Supermicro X11SSM-F won't boot

MarkoG

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I am trying to upgrade the hardware in an old pc on which I've been running Truenas 12.0-U2. I replaced the motherboard with a Supermicro X11SSM-F with an i3-6100 CPU and 32GB of Supermicro DDR4 2133 ECC UDIMM ram. The system boots to a Supermicro screen and initializes IPMI but promptly shuts down on "intel reference code execution" every time. Keyboard plugged into various usb ports is non-responsive. I've contacted Supermicro tech support and am awaiting a response, but if anyone has a clue as to what is causing this I'd appreciate some input. By the way I'm currently using an EVGA 600 watt Bronze80 psu if that matters.
 

GBillR

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Jun 12, 2016
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Some things to consider in your troubleshooting:
  1. Have you tried just the MB, CPU, monitor and nothing else?
  2. If you remove all ram do you receive the correct POST error for no ram?
  3. Have you verified the ram is qualified for the exact MB on the Supermicro website?
  4. Have you reset the bios to defaults and tried again?
  5. If all else fails, I typically remove the MB from the case and place it on an insulated surface (I use cardboard) and connect just the bare minimum to see if the board POSTS. The MB manual will tell you what the error codes mean.
  6. Do you have a spare P/S you can try?
 

MarkoG

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In response:
1. Yes, and when I remove all ram I receive the correct beep code for no ram installed.
3. The ram I purchased is the only ram listed on Supermicro's website for this board. (Also listed as compatible on PCpartpicker for what it's worth)
4. This is the issue. I'm unable to enter the bios to do anything. The machine shuts down while I'm furiously hitting delete, escape, F1, F2, F3, F10, you name it, to no avail.
5. I have removed the board and placed it atop a cardboard box to perform all the above.
6. Tomorrow I'll pull the P/S out of my Windows machine and see if that makes any difference. When I called Supermicro tech support I was told I needed to submit an email which they've acknowledged receiving, but thus far no further response from them. I've searched the internet and seen this exact problem mentioned but with no solutions given. I am beginning to deeply regret this upgrade decision as Truenas was running fine on a 10 year old HP Pavilion I inherited.
 

GBillR

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In response:

4. This is the issue. I'm unable to enter the bios to do anything. The machine shuts down while I'm furiously hitting delete, escape, F1, F2, F3, F10, you name it, to no avail.

Have you tried clearing the BIOS with the jumper on the MB? Take a look at the manual, but I think it is JBT1...

https://www.supermicro.com/QuickRefs/motherboard/C232/QRG-1785.pdf

https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/motherboard/C236/MNL-1785.pdf

EDIT: Added MB Manual hyperlink
 
Last edited:

MarkoG

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Unfortunately, yes, I've tried this and had the same result. I've been beating my brains out for days now over this. I eventually assumed this was just a bad motherboard and had Amazon send me a replacement which is doing the same thing. Once "intel reference code execution" comes up on the screen a few numbers on the right go zipping by and the system shuts down.
 

GBillR

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Unfortunately, yes, I've tried this and had the same result. I've been beating my brains out for days now over this. I eventually assumed this was just a bad motherboard and had Amazon send me a replacement which is doing the same thing. Once "intel reference code execution" comes up on the screen a few numbers on the right go zipping by and the system shuts down.
It is very unlikely that 2 boards would be faulty. My X11 and X10 boards have been rock-solid (not without quirks), similar to countless others here on the forum. My money is on something common in your setup. I assume you have followed all of the troubleshooting provided in the manual, so perhaps it is a power supply issue. Can't rule out a CPU problem either. You don't have compatible spare CPU laying around do you?

I assume you plugged in both P/S connectors into the MB?

Sorry I am at a loss at this point. Maybe another set of eyes on your setup would help you out... could be something you've inadvertently overlooked in the manual?

My one experience with Supermicro web-based tech support was pretty positive. I had a reply within 1 working day, so hopefully they have gotten back to you by now.

EDIT: Can you access the web-based IPMI? If you connect the IPMI LAN to your network, it should obtain a DHCP address... you should be able to access that, even with the PC powered off. There is a green "heartbeat" led on the MB to let you know if the BMC is up....
 

MarkoG

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I finally got this thing up and running. As a last resort I pulled a stick of non-ECC ram out of my Windows machine and tried that and everything booted up perfectly. I have no idea why both sticks of ram I purchased based on Supermicro's recommended memory list don't work, but at this point I'm just happy to have TrueNAS up and running again. Thanks a lot for trying to help, I very much appreciate it.
 

GBillR

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I finally got this thing up and running. As a last resort I pulled a stick of non-ECC ram out of my Windows machine and tried that and everything booted up perfectly. I have no idea why both sticks of ram I purchased based on Supermicro's recommended memory list don't work, but at this point I'm just happy to have TrueNAS up and running again. Thanks a lot for trying to help, I very much appreciate it.

Glad you got it working.

For the benefit of all, can you please provide the part number of the ram that you had issues with?

I know I personally have considered adding more ram to my X11 board, and would be pretty upset to purchase ram that did not work.

Also - I would ask Supermicro for a refund on the ram if I were you.
 

MarkoG

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I purchased this ram through Amazon:
Supermicro MEM-DR416L-CL01-EU21 16GB DDR4 2133 ECC UDIMM
It was supplied by NVTEK and the part number matches Supermicro's recommended memory list exactly, but it sure caused me a lot of unnecessary aggravation and wasted hours.
 

Spearfoot

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I purchased this ram through Amazon:
Supermicro MEM-DR416L-CL01-EU21 16GB DDR4 2133 ECC UDIMM
It was supplied by NVTEK and the part number matches Supermicro's recommended memory list exactly, but it sure caused me a lot of unnecessary aggravation and wasted hours.
Sadly, Amazon is becoming more and more of an open-air bazaar, with fly-by-night operators cheek-by-jowl alongside reputable sellers. NVTEK may be one of the less stellar vendors there, based on their high rate of bad feedback (10% over the last 90 days):


As always, caveat emptor!
 

MarkoG

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True. Hopefully my experience will save someone else the aggravation. I'd also stay away from "new" hard drives that are suspiciously low in price.
 
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