Help! Is my Xeon-D build dead?

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blingo

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Jul 23, 2018
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So today I attempted to build my own Xeon-D system, but the system is not working correctly. When I press the "power on" button, I would expect the CPU fan to start spinning at least, but it does not. The power LED indicator also does not light up. Needless to say, I have connected the switch and LED to the corresponding headers on the motherboard.

It's strange, because the green light shines on the motherboard, so it definitely has power. Also, the "CPU" (SoC) gets quite warm with time. Strangely, however, the CPU fan does not run. Also, the IPMI NIC is responding (has indicator lights), but I don't have the IP so cannot connect. One problem is that I do not have a monitor and was counting on being able to use IPMI to set everything up, but because the processor fan is not running, I don't see the point since I don't think it even POST:s.

I have _not_ connected the 8-pin motherboard power header, as I have read that it should not be connected on Xeon-D platforms. Is this correct?

This motherboard is an eBay special, it is a Xeon-D 1521 custom-made for a company called Datto, I was looking forward to having my own Xeon-D platform to play with, am gutted that it does not appear to work. Any ideas would be highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:

Marsh

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May 12, 2013
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I have _not_ connected the 8-pin motherboard power header, as I have read that it should not be connected on Xeon-D platforms. Is this correct?
Is this the board (GIGABYTE MB10 Datto Motherbaord Xeon D-1521 with I/O Shield) you have?
GIGABYTE MB10 Datto Motherbaord Xeon D-1521 with I/O Shield | eBay

I have same two Gigabyte MB10 boards, so I peek inside the case that is housing the MB10 board.
You will need to hookup the power cable to the 8 pin ( in my case , my PS only have 4 pins ) .

What you referring to not hookup the 12v connector apply to Supermicro boards.
 
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blingo

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Jul 23, 2018
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Thanks Marsh, yes that's the board! Thanks for the great news, maybe there is hope for my build after all... My PSU doesn't have a 8-pin connector, so I will get an ATX12V to EPS12V adapter and try again. It's late local time (3.30 am in Sweden) so I think I can finally get some sleep and try again tomorrow.
 

blingo

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Jul 23, 2018
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My PS only have 4 pins , therefore 4 pin worked for me.
Sorry, my reading comprehension was not so good. I tried the 4-pin connector in the 8-pin slot. What happens as soon as I plug in the computer is that the CPU fan starts spinning for a few seconds and then stops. Also the power indicator on the back lights up, but just for a few seconds. Pressing the power button still does nothing. :(
 

blingo

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Jul 23, 2018
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Sorry, my reading comprehension was not so good. I tried the 4-pin connector in the 8-pin slot. What happens as soon as I plug in the computer is that the CPU fan starts spinning for a few seconds and then stops. Also the power indicator on the back lights up, but just for a few seconds. Pressing the power button still does nothing. :(
I have now tried to reset the CMOS, and played around with a bunch of different RAM configurations. System still won't POST. Ideas anyone?
 

Marsh

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May 12, 2013
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Using ECC memory ?
What brand and model of RAM?
Find the IPMI IP address , login to see anything in the log
Try one RAM stick at a time?

There is a chance the board is DOA.
 

blingo

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Jul 23, 2018
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Using ECC memory ?
What brand and model of RAM?
Find the IPMI IP address , login to see anything in the log
Try one RAM stick at a time?

There is a chance the board is DOA.
Ok, I have now done a complete rebuild. And now when I press the power button, the system remains powered on with fans spinning. So that's something at least. Do you know the easiest way of getting the IPMI IP?

Thanks in advance for your patience!
 

Zuhkov

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Dec 30, 2012
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I have one of these boards as well. If I recall correctly (can check when I get home), the MAC address for the IPMI port is on a sticker on the top of the port. Once you have the MAC, you can go look for it in your DHCP lease table and get the IP address, assuming the IPMI is set to use DHCP. If it's not, you may need to get a monitor and keyboard and go into the BIOS.
 

blingo

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Jul 23, 2018
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I have one of these boards as well. If I recall correctly (can check when I get home), the MAC address for the IPMI port is on a sticker on the top of the port. Once you have the MAC, you can go look for it in your DHCP lease table and get the IP address, assuming the IPMI is set to use DHCP. If it's not, you may need to get a monitor and keyboard and go into the BIOS.
Thanks, I can see the MAC address on the sticker. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be configured for DHCP. I can't enter the BIOS since, as far as I know, the unit won't even POST correctly. I would like to use the IPMI to find any POST error codes for further troubleshooting, but there's a chicken-and-egg problem here if I first need to have BIOS access to configure the IPMI correctly.

Sigh... I was really excited about this build, but that has soured now.
 

Gio.P

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Sep 12, 2018
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Hi Everyone,

sorry to hijack this thread, but I cannot really find much info on this anywhere. I have one of these boards but it still has the datto firmware on it. Have you guys flashed this board with the gigabyte firmware? if so, how did you do it? Thank you
 

Aestr

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Oct 22, 2014
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@Gio.P I had a few of the Datto 1541 boards and they flashed just fine to gigabyte firmware. I suspect it should be the same for these, but can't guarantee it.

It was just a matter of downloading the latest firmware from gigabytes website and following the instructions. Nothing special.
 

Gio.P

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Sep 12, 2018
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@Gio.P I had a few of the Datto 1541 boards and they flashed just fine to gigabyte firmware. I suspect it should be the same for these, but can't guarantee it.

It was just a matter of downloading the latest firmware from gigabytes website and following the instructions. Nothing special.
Cool, so I went ahead and did just that (before you actually replied) and flashed it with gigabyte bios, however I have now lost both NICs, the mac ID shows as 00:00:00:00:00:00 in the bios and even though the activity lights come on, my switch will not see them and windows does not see any adapters...

Has anyone had this issue before?

I should add that I flashed them throughthe IPMI
 

ignition100

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Oct 12, 2018
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Cool, so I went ahead and did just that (before you actually replied) and flashed it with gigabyte bios, however I have now lost both NICs, the mac ID shows as 00:00:00:00:00:00 in the bios and even though the activity lights come on, my switch will not see them and windows does not see any adapters...

Has anyone had this issue before?

I should add that I flashed them throughthe IPMI
Did you find a solution to this, I just stupidly updated my and had the same issue. I tried the rev 1.3 bios which shows 4 NiCs, two with the correct MAC address but I still can't seem to do anything with them and I think they are reporting the wrong driver information.

Is there anywhere you can download the original datto bios. I can't find it anywhere.
 

Aaron J. Grier

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Oct 10, 2018
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The reference Purley systems I have worked with store the MAC address in the IFWI (BIOS flash), and doing a full flash update (not just the BIOS region) will wipe it out. It should be possible to reset it from UEFI with a mobo-vendor-provided utility, (beg and plead with Gigabyte,) or you might be able to set the MAC directly in the IFWI image from a hex editor before doing a full update, although you'd have to figure out what offset it is stored at and if you need to recalculate a checksum or CRC... somebody who can do an IFWI dump from a working system might be able to help here.
 

dstanding

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Jan 27, 2015
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Thanks, I can see the MAC address on the sticker. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be configured for DHCP. I can't enter the BIOS since, as far as I know, the unit won't even POST correctly. I would like to use the IPMI to find any POST error codes for further troubleshooting, but there's a chicken-and-egg problem here if I first need to have BIOS access to configure the IPMI correctly.

Sigh... I was really excited about this build, but that has soured now.
Hey, wanted to check if you ever got this build working? I have the exact same board & the same problem.
 

blingo

New Member
Jul 23, 2018
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Hey, wanted to check if you ever got this build working? I have the exact same board & the same problem.
Sorry to hear that you have the same problem. I never got the build working, and ended up requesting a return+refund.
 

bvgoor

New Member
Jun 4, 2019
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Hi,

have a similar board which is completely dead, any information on the JTAG-BMC header to restore bios and other options?
Mine doesnt post and doesnt have VGA output, only a solid green led BMC (which i believe is that the BMC is in initializing state and stuck)

thanks