Troubleshooting Procedures

Use the following procedures to troubleshoot your system. If you have followed all of the procedures below and still need assistance, refer to the Technical Support Procedures section in this chapter. Always disconnect the AC power cord before adding, changing or installing any non hot-swap hardware components. If the below steps do not fix the setup configuration problem, contact your vendor for repairs.

Before Power On

  1. Make sure that there are no short circuits between the motherboard and chassis.

  2. Disconnect all ribbon/wire cables from the motherboard, including those for the keyboard and mouse.

  3. Remove all add-on cards.

  4. Install the processor (making sure it is fully seated) and connect the front panel connectors to the motherboard.

No Power

  1. Make sure that there are no short circuits between the motherboard and the chassis.

  2. The battery on your motherboard may be old. Check to verify that it still supplies approximately 3 VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

No Video

  1. If the power is on, but you do not have video, remove all add-on cards and cables.

  2. Remove all memory modules and turn on the system (if the alarm is on, check the specs of memory modules, reset the memory, or try a different one).

System Boot Failure

If the system does not display Power-On-Self-Test (POST) or does not respond after the power is turned on, do the following:

  1. Remove all components from the motherboard, especially the DIMMs. Power on the system and check if the power-on LED is on.

  2. Turn on the system with only one DIMM installed. If the system boots, check for bad DIMMs or slots by following the Memory Errors Troubleshooting procedure in this chapter.

Memory Errors

When suspecting faulty memory is causing the system issue, check the following:

  1. Make sure that the memory modules are compatible with the system and are properly installed. See Maintenance and Component Installation for installation instructions. (For memory compatibility, refer to the "Tested Memory List" link on the motherboard's product page to see a list of supported memory.)

  2. Check if different speeds of DIMMs have been installed. It is strongly recommended that you use the same RAM type and speed for all DIMMs in the system.

  3. Make sure that you are using the correct type of DIMMs recommended by the manufacturer.

  4. Check for bad DIMMs or slots by swapping a single module among all memory slots and check the results.

Losing the System's Setup Configuration

  1. Make sure that you are using a high-quality power supply. A poor-quality power supply may cause the system to lose the CMOS setup information. Refer to Introduction for details on recommended power supplies.

  2. The battery on your motherboard may be old. Check to verify that it still supplies approximately 3 VDC. If it does not, replace it with a new one.

If the System Becomes Unstable

  1. If the system becomes unstable during or after OS installation, check the following:

    1. Processor/BIOS support: Make sure that your processor is supported and that you have the latest BIOS installed in your system.

    2. Memory support: Make sure that the memory modules are supported. Refer to the product page on our website at https://www.supermicro.com. Test the modules using memtest86 or a similar utility.

      Note: Click on the "Tested Memory List" link on the motherboard's product page to see a list of supported memory.

    3. Storage Drive support: Make sure that all storage drives work properly. Replace the failed storage drives with good ones.

    4. Adequate power supply: Make sure that the power supply provides adequate power to the system. Make sure that all power connectors are connected. Refer to our website for more information on the minimum power requirements.

    5. Proper software support: Make sure that the correct drivers are used.

  2. If the system becomes unstable before or during OS installation, check the following:

    1. Source of installation: Make sure that the devices used for installation are working properly, including boot devices such as a CD/Media drive.

    2. Cable connection: Check to make sure that all cables are connected and working properly.

    3. Use the minimum configuration for troubleshooting: Remove all unnecessary components (starting with add-on cards first), and use the minimum configuration (but with the processor and a memory module installed) to identify the trouble areas. Refer to the steps listed above in this section for proper troubleshooting procedures.

    4. Identify bad components by isolating them: If necessary, remove a component in question from the chassis, and test it in isolation to make sure that it works properly. Replace a bad component with a good one.

    5. Check and change one component at a time instead of changing several items at the same time. This will help isolate and identify the problem.

    6. To find out if a component is good, swap this component with a new one to see if the system will work properly. If so, then the old component is bad. You can also install the component in question in another system. If the new system works, the component is good and the old system has problems.