We have a mission-critical PowerEdge 2950 server with Windows Server 2003 running SQL2000 and Terminal Services. To keep it running optimally, we have a weekly Scheduled Task reboot. This has been working fine for months, but recently about 50% of the reboots result in a strange crash.
It seems like the OS is almost done shutting down but not completely. All services (HTTP, RDP, etc.) are shut down properly however the server still pings. (This may only be a result of the NIC still holding the IP?) The screen is completely black and it does not respond to any keyboard commands.
Luckily we have a DRAC installed so I am able to reboot it remotely. However, the 3AM wake up calls every other week are not preferred.
Anybody have any ideas on how to diagnose the issue, or force a power cycle upon failure? Thanks in advance.
