Troubleshooting a headless build

[haowenl]

My current hardware set up:

• AsRock B550M ITX-ac
• Ryzen 5600X
• 2 x Nemix DDR4 ECC 3200MHz UDIMM
• No GPU
• Booting from a 2.5 inch SSD

Some things I checked, and I'm fairly confident that they work:

• Power to boot drive is fine (indicator light), power to mobo is fine (light and fan properly running), not sure about CPU power (8-pin connected), but it should be fine given other stuffs are properly powered.
• BIOS version is fine. The tag on mobo says P2.20, and all versions above P1.10 should support 5000 series Ryzen.
• Ethernet connection is fine (indicator light says connected and line speed is 1Gbps.
• Boot driver itself is fine (Tried hooking it up to my laptop. It booted just fine, and I'm able to connect to the web interface.)

Some things I considered, but I'm unable to confirm:

• Does AsRock B550M ITX-ac boot headless at all?
• I know TrueNAS doesn't boot with Secure Boot. Does AsRock mobo have Secure Boot disabled by default?
• I've seen posts where TrueNAS is having trouble with UEFI boot. Should I try legacy boot modes too? If so, how would I install TrueNAS with legacy build mode?

Any tips, things I could try, or anything at all is greatly appreciated!

 

[haowenl]

And to add context for this, this is my first time building a PC. When I was troubleshooting it today, I found that I didn't connect the 8-pin CPU power supply AND the SATA power supply. So if there's anything else as stupid as that, but is not on the checklist above, please kindly mention it as well! Thank you!

 

[Jorsher]

Sorry, but I'm not sure what the problem is? It won't boot? Some systems won't boot without a GPU. A processor with an integrated GPU might have been better for this use.

 

[Ericloewe]

Does AsRock B550M ITX-ac boot headless at all?

Without any video? That's not something to expect from any desktop board. Even typical servers have video output, despite also having serial console enabled.

I've seen posts where TrueNAS is having trouble with UEFI boot. Should I try legacy boot modes too? If so, how would I install TrueNAS with legacy build mode?

Not on any recommended motherboards, what you've seen is most likely people throwing random components together and, unsurprisingly, running into weird issues.

 

[haowenl]

Some systems won't boot without a GPU. A processor with an integrated GPU might have been better for this use.

Without any video? That's not something to expect from any desktop board. Even typical servers have video output, despite also having serial console enabled.

Ah I see. Thank you for your input! I saw a guide that does a headless build. And AMD APUs don't have ECC support without PRO, and I can only get PRO from OEM parts. Both pushed me to do a completely headless build.

That said, is there a way to check whether the mobo works headless? Or should I just get very basic graphs? Any recommendations to just make it boot? Would something like this work?

Also seem a post about dummy HDMI dongles, like this. If I do get graphics, do I need to plug a dongle in? Or is the mere existence of a GPU sufficient to make it boot?

 

[Ericloewe]

Also seem a post about dummy HDMI dongles, like this. If I do get graphics, do I need to plug a dongle in? Or is the mere existence of a GPU sufficient to make it boot?

It depends on what the firmware is setup to do. Hard to say in the abstract.

 

[Jorsher]

The motherboard is geared towards use as a general-purpose computer, not a headless system. The manual didn't say anything that would lead me to believe it works without a GPU, and I wouldn't expect it to. You can contact their support, but if they have an answer I don't expect it to be the one you're hoping for.

The GPU you linked would work. You might be able to find better/cheaper options on eBay. If you plan to use this system for Plex or similar, and you don't mind spending a little more, the Intel Arc GPUs have low-profile options and great video transcoding (even AV1!). They all seem to take up two slots which may not be an option for you.

I've never needed an HDMI dongle, I just don't plug in a display :)

 

[haowenl]

Thank you all! I ended up just getting a GPU and it worked like a charm!

The reason why the entire thing wasn't booting was that fTPM module detected a new CPU and showed a splash screen prompting me press Y to reset it. Had I known, I might be able to get away with not having a GPU. But I couldn't have known without a GPU. That said, whoever comes across this post, please follow the wise words of all others who posted here: just get a GPU.

 

[Jorsher]

Good to hear.

Have you tried without the GPU now that you've pressed Y?

 

[haowenl]

Have you tried without the GPU now that you've pressed Y?

Sorry for the late reply!

I didn't try it, mainly because my wiring isn't the greatest xD. I assume it would work, but a new build will still require a GPU anyway, to see what's going on and to respond to prompts like those. And I appreciate the ability to update my BIOS in case of security patches (AsRock B550M ITX-ac does not have flashback capabilities).