Minisforum 790S7 and boot issue

[David-77]

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone reading this post is fine and well.
I've just received my 790S7 itx pc (minisforum), which is just an bd790i-SE motherboard with itx case and power supply.
I'v added :
2 x 48 GB Crucial DDR5 So-Dimm
2 x nmve ssd Samsung 990 Pro 4 TB.

At first, big problem, no boot !
After some tries and fails, I figured out the machine does not boot if i have the two nvme SSDs installed. It's ok if i have only one slot occupied (can be anyone, i tried both).
Have you already face this issue ? I do not setup PC from scratch everyday, so i may miss some config to do, but this seems weird.
Thanks for your help !

Edit: So, I manage to boot it if....I plug a USB bootable key !
This is weird, i guess there is some Bios issue here (v1.07). I've installed Proxmox (via usb installation key) and the two ssds where correctly detected. Once Proxmox installed, I let the usb key and deconnected it shortly after reset, and the system booted Proxmox...
But, the day after, once again, the machine refuses to boot... And reinserted the key and tadam !! System boots again (and again, i remove the key shortly after to boot on ssd).

Hope this adventure helps someone after me

 

[MarvinFS]

I'm yet to receive my own for the very same setup. (still no info and the order was paid 24 of Oct. - I'm in EU). Support says it was shipped from China but thay can't tell when it will be delivered to Germany. maybe next year?
Anywho, Have you tried to reset cmos and changing SSDs to different brand? Also I wonder if it will boot with one RAM stick only.
All minisforum products are just pure disaster, along with their non-existent tech support (check reddit rants there)
I have a history of B550, then B550 pro and now that one.
I just want my small home lab working that's it, I was looking at MS01 box, but it has poor CPU lacks or cores, but design and expand-ability seems a lot better.

 

[David-77]

Hi Marwin,

Here some more info.
I've update the Bios to the last one, 1.08.
No changes, no boot unless I have my USB key plugged in.

Anywho, Have you tried to reset cmos and changing SSDs to different brand

Cannot do, have no other nvmes at home. But I don't see a relation here, it boots if there is only one inserted (no matter the slot or disk)

I sent a mail to minisforum support yesterday, let's see what happens next.

PS : I've ordered initially on the "official" french store, and just like you, it took too much time. I ordered it on Amazon (and canceled my command on minisforum store) and received it few days after.

 

[MarvinFS]

Hey David,

Please keep us posted here, it is very interesting.

PS : I've ordered initially on the "official" french store, and just like you, it took too much time. I ordered it on Amazon (and canceled my command on minisforum store) and received it few days after.

about that you know what they said last time when I informed them I have failed power ribbon cable and wifi cables on my B550 pro unit?
They said contact seller (despite seller was their own company - not on their website directly, but on Alibaba - I've sent them invoice and all info obviously) and stopped replying. that's all their support.

BTW here is my Reddit post, and there I included the whole drama with photos, I don't want to spam here a second time about that.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MiniPCs/comments/1g8q7cq/_/m01fv2v
https://www.reddit.com/r/MiniPCs/comments/1g8q7cq/_/m01lbp6
you need to click
Single comment thread button to see it for some reason on reddit

 

[David-77]

Crazy story @MarvinFS !
I received a first laconic response : " Hello, please try another SSD."
I was like... did you even read the whole email ?
I wanted to be "clean", so I managed to get another nvme (samsung 970 evo 1TB) and tried it... same issue, same behaviour wathever the disk and/or slot.
I replied to the support, and now they ask my serial number and the invoice number. Since I bought it on amazon....combined with your recent experience...not sure i will get any response.

 

[MarvinFS]

Holy khrap mate! That's exactly what I was talking about.. it is purely ridiculous. and my unit still haven't even reached Germany despite their promises mid Nov. And I will soon (in 8 days) leave for a month )) I will definitely follow up here and once I receive my unit I will try. I also have 2 SSDs..
Hey what bootloader did you try when you install OS? EFI or MBR? I'd recommend trying classic CSM with MBR bootloader. Also try Windows AND Linux just out of curiosity. There should be some option unless bios is totally bricked. Which should NOT be the case as I already have seen reviews in the youtube and it was working there.

 

[ridgenj]

Hello, I am still waiting for my bare-bone Unit. In the miniforum webpage it says that it has 2x NVEM M2 with a max. of 4TB. I am not sure they mean 2x 2TB or 2x4TB. It could be a Bios limit.All the units shown in YT have 1TB sticks. BTW, after the initial invoice I have not received any additional information when it is going to be shipped to the US.

 

[mrpops2ko]

cant thank you enough for that comment about a usb drive - i've got the latest firmware, booted up and got everything working... then i reboot to change some bios settings and it wouldn't boot again.

i thought it was due to memory training because i modified the timings, but it turned out that even leaving it overnight for 8 hours didn't result in the memory taking. i removed a stick and managed to get it to boot into the bios again but was still having the same issue, until i read your comment.

within 30 seconds of placing the usb stick in, it booted up lol

 

[MarvinFS]

Hey @David-77
So I finally got home and were testing 790S7 last weeks, now it is in production already for last 2 weeks.
First of all, people are now receiving 795S7 (slightly different CPU and bios seems like 1.09, whereas I have 1.07 on mine, maybe worth asking our Chinese friends in support for update?)
Second of all I've upgraded fan to Noctua exactly as reddit guys suggested - it works flawlessly and silent. (Noctua NF-A9 PWM, 92 mm. 92x92x25 mm )
Third of all I have NOT experienced any boot issues at all (my setup is 32GB RAM one stick now, I don't really need more for my tasks as of now)
What was tested:

1. Clean Windows 11 install to NVME SSD slot the one which is closest to the CPU. (marked slot1)
work boots fine, obviously UEFI.
2. Install Debian in CMS mode legacy no UEFI, also boots reboots poweron\off all fine. same NVME and slot.
3. Took an SSD from a working Windows PC installed there - booted just fine works fine boots reboots poweron\off all fine.
4. Took my production virtualization machine (proxmox) SSD and inserted there (tried both slot1 slot2) no issues system boots just fine.
5. Moved completely my data 2TB SSD (to slot 1) and my system proxmox SSD to slot 2 - all boots fine.

I haven't changed any bios options, except making it always on.
I HAVE SEEN one time strange blue bios prompt which was saying something like are you sure you want to boot from this drive? One time, always, and reset system. I didn't take a picture, but I selected always and then never have seen it again.

So I can't confirm the issue with SSDs... Hope that helps.
BTW I'm now running it with additional 10G 2port NIC on intel chips - works perfectly as well... No dedicated GPU is installed.

 

[olst]

Came across this post while investigating exactly the same issue with my 795S7.

Slight difference is that I had this problem with only one SSD during install Windows 11 installation. I noticed that the SSD always showed up fine as a drive (e.g. in Repair/CMD prompt), it just wasn't being detected as a boot device. After trying several reinstalls, I switched the SSD for another and seemed to work fine. I subsequently installed the SSD that wouldn't work before as a second SSD and now the problem is there again. I haven't tried uninstalling that drive. My workaround is to go into the top-level options (Setup/Boot/UEFI Shell/Boot Settings/BBS) and the both SSDs show up as drives and I select my boot device and it goes in first time. Selecting the correct boot device in Boot Settings and restarting does not work.

It seems like there is no way to tell the BIOS to ignore the failing SSD as a boot option (which is also not bootable) or to prioritize between the two NVME drives.

I am on firmware 1.12 (latest). I am quite sure it is a BIOS issue here and not a hardware one, since the workaround is 100% reliable.