Topton/BKHD BK-1264NP-4L firewall | crashes, freezing OS, general issue thread

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Heisenberg

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Jul 22, 2023
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This discussion was split from comments out of: BK-1264NP-4L BIOS and other mods

Seeing there are a few people with continuous issues regarding system stability of Topton/BKHD BK-1264NP-4L based systems, resulting in random reboots or system freezes, we may as well continue in a separate thread to not derail the BIOS modding topic further.

Relevant comments so far:
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and the two following the above one.

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Update 10/2025: It seems like the described issues are usually memory related.
Using SK Hynix or Samsung based memory instead of Micron is recommended by the device sellers and fixed the stability issues for the participants of this thread. Unfortunately, there currently are no more details like affected or recommended die types.

Before you consider buying new RAM - if your unit supports adjusting memory speeds, you can try lowering it until the system is stable.
 
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Heisenberg

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margiampe said:
Hi, no, I haven't found a solution yet. The crashes are intermittent and difficult to reproduce, sometimes occurring after more than 20 days, which makes troubleshooting very time-consuming.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that, at least we're not alone in the boat... o_O

Thanks for your response <3


margiampe said:
potential incompatibilities with I226 network chips and MTU settings (link).
Click to expand...

Didn't came across this so far, but been running MTU 8950 for some time.

Checked and seems like I've been at 1450 for a few months now, so that may not be the cause for me.


margiampe said:
it might be worth trying a single 16GB RAM module
Click to expand...

Already did that with the 16GB Crucial one, might try a 8GB Samsung stick next if I don't throw the firewall out meanwhile. ;)


margiampe said:
This makes me think that one cause of the instability could be the continuous power draw from the USB port by the peripherals.
Click to expand...

I'll try that too, thanks for the idea. Freezes have been the same with a lab PSU connected to the alligator clips inside and the USB fan attached for me.
 
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Heisenberg

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Got to 7 days uptime so far after changing a few settings, running memtester and stress-ng alternating.
Guess I'll update you guys in the next 0-23days, after it's dead once again. :p
 
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sammyke007

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What settings? I'll join you. I've replaced the N100 with my previous OPNsense hardware (old Medion i3 PC that runs rocksolid but is big), so I can test it on my testbench.
 
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Heisenberg

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sammyke007 said:
What settings? I'll join you.
Click to expand...
Had ASPM disabled before, added cstate and split lock settings that have been mentioned somewhere on the Proxmox forums I believe.

Depending on OS/bootloader, /etc/default/grub
Code: 
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet pcie_aspm=off split_lock_detect=off intel_idle.max_cstate=1"
don't forget to 'update-grub' before restarting.

Also disabled everything not necessarily needed in BIOS. Serial ports and SATA, IIRC
 
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margiampe

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Heisenberg said:
Had ASPM disabled before, added cstate and split lock settings that have been mentioned somewhere on the Proxmox forums I believe.

Depending on OS/bootloader, /etc/default/grub
Code: 
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet pcie_aspm=off split_lock_detect=off intel_idle.max_cstate=1"
Click to expand...
This is a great solution if it prevents the system from freezing, even if it means the CPU consumes more power, as long as it doesn't exceed the C1 state.

I'm currently experimenting with a more power-saving approach using different settings and without the USB fan connected to the computer. If I achieve any positive results, I'll share them with you in about a month :rolleyes:;)
 
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sammyke007

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Yes, via "Aldi" :) .
I've ran 4 memtests (avg of 5,5 hours) all with 0 errors. Not changed anything. Very hard to pinpoint this issue.
It's a great firewall as it only uses 13W and idles around 24° with my 120mm fan, but the freezes and reboots make it 100% useless.
 
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Heisenberg

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sammyke007 said:
It's a great firewall as it only uses 13W and idles around 24° with my 120mm fan, but the freezes and reboots make it 100% useless.
Click to expand...
As an alternative, I'm running a few Lenovo M720Q with PCIe cards. Also along the lines of ~10-12W depending on the card, IIRC.
 
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sammyke007

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Yeah, if AliExpress accepts a return/refund, that will be the next option... N100 running for 15h now with modded v1.5 BIOS for v1.4 boards. Changed C10 state to C6 and disabled C6DRAM. Fingers crossed.
 
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sammyke007

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sammyke007 said:
Yeah, if AliExpress accepts a return/refund, that will be the next option... N100 running for 15h now with modded v1.5 BIOS for v1.4 boards. Changed C10 state to C6 and disabled C6DRAM. Fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
24h later and a reboot... Pfff... Topton 3C store is giving me the silence treatment. What a waste of money and time...
 
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Heisenberg

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sammyke007 said:
Topton 3C store is giving me the silence treatment.
Click to expand...
Could be worse, I've got told I'm too stupid to use it upon asking for recommended memory modules.

[...] PC demands professional skill to assemble and debug. We are afraid to see you suffer a bad shopping experience and DO NOT compensate for buyer's incompetent handling. Thanks for your kind understanding.
Click to expand...
The Micron stick I've tried even was delivered with one of those N100 units, according to this review.
 
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sammyke007

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Yesterday I've installed a Samsung DDR5 16GB module (M425R2GA3BB0-CQK0D) as recommended by the seller instead of the Crucial DDR5 16GB (CT16G48C40S5.M8A1) that gave 0 errors while running multiple memtests. I've also reset BIOS to default and only changed these settings as found somewhere:

Code: 
- Go to Advanced/Power & Performance/CPU - Power Management Control/
    set Platform PL1 Enable        [Enabled]
    set Platform PL1 Power        9000
    set Platform PL1 Time Windows    [28]
    Set Platform PL2 Enable        [Enabled]
    Set Platform PL2 Power        25000
- Go to Advanced/Power & Performance/CPU - Power Management Control/HDC Control/View-Configure Turbo Options/
    Power Limit 1 Override        [Enabled]
    Power Limit 1            9000
    Power Limit 1 Time Window    [28]
    Power Limit 2 Override        [Enabled]
    Power Limit 2            25000
- Go to Save & Exit/Save Changes and Reset
- Boot into OPNSense/pfSense
- Disable Powerd (in OPNSense - go to System: Settings: Miscellaneous: Use PowerD (untick) and Save)
PowerD was enabled in my config because I migrated the config from my previous hardware (i3 6th gen) and forgot about it.
PowerD is not necessary for newer CPUs like the N100.
Intel N100 (Alder Lake-N) fully supports Speed Shift (HWP - Hardware P-States).

Also using a quality power supply to rule that out too.

Running for 14h now. I'll keep you updated.
 
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Heisenberg

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Haha, also got a Samsung 8GB DIMM in the mail currently.
geizhals.eu

Samsung SO-DIMM 8GB, DDR5-4800 ab € 27,90 (2025) | Preisvergleich Geizhals EU

✔ Preisvergleich für Samsung SO-DIMM 8GB, DDR5-4800 ✔ Produktinfo ⇒ Typ: DDR5 SO-DIMM 262-Pin, on-die ECC • Übertragung: 4800MT/s (4800MHz effektiv - abgeleitet von 2400MHz … ✔ Speicher ✔ Testberichte ✔ Günstig kaufen
geizhals.eu geizhals.eu

How long did you run memtest?
Took like a day for errors to turn up for me with the previous sticks.
 
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sammyke007

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Heisenberg said:
Haha, also got a Samsung 8GB DIMM in the mail currently.
geizhals.eu

Samsung SO-DIMM 8GB, DDR5-4800 ab € 27,90 (2025) | Preisvergleich Geizhals EU

✔ Preisvergleich für Samsung SO-DIMM 8GB, DDR5-4800 ✔ Produktinfo ⇒ Typ: DDR5 SO-DIMM 262-Pin, on-die ECC • Übertragung: 4800MT/s (4800MHz effektiv - abgeleitet von 2400MHz … ✔ Speicher ✔ Testberichte ✔ Günstig kaufen
geizhals.eu geizhals.eu

How long did you run memtest?
Took like a day for errors to turn up for me with the previous sticks.
Click to expand...
I've used the memtest free version from Passmark and it allows only 4 passes. I've ran that 4 times in total. One run with 4 passes took +- 5h, so I didn't make it to 24h. Crucial never showed any errors, but with the Samsung ram it's still running...
 
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sammyke007

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After 48h uptime on the testbench, I took it back in operation and the uptime is 1d16h, so it looks promising!
 
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