PC stuck mid-boot, then won't power on after trying to install

[alieg]

So, I've had my FreeNAS for a couple of years and things have been fine...
A few days ago I noticed the GUI page wasn't loading and its IP wasn't listed as online.
I rebooted, and left it to do it's thing, until a couple of days later when I checked it...

I noticed it was still mid-way through the boot sequence; unfortunately I can't remember exactly what it said, but I got the impression that my USB was at fault.

I created a new 9.3.1 bootable USB on my macbook and got to the initial stage, where you select new installation.
After pressing enter, the PC powered off. I tried to boot it up, but nothing happened.
There was a light near the power button, but the fans were off.
I removed and re-inserted the power cable - still no power.

I removed the power cable, and left it for 24 hours. I tried my original USB on a laptop - it booted, but didn't complete, as I assume it couldn't find the HDD's.

I tried this original USB on my FreeNAS PC; it booted for probably around 30 seconds; turned itself off, and wouldn't power on as before.

After a bit of reading, I replaced the CMOS battery; it booted and stopped mid-way, but the power didn't go off.
This happened twice at different places in the boot sequence - first after mentioning a USB mouse (which I then removed), and then after geom_raid5 module loaded.

I tried booting from my new installation USB; it got a little further than the first attempt, until it couldn't find any drives to install on
I had taken out my HDD's before this, so I shutdown; replaced their cables; pressed the power button... no power again. The lights are on, but nobody's home.

I Replaced the CMOS battery for a 2nd time, but still nothing happened when I pressed the power button.
I've now taken the power cable out and will have to wait until tomorrow to try again.


Sorry it's very vague of specific details / errors. I've been looking at old server PC's on eBay, as I assume it's something to do with my motherboard / PSU.
I had a bit of hope that it was just the CMOS battery. It's been a good machine, and has been quietly doing its thing, so I couldn't even say for certain what version I was running!

Anyway, I don't expect too much from the info I've provided; I wondered if someone might be able to re-assure my thoughts, that it's a dying hardware issue, rather than something that would re-occur if I bought a new PC.

 

[BigDave]

Anyway, I don't expect too much from the info I've provided; I wondered if someone might be able to re-assure my thoughts, that it's a dying hardware issue, rather than something that would re-occur if I bought a new PC.

Before buying a whole computer, want's the chance you could try a different power supply.

I tried booting from my new installation USB; it got a little further than the first attempt, until it couldn't find any drives to install on
I had taken out my HDD's before this, so I shutdown; replaced their cables; pressed the power button... no power again. The lights are on, but nobody's home.

The above statement makes me think power supply.
Even an old one you might have laying around or one you could borrow,
you would not have to hook up all your hard disks, just the motherboard, cpu and boot drive.
See if it boots and gives you an IP, then see if you can log-in to the GUI.
I would take the time to learn some trouble shooting skills, not just buy a new puter, but that's just me.
Maybe this is just your way of getting the wife to let you spend money on a new rig :p:p

 

[SweetAndLow]

Maybe I missed it in your description but did you use a new usb stick for your OS? You said it rebooted when you tried to install to the USB and i'm assuming that was the old usb. If that USB is bad then of course it isn't going to work.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

I wondered if someone might be able to re-assure my thoughts, that it's a dying hardware issue

Seems most likely. PSU is definitely a candidate.

 

[alieg]

Maybe I missed it in your description but did you use a new usb stick for your OS? You said it rebooted when you tried to install to the USB and i'm assuming that was the old usb. If that USB is bad then of course it isn't going to work.

No, the new installation was on a new USB - I didn't want to lose my old config, if it was the old USB at fault, the plan was to clone it.

 

[alieg]

Before buying a whole computer, want's the chance you could try a different power supply.

The above statement makes me think power supply.
Even an old one you might have laying around or one you could borrow,
you would not have to hook up all your hard disks, just the motherboard, cpu and boot drive.
See if it boots and gives you an IP, then see if you can log-in to the GUI.
I would take the time to learn some trouble shooting skills, not just buy a new puter, but that's just me.

Unfortunately I don't have a spare PSU or know anyone who does... (If I had one, I'd definitely give that a try first)
I've been a laptop owner mostly, and this is only the 2nd desktop I've had, circa 2006.
It only has capacity for 2 HDD's & 4GB RAM; so I figured it would be more beneficial to get something newer; with 4 HDD bays; more memory, and a better processor.
Optimistically, I think I could pick something up for under £100; I could potentially spend more buying parts individually.

I should probably try booting into Linux or HBCD or something to see what happens there...

"Maybe this is just your way of getting the wife to let you spend money on a new rig :p:p

No, I'm a girl lol, ...so I don't have that problem :)

 

[Mirfster]

Can you provide the actual hardware specs of the FreeNas Machine?

It only has capacity for 2 HDD's & 4GB RAM

If this is the system currently, then you for sure are below the recommended RAM (8GB).

 

[alieg]

Can you provide the actual hardware specs of the FreeNas Machine?

Lenovo J115 7388
AMD Athlon X2 3800+ 2.0 GHz
2048 + 512 MB RAM DDR2 (although it says max 4GB, in practice, it did not like 4GB)
2x 2TB WD cavalier Green HDD's 5400 RPM (mirrored)

FreeNAS-9.2.1.8-RELEASE-x64 (Last known, not sure if that was current)
Plugins:
Bittorent Sync
Plex
Transmission

If this is the system currently, then you for sure are below the recommended RAM (8GB).

Which is why I thought I'd be better off getting a completely new PC.
It did pretty well despite being under-spec'd

And I've just bought an HP ProLiant ML110 G6
10GB DDR3 RAM
Intel Pentium G6950 2.8GHz

I just tried a different bootable USB - UBCD, once again it lost power after a few seconds, so I'm pretty convinced it's a PSU issue.

 

[SweetAndLow]

Lenovo J115 7388
AMD Athlon X2 3800+ 2.0 GHz
2048 + 512 MB RAM DDR2 (although it says max 4GB, in practice, it did not like 4GB)

Ha, only 512mb of memory. If you didn't keep replying to this thread I would assume you are trolling. I'm glad to see you got better hardware that is from this decade. With those plugins you want to run you need 16GB of memory so make sure to upgrade your new hardware.

 

[alieg]

Ha, only 512mb of memory. If you didn't keep replying to this thread I would assume you are trolling. I'm glad to see you got better hardware that is from this decade. With those plugins you want to run you need 16GB of memory so make sure to upgrade your new hardware.

Nah not quite that bad lol, 2GB + 512MB

The only problems I had streaming, was with shorter duration files at original resolution, and the occasionally a bit of buffering when playing on Chromecast.
A new router improved things.

Anyway... I'll be sure to download some more RAM just like those nice people, who called from Microsoft, recommended; and I'll be able to pay for it all, with the money that I inherited from the Nigerian prince, who sent me an email the other day!

 

[SweetAndLow]

Nah not quite that bad lol, 2GB + 512MB

The only problems I had streaming, was with shorter duration files at original resolution, and the occasionally a bit of buffering when playing on Chromecast.
A new router improved things.

Huh, only problems? How about the fact it doesn't boot that is a pretty big problem. Make sure to follow the min specs when running freenas and zfs.

 

[alieg]

Huh, only problems? How about the fact it doesn't boot that is a pretty big problem. Make sure to follow the min specs when running freenas and zfs.

well... except that, but it's been good for the past 3 years

 

[rogerh]

Ha, only 512mb of memory. If you didn't keep replying to this thread I would assume you are trolling. I'm glad to see you got better hardware that is from this decade. With those plugins you want to run you need 16GB of memory so make sure to upgrade your new hardware.

Be fair! 2.5GB listed.

 

[TheKiwi]

Yeah, I'd probably put this down to either the PSU or motherboard in the cheap Lenovo pre-built committing suicide.