Source
r/homelab•
completion97

Supermicro 4U won't start

Solved

Hello! I recently bought a Supermicro 4U from u/JustGivingRedditATry (highly recommend them. Very knowledgeable and great service). Everything was going great and I got everything setup how I wanted it. And then it decided to turn off and its own.

I was in the room when it happened but not doing anything with it actively when I heard the fans slow down and eventually stop. It did not sound like it suddenly stopped from a power outage (and my other server is still running) but like it went through the shutdown procedure. I was not concerned because maybe freenas decided to reboot but then it didn't turn back on. I waited for it to start back up but when it did not I attempted to turn it back on using the impi but it gave me the error "Performing power action failed. Please check The feature connector cables". I then tried to start the server using the power button but that did not work. I found this webpage and followed the "answer" on there.

The motherboard is a X8DTE-F. I am able to access the ipmi module and the lights on the psu and motherboard are all lighting up. The only error or problem other than it simply not turning on is the error ipmi gives me. Everything else appears like it is working.

Any ideas?

tl;dr Supermicro server won't start even though everything appears to be working. impi gives error "Performing power action failed. Please check The feature connector cables".

Posted Sep 19, 2017, 9:08 PM UTC

418
CanuckFire•

Some newer servers have PMBUS which is kind of a smart(er) connection between the motherboard and the PSU(s). Start by checking that?

Usually when I get new gear I find all of the manuals, take pictures and then tear everything apart to clean it, and then put it all back together. 99% of the time this catches loose cables and cleans off all of the contacts for things like the hotswap power supplies.

3
completion97OP•

Thank you for your input. It does seem the power supplies (PWS-1K41P-1R) have a PMBus. It is connected.

I checked all the other wires also. Although I had not been messing around inside unplugging stuff and moving things around. It had been running for fews days and then shutdown. To me it seems unlikely that a loose wire is causing this.

1
CanuckFire•

Well, if you don't have any luck troubleshooting, then maybe just set aside the time to break it into pieces and rebuild it. Pull the board and make sure no loose screws or jumpers are sitting under the motherboard. Remove and clean the processors, and reinstall them with new thermal paste. Pull and reseat all of the memory...

Depending on the fault, any of those things in a perfectly inconvenient world could keep a server from posting.

1
completion97OP•

K I'll do that this weekend. I was hoping for an easier answer and I could get it up and running now. thanks

1
blackrabbit107•

Are the fans on the power supplies running?

3
completion97OP•

Yes and the lights on the power supplies are orange.

1
blackrabbit107•

They're in standby. Have you removed and reseated them? Or try just one or the other plugged in only. Those hot swap supplies on the 4Us sometimes look and feel like they've been fully inserted but just aren't quite there all the way. Pull them out a little bit and reinsert them with a bit of force. You should hear a very solid click.

2
completion97OP•

thank you that fixed it. I've unplugged and replugged the psu multiple times since this first started. It was clicking but I guess I didn't do it forcefully enough. Also that doesn't explain what made the server shut off in the first place.

1
blackrabbit107•

If it wasn't quite latched then any vibration (and those 4Us do a bit of that) could have dislodged them. However it may not be the entirety of the problem, just keep your eye on it for unexpected shutdowns.

1
HumpyPocock•

Having recently bought a couple of 3U Supermicros, I can confirm that they also require quite a significant amount of force to seat fully, that got me once after I stripped, cleaned and reassembled them.

1
blackrabbit107•

I've had my 4U system for about a year now and it still gets me every so often

2
knightDXA Lonely Man With A Pi•

There should be a black five pin connector from the power supply distributor make sure that's connected to the motherboard

2
completion97OP•

Thank you for your imput. The connection looks solid as do all the other ones.

1
knightDXA Lonely Man With A Pi•

Have you tried a complete power drain of the system yet by unplugging both power supplies and then pressing the on button several times to make sure all the capacitors are drained? You could also try clearing the CMOS

2
completion97OP•

I did completely drain it like you said and I left it unplugged over night. I believe I cleared the CMOS. It doesn't reset the ipmi right? I also checked the CMOS battery voltage and its above 3V

1