Example apparatus, methods, and computers prevent a split brain scenario in a pair of high availability servers by maintaining single writer access to a resource. One example method includes monitoring control of an arbitration (ARB) block by an active file system manager (FSM). An active file system portmapper (FSMPM) simultaneously requests permission from a standby FSM to restart a dead-man timer. The active FSM attempts to maintain control of the ARB block before expiration of the dead-man timer. If the active FSM is unable to maintain control of the ARB block before expiration of the dead-man timer, a hardware reset of an apparatus running the active FSM is forced. Therefore, the active FSMPM and standby FSM negotiate for additional time to maintain control of the ARB block to maintain single writer access and avoid unnecessary hardware resets.