Resolve Dell PowerEdge R640 Watchdog Timer Expiration Causing Server Crashes

draft · equipment dell-poweredgewatchdog-timerserver

Generated by docuprocessor (prompt article/v3) · 2026-04-22 12:20

Source thread

thread_id: spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/v8Zhz7mDsGA · 13 msgs · first 2024-11-07 · participants: Tech ATech BTech C

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:47

meeting?

image/png image.png

A computer inventory or monitoring interface displays a tooltip popup labeled **"Computer info"** for a device named **"PDS 365DC - TS01"**, version **15746**, with a status of **"Online for 11 days"**. Five user accounts are listed: Sergey Starodub, Chris Neal, Brandon Lopez, Jose Garcia, and Kevin Lopez, all with **@dentalht.com** email addresses. A second entry, **"PDS 365DC - VMHOST01"**, is partially visible in the background list.

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:48

ill reboot it

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:48

because as per Phil, noone can connect to it including us

Tech B 2024-11-07 21:51

there was a stuck session from Norma, and suddenly no one could connect, I just clicked on it for the fun of it, but I could not either lol

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:51

this server has a stroke

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:52

that stupid watchdog timer issue. we used to have this issue on weekends, i spoke with DEll, they did some BS and claimed it was fixed. but its back

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:52

I m rebooting it

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:53

(no text)

image/png image.png

**iDRAC9 Enterprise dashboard** for a **Dell EMC PowerEdge R640**, iDRAC IP **172.17.200.199**, BIOS Version **2.22.2**. The Virtual Console popup shows the server at POST, displaying "**Initializing Firmware Interfaces...**" with a progress bar. The dashboard shows **System Health: Critical** with a "**SYSTEM HAS CR[ASHED]**" banner (text truncated), and Recent Logs indicate "**The watchdog timer expired**" (severity: error) and "**Log cleared**" (severity: OK); Task Summary shows **3 Completed Jobs, 0 errors, 0 failed**.

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:53

idrac for the win!

Tech A 2024-11-07 21:55

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y0N3nBde4sfn6ByRTfFwZCPfzSJhDCjI1u8lRsd-Vns/edit?tab=t.0

application/vnd.google-apps.document Server troubleshooting: iDRAC and OpenManage

Tech A 2024-11-07 22:07

btw, its working now, so if anyone has an open task, you can close it

Tech C 2024-11-07 22:46

is the dead dog problem back at it again?

image/png image.png

**System:** TS01 — Details tab, Critical Events log (page 2 of 3, showing entries 11–20 of 25). **Visible Critical Events (all Type: Error):** - **Event ID 4005** — Source: Microsoft-Windows-Winlogon — "The Windows logon process has unexpectedly terminated." — 2 occurrences - **Event ID 5006** — Source: Server Administrator — *(highlighted in yellow)* "Severity: Critical, Category: System Health, MessageID: ASR200, Message: The watchdog timer expired at Thu Nov 7 16:44:39 2024." — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 5719** — Source: NETLOGON — "This computer was not able to set up a secure session with a domain controller in domain PDSMGMT d…" — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 6008** — Source: EventLog — "The previous system shutdown at 4:50:02 PM on 11/7/2024 was unexpected." — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 7000** — Source: Service Control Manager — Paging file too small error — 18 occurrences - **Event ID 7009** — 30000ms timeout, Windows Camera Frame Server — 8 occurrences - **Event ID 7031** — Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service terminated unexpectedly — 14 occurrences - **Event ID 8193** — Source: VSS — XML/CreateVssExamineWriterMetadata error — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 8228** — Source: VSS — "Not enough memory resources" — 1 occurrence - **Event ID

Tech A 2024-11-07 22:50

it is

---
title: "Resolve Dell PowerEdge R640 Watchdog Timer Expiration Causing Server Crashes"
category: equipment
tags: ["dell-poweredge", "watchdog-timer", "server"]
source_thread_id: "spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/v8Zhz7mDsGA"
source_space: "spaces/AAAA05BdS6s"
generated_at: "2026-04-22T12:20:30"
participants: ["Tech A", "Tech B", "Tech C"]
---

# Resolve Dell PowerEdge R640 Watchdog Timer Expiration Causing Server Crashes

## Problem

Dell PowerEdge R640 server (TS01) became unresponsive with users unable to connect via RDP. The iDRAC dashboard showed "System Health: Critical" with a "SYSTEM HAS CRASHED" banner. Event logs revealed a watchdog timer expiration (Event ID 5006) at Thu Nov 7 16:44:39 2024, along with unexpected system shutdown events. This is a recurring issue that previously occurred on weekends and was supposedly addressed by Dell support, but has returned.

The server was completely inaccessible to both users and technicians, requiring a hard reboot to restore functionality.

## Resolution

1. Access the server's iDRAC interface (IP: 172.17.200.199)
2. Verify the system status shows "Critical" health with watchdog timer error in Recent Logs
3. Use iDRAC Virtual Console to perform a hard reboot of the server
4. Monitor the POST process through the Virtual Console showing "Initializing Firmware Interfaces..."
5. Wait for the server to complete boot and verify RDP connectivity is restored
6. Check Windows Event Logs for the watchdog timer expiration event (Event ID 5006, Source: Server Administrator)

The server should return to normal operation after the reboot. This appears to be a recurring hardware-level issue that may require further escalation with Dell support for a permanent resolution.

## References

- Source discussion: `spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/v8Zhz7mDsGA`
- Attachments:
  - ![Server troubleshooting: iDRAC and OpenManage](../attachments/v8Zhz7mDsGA.-eNZX87pBI0/Server troubleshooting: iDRAC and OpenManage)
  - ![image.png](../attachments/v8Zhz7mDsGA.A0jcpHKBoI4/image.png) — **iDRAC9 Enterprise dashboard** for a **Dell EMC PowerEdge R640**, iDRAC IP **172.17.200.199**, BIOS Version **2.22.2**. The Virtual Console popup shows the server at POST, displaying "**Initializing Firmware Interfaces...**" with a progress bar. The dashboard shows **System Health: Critical** with a "**SYSTEM HAS CR[ASHED]**" banner (text truncated), and Recent Logs indicate "**The watchdog timer expired**" (severity: error) and "**Log cleared**" (severity: OK); Task Summary shows **3 Completed Jobs, 0 errors, 0 failed**.
  - ![image.png](../attachments/v8Zhz7mDsGA.BySsGG_pTqo/image.png) — **System:** TS01 — Details tab, Critical Events log (page 2 of 3, showing entries 11–20 of 25). **Visible Critical Events (all Type: Error):** - **Event ID 4005** — Source: Microsoft-Windows-Winlogon — "The Windows logon process has unexpectedly terminated." — 2 occurrences - **Event ID 5006** — Source: Server Administrator — *(highlighted in yellow)* "Severity: Critical, Category: System Health, MessageID: ASR200, Message: The watchdog timer expired at Thu Nov 7 16:44:39 2024." — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 5719** — Source: NETLOGON — "This computer was not able to set up a secure session with a domain controller in domain PDSMGMT d…" — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 6008** — Source: EventLog — "The previous system shutdown at 4:50:02 PM on 11/7/2024 was unexpected." — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 7000** — Source: Service Control Manager — Paging file too small error — 18 occurrences - **Event ID 7009** — 30000ms timeout, Windows Camera Frame Server — 8 occurrences - **Event ID 7031** — Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service terminated unexpectedly — 14 occurrences - **Event ID 8193** — Source: VSS — XML/CreateVssExamineWriterMetadata error — 1 occurrence - **Event ID 8228** — Source: VSS — "Not enough memory resources" — 1 occurrence - **Event ID
  - ![image.png](../attachments/v8Zhz7mDsGA.v8Zhz7mDsGA/image.png) — A computer inventory or monitoring interface displays a tooltip popup labeled **"Computer info"** for a device named **"PDS 365DC - TS01"**, version **15746**, with a status of **"Online for 11 days"**. Five user accounts are listed: a colleague, a colleague, a colleague, a colleague, and a colleague, all with **@dentalht.com** email addresses. A second entry, **"PDS 365DC - VMHOST01"**, is partially visible in the background list.

Generated article

draft