SOLVED: Hyper-transport Sync Flood Error

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

The Gecko

Active Member
Jan 4, 2015
116
81
28
45
The Problem:

I have an old AMD Opteron 2000 system that is experiencing hyper-transport sync flood errors. I can't even install an OS without the system crashing/rebooting. At one point, the system crashed with sync flood errors while I was updating settings in the BIOS. I've tried installing Windows 10 2004 and Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS with the same results: reboot + sync flood errors. I am hoping that someone will tell me what to do to fix these errors. I would rather not spend any money on replacement parts for such an old system.

The System:
  • Dual AMD Opteron 2427
  • 128 GB (8GB x12 Kingston 16GB 667MHz ECC Registered DDR2 PC2-5300 KTH-XW9400K2/16G)
  • SR5690 chipset
  • Supermicro H8DI3+-F motherboard
  • Passive heat sinks
  • 2U Supermicro chassis
  • Redundant Power Supplies
  • 2x SATA Intel SSD DC S3520
  • 8x SATA 1TB HDD
  • No add-in cards
Solution/Diagnostic/Repair Attempts:
  • Verified BIOS at newest revision: v1.0b
  • BIOS reset to factory defaults (optimal) while inside BIOS menu
  • BIOS reset to factory defaults (fail-safe) while inside BIOS menu
  • BIOS reset using the clear-CMOS procedure
  • Exchanged memory for different modules
  • Moved memory around to different slots
  • Used one DIMM on CPU #1 and one DIMM on CPU #2
  • Used only one DIMM on CPU #1 and zero DIMMs on CPU #2
  • Used zero DIMMs on CPU #1 and only one DIMM on CPU #2
  • Replaced BIOS battery
  • Replaced heat sink paste on both CPUs
  • Replaced heat sink paste on SR5690 chip
  • Re-seated both CPUs
  • Looked for bent CPU socket pins (none found)
  • Looked for dirty/fried CPU chip pads (none found)
  • Reduced hyper-transport link width from 16 bits to 4
  • Disabled non-essential system peripherals via BIOS
  • Swapped out Supermicro power supplies for other Supermicro power supplies
  • Tried using only the power supply in top slot
  • Tried using only the power supply in bottom slot
  • Tried using a known good spare power distribution board
  • Re-seated 24-pin power connector
  • Re-seated dual EPS 12V power connectors
Why am I doing this:

Under normal circumstances, I would strip out the mobo, CPUs, and RAM, and take them all to Best Buy to be recycled. The gutted chassis + power supplies would be shoved into my rack for any future projects. However, I have promised this system to a neighbor who is stuck at home, having had two strokes, and is at a huge risk for a third which would certainly put him into the ground. This donation of equipment, my time, and my training to him is my attempt at helping his life to suck just a little bit less. We will try to get Proxmox or Windows 10 + VirtualBox installed so he can experiment with whatever catches his attention.

This is not a ploy to get you to donate parts or money to me to give to him. I won't take parts or money. All I want are repair ideas before I officially pronounce this system dead.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Tha_14

The Gecko

Active Member
Jan 4, 2015
116
81
28
45
I pulled out CPU #2, reset the BIOS, and successfully installed an OS. I'm not sure if the problem is the CPU or the motherboard, but at least it is stable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tha_14

Tha_14

Server Newbie
Mar 9, 2017
72
10
8
I pulled out CPU #2, reset the BIOS, and successfully installed an OS. I'm not sure if the problem is the CPU or the motherboard, but at least it is stable.
Maybe the CPU was not seated properly, highly unlikely but possible. At least it's working properly.