Troubleshooting Quorum Resource/Shared Disk

The Quorum resource is an integral part of Cluster Service. Because the Quorum resource is used to determine the cluster configuration at any given moment, failure of the Quorum will prevent Cluster Service from starting. If a shared disk fails, it will affect only the resources that depend on that shared disk (that is, cluster items that are dependent on the failed disk).

If the Quorum resource fails, Cluster Service will not start. To remedy this problem, you can start Cluster Service by bypassing the Quorum resource. To do so, complete the procedure that is outlined below:

1. Shut down all but one cluster node.
2. On the remaining cluster node, stop the Cluster Service.
3. Open the Services icon in the Control Panel. Double click Cluster Service.
4. Type in the -fixquorum parameter in the Cluster Service Startup Parameters field. Alternatively, you can also type net start clussvc -fixquorum at the command prompt window.
5. Start the Cluster Service. Open Cluster Administrator and modify the cluster’s properties to designate a new Quorum resource.
6. Stop and restart the Cluster Service, This clears the parameters previously passed to the service.
7. Start all nodes.

Note: Any service start up parameters that are entered into the Service Startup Parameters field are automatically removed once the service is stopped and restarted. They do not need to be manually removed.

Tags: cluster service, quorum resource, shared disk