ASRock Rack E3C236D2I Won't Boot

[Jesse White]

Hi all,

Extremely frustrated first time Freenas user, here. I've recently built myself a 6x6TB miniITX build with the following:

Motherboard: AsRock E3C236D2I C236
Processor: Intel Xeon E3-1230 v5 SkyLake 3.4 GHz LGA 1151
RAM: 2X CT2K8G4WFD8213.000 2-8GB ECC DDR4-2133 EUDIMM 1.2V CL15
Power Supply: CORSAIR CX-M series CX650M 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Haswell Ready ATX12V & EPS12V Semi-Modular Power Supply
Hard Drives: WD Red
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX

After initially setting up the system a month ago, I found out that the first CX650M power supply was a dud. I was able to boot into the BIOS several times, the IPMI worked, but as soon as I attached any hard drives I experienced random boot failures. For instance, the CPU fan would spin up for a moment, and then power back down. I swapped out power supplies and things started working.

I've since RMA'd the power supply, and have gotten Freenas installed and running. I haven't had much time to do much beyond some SMART tests, but when I came home over the weekend I noticed that the server was off (I had left it running.)

Long, frustrating troubleshooting later, I'm able to log into the IPMI interface, but I can't get the server to power on. The ATX cable light is green, and the BMC light for E3C236D2I is blinking normally.

The sensors for power look mostly normal, though I'm worried about another bad PSU. I've heard that the previous generation Corsair CX power supplies were bad (500, 600), but that the new 550 and 650 versions were fine.

I've taken the following steps:

1. Reseated the power cables.
2. Unplugged the hard drive power supply cables to test without that load.
3. Removed the battery, shorted, and reset the CMOS.
4. Tried powering on with the IPMI.
5. Tried powering on with the front panel switch.
6. Tried powering on by shorting the mobo pins.
7. Checked for shorts on the motherboard or standoffs.
8. Checked the IPMI system logs for unusual events.

I've been building computers for ages, so I'm pretty familiar with the tricks of the trade, but I have to admit I'm feeling very frustrated with this month long troubleshooting. My next steps are likely to be to RMA the motherboard, CPU and RAM all in one shot in case there's something wholly broken.

I can certainly take everything apart again, but wiring up 6 HDDs in a Node 304 was a pain and I was really hoping that I'm doing something stupid.

Any good ideas?

 

[Jesse White]

I think I'm asking for trouble with the Corsair CX650M power supply, really. I've been rereading the documentation for hardware and I see that it's not a recommended piece of hardware.

I'm going to look through recommended PSU options and purchase something else, as I've found a few other dead end threads of this sort which aren't inspiring me with much hope.

https://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/62791-c2750d4i-wont-power.html#post504590
https://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/59559-c2750d4i-ipmi-board-power.html

EDIT -- I've gone ahead and purchased the Seasonic G Series unit that's recommended. It'll be awfully difficult to troubleshoot something with such a foundational piece of the puzzle missing.

Remind me to read the documentation more closely next time and not assume that a Brand + Certification + Wattage will necessarily be the right choice.

 

[Ericloewe]

Let us know if the Seasonic unit solves things. Corsair CX units are not the best, but they should work and two defective units in a row is really bad luck.

 

[mcflytfc]

I once forgot to plug in the additional 4 pin power on a motherboard and it did the exact same thing. Power on, spin up, turn off.

 

[Jesse White]

I once forgot to plug in the additional 4 pin power on a motherboard and it did the exact same thing. Power on, spin up, turn off.

That's a great suggestion, and it's definitely gotten me in the past. This time around it's definitely connected, unfortunately.

Anyone have thoughts about RMA'ing everything versus just trying the new power supply? I don't want to jump into this venture with a potentially dodgy CPU/MoBo/RAM, but that's also a giant pain to go through.

 

[Jesse White]

I eventually got around to replacing the power supply as described above. As soon as I plugged in the new power supply, things turned right on and booted up.

That was a little frustrating, but hopefully it's another small datapoint to help out fellow forum members in the hardware choices.

The system has been running now for a few weeks, mostly stable, but the system does have some totally random reboots every couple of days.

That's a story for another thread, I think.