoperative. After that, they decided to perform a reimage, but it only made the situation worse.
if the error is software, then it is enough to erase the operating system and reinstall it. by the way, the article says that you need to save the license file, but I don't have the rights to open the /EMC/backend/CEM/licenses/ folder from under the service account. or is this folder missing?
DELL-Josh Cr
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October 14th, 2025 15:04
You will have to call support to get it, it isn't publically available.
Evsukator
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October 14th, 2025 15:10
@DELL-Josh Cr Do I understand correctly that I can contact Dell for support of the EMC 300 only if I have a Dell support contract as an organization?
I can't leave a ticket because when I select the Dell EMC 300, it prompts me to check my account status. Or am I doing something wrong?
Evsukator
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October 14th, 2025 15:22
@DELL-Josh Cr it's difficult - I'm on another continent :-) Kazakhstan. Thank you for your help - I will contact the service center, I was hoping for my knowledge.
tianchou
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October 25th, 2025 08:25
There are two methods to do it. first is useing a usb drive to reimage the OS. and Second is inject root and upload bin file into M.2 SSD and then run reimage directly. If you need, I can support you by remotely.