Lenovo Thinkcentre/ThinkStation Tiny (Project TinyMiniMicro) Reference Thread

[efschu3]

upgraded my m720q with a ConnectX-5 100GB
Pentium(R) Gold G5400T / 8 GB single module

boot initrd.img via legacy pxe iscsi
mount nvmet via rdma in dracut

working fine so far, here some results, fyi:



But I would like to do it with UEFI boot.
Does FlexBoot work with UEFI with someone else? I can only do FlexBoot in legacy boot.

 

[joeribl]

upgraded my m720q with a ConnectX-5 100GB
Pentium(R) Gold G5400T / 8 GB single module

boot initrd.img via legacy pxe iscsi
mount nvmet via rdma in dracut

working fine so far, here some results, fyi:



But I would like to do it with UEFI boot.
Does FlexBoot work with UEFI with someone else? I can only do FlexBoot in legacy boot.

Did you enable UEFI Boot? For UEFI boot, UEFI_X86 or UEFI_AARCH64 are enabled via mlxconfig

 

[efschu3]

tnx, it was

mstconfig -d 01:00.0 set EXP_ROM_UEFI_x86_ENABLE=1

 

[B1scu1T]

Hi Guys,

I have an M720q with an i5-9400t and I'm trying to set it up with an additional NIC to use it as an OPNSense router via an 01AJ940 riser, as recomended.

I have tried the PCI cards in other machines and they seem to be recognized by the OS just fine, but I cant get anything to be recognized by the Lenovo, either in OPNSense or in Debian.

Before I order a new riser, is there anything else obvious I might have missed?

 

[senso]

What cards are you trying to use?

 

[B1scu1T]

What cards are you trying to use?

I have tried a bunch. Connectx 3, a couple of Aquantia cards... they don't even pop up in BIOS/UEFI though... they work absolutely fine in other machines.

 

[rrs]

Bought a used P360 tiny for home lab. It came with x16 riser since it used to have a GPU but struck a deal with the seller to keep the GPU(T1000)/RAM(8GB) and storage(512 NVMe) and lower the overall price since I will be replacing those.

I need 10GB networking so I tried a few network cards some with more success than others:
X710-T2L (genuine) - doesn't boot with x16 adapter
X710-DA2 - doesn't boot with x16 adapter
X540-T2 (genuine) - works fine, gets hot

And this brings me to active cooling solution:
Lenovo didn't solder the sysfan connector - had to solder 4 wires from half of a 4pin extension cable (removed WiFi module and antennas to have better access and lower power consumption).

Sysfan is disabled in bios so I had to use 12V w/o PWM

Started looking for a second hand laptop cooler on 12V (most are 5V) that will fit or can be persuaded into fitting inside the case.
Bought the entire cooling solution from an ASUS ROG GL703GM (2 fans with heatsinks and 4 heatpipes) which was hard to repurpose to cool the x540 NIC so ended up with something like this:

Eventually added a shroud to redirect airflow towards heatsink and removed the bracket so the hot air has a way to leave the case with less resistance.
Ordered the x4 riser and MCX311A-XCAT ConnectX-3EN since I wanted SPF+ not RJ45 connector, mostly due to power savings/less heat.

But the tiny included heatsink on MLX runs even hotter (some users reported 89*C) and goes beyond the 55*C working temperature, given enough time in the closed chassis.
Carefully removed a heatpipe from an ASUS ROG GL703GM laptop cooler and some fins from its heatsink and after improvising a mounting solution for long term usage ended up with:





Right now it's idleing in truenas (baremetal) @16.3-16.5W with AMT on and 3m MikroTik DAC.
mget_temp reports 58*C on NIC with normal usage, but it rises fast until the CPU fan speed increases (based on CPU load - will make it ramp up when doing 10G transfers which ends up cooling both CPU and NIC). Haven't seen more than 62*C on NIC but I bet it will go higher.

 

[rrs]

Hi Guys,

I have an M720q with an i5-9400t and I'm trying to set it up with an additional NIC to use it as an OPNSense router via an 01AJ940 riser, as recomended.

I have tried the PCI cards in other machines and they seem to be recognized by the OS just fine, but I cant get anything to be recognized by the Lenovo, either in OPNSense or in Debian.

Before I order a new riser, is there anything else obvious I might have missed?

Intel x540-T2 worked for me on x16 (hot tho) but I strongly recommend getting the x4 on the long term. It's not open ended but you can easily use a precise cutting tool to make a gap at the end. It MIGHT lower performance but in the old days I ran an 1060GPU on x4 (instead of x16) with 3% drop in performance. It SHOULD work for any NIC you have that is >x4 but not guaranteed.

Forgot to mention, I did the solder A_1 pin to B_X trick but had no success on x16 riser.

 

[B1scu1T]

Intel x540-T2 worked for me on x16 (hot tho) but I strongly recommend getting the x4 on the long term. It's not open ended but you can easily use a precise cutting tool to make a gap at the end. It MIGHT lower performance but in the old days I ran an 1060GPU on x4 (instead of x16) with 3% drop in performance. It SHOULD work for any NIC you have that is >x4 but not guaranteed.

Forgot to mention, I did the solder A_1 pin to B_X trick but had no success on x16 riser.

The issue I have at the moment is that I don't know if there is a setting somewhere that 's preventing the PCI-E from working, if I have a faulty riser, if I have a faulty motherboard, or if all the boards I am trying are just not being recognised.

I have a T400 kicking around, I suppose I could connect that up and see what I get.

 

[rrs]

The issue I have at the moment is that I don't know if there is a setting somewhere that 's preventing the PCI-E from working, if I have a faulty riser, if I have a faulty motherboard, or if all the boards I am trying are just not being recognised.

I have a T400 kicking around, I suppose I could connect that up and see what I get.

Been there myself and spent days changing the limited bios settings, even tried the BIOS unlock - hopefully I could have access to more settings, soldering PCIe riser pins, taping over pins on NICs, flashing NICs, disabling OpROMs etc.
There is one easy way to find out: enable pxe ipv4 boot and put in your NIC with DC plug out. On power on spam F1 and see if you can find your card it in the boot menu. Or if the bios starts but gets stuck without reaching OS. If you don't remove power plug it will not detect the card on second boot but it will take you to OS. If you do it will but it wont go past bios. Any of these will single out the x16 riser.

 

[senso]

I was under the impression that the 01AJ940 (x16) riser was the recommended one to get.
Or the x4 one is "better" compatibility wise?

 

[B1scu1T]

Been there myself and spent days changing the limited bios settings, even tried the BIOS unlock - hopefully I could have access to more settings, soldering PCIe riser pins, taping over pins on NICs, flashing NICs, disabling OpROMs etc.
There is one easy way to find out: enable pxe ipv4 boot and put in your NIC with DC plug out. On power on spam F1 and see if you can find your card it in the boot menu. Or if the bios starts but gets stuck without reaching OS. If you don't remove power plug it will not detect the card on second boot but it will take you to OS. If you do it will but it wont go past bios. Any of these will single out the x16 riser.

Thanks man, can't believe how much time I lost when all I needed to do was make sure I pulled the power cord out to modify anything to do with the riser ‍*facepalm*.

If anyone is interested, the CX322A does work in OPNSense without being passed through a hypervisor.

 

[rrs]

I was under the impression that the 01AJ940 (x16) riser was the recommended one to get.
Or the x4 one is "better" compatibility wise?

where did you get that from?
From what I've read on the issue and from my past experience x16 is incompatible with most NICs.
Not sure if x4 allows Intel X710 (T2L or DA2) to go past boot into OS since I haven't tested but x16 doesn't.

 

[senso]

First page:
* We have reports of problems with PCIe card detection and speed with the 01AJ902 (x8) riser so I would recommend you avoid it and use 01AJ940 instead.

I was going to order a x16 riser to try out maybe a P600 and add some multi-gig NIC down the line, seems like its a bad idea then?

 

[rrs]

First page:
* We have reports of problems with PCIe card detection and speed with the 01AJ902 (x8) riser so I would recommend you avoid it and use 01AJ940 instead.

I was going to order a x16 riser to try out maybe a P600 and add some multi-gig NIC down the line, seems like its a bad idea then?

that P/N isn't for P360 tiny and I can't confirm/deny. P360 tiny has x16 and x4 only (no x8). This is the one you should avoid FRU 5C50WDD933.

 

[kayson]

Has anyone had any luck updating AMT on an M920q from Linux? Sounds like it is possible: How do I upgrade Management Engine/AMT firmware for Lenovo T440s given a Linux installation?

But that's 6 years old. Appreciate any guidance!

 

[rrs]

Has anyone had any luck updating AMT on an M920q from Linux? Sounds like it is possible: How do I upgrade Management Engine/AMT firmware for Lenovo T440s given a Linux installation?

But that's 6 years old. Appreciate any guidance!

I'm no expert on the matter but I wonder wouldn't it be faster to just swap a nvme with windows and do the install?

 

[kayson]

I'm no expert on the matter but I wonder wouldn't it be faster to just swap a nvme with windows and do the install?

Possibly. I'd probably use a windows "livecd": ThinkCentre with Intel AMT: BIOS and AMT updates for Linux users

Hoping for an easier solution though.

 

[kayson]

I made a 3D model of the M.2 SSD retention clip and pin, since they can be somewhat ridiculously expensive to buy for such a small part. Unfortunately my old 3D printer is having a very hard time with the fine features, even with the smallest nozzle I have. Maybe someone else can give it a try (anyone have an injection molding setup?).

Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny (M720q, M920q, etc) M.2 SSD Retention Clip and Pin by thearamadon

Replacement clips and pins for Lenovo tiny desktops. Slight design change to make printing easier.

www.thingiverse.com

 

[evil_santa]

I made a 3D model of the M.2 SSD retention clip and pin, since they can be somewhat ridiculously expensive to buy for such a small part. Unfortunately my old 3D printer is having a very hard time with the fine features, even with the smallest nozzle I have. Maybe someone else can give it a try (anyone have an injection molding setup?).

Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny (M720q, M920q, etc) M.2 SSD Retention Clip and Pin by thearamadon

Replacement clips and pins for Lenovo tiny desktops. Slight design change to make printing easier.

www.thingiverse.com

I ordered 100 pieces from the retention clip from China, if I get them I can sell them for 3€ (1 piece)
World wide shipping is possible, I'm located in Germany.