Tyan Motherboard fails to POST

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Patrick

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Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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So that is something I have seen recently on G34 boards. I thought a SM G34 board died, turns out it was the new CPUs. No post, just IPMI working.

What does the IPMI say for sensors for the CPU? Have you tried the CPU in a different machine?
 

john4200

New Member
Jan 1, 2011
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I don't know if it is the same problem as yours, but I had similar symptoms about a year ago with an Asus server board and a Supermicro 80+ gold PSU. It seems that the Asus server board I was using, Z8PE-D12, does not work if the PSU voltages are too close to spec. The gold power supplies tend to keep the voltages as close to spec as possible. When I tried a very old, non-80+ PSU I had lying around, the Asus board fired right up. But I tried two different Z8PE-D12 motherboards with two different Supermicro PSU's (I was building two systems in parallel, luckily, which speeded up my troubleshooting), all I got was a 0.5sec fan spin and LED flicker whenever I tried to power-on the systems.

I swapped the Asus MBs for Supermicro X8DTE-F boards, and everything worked perfectly after that. No more Asus server boards for me.
 

Immy

New Member
Apr 17, 2011
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Australia
So that is something I have seen recently on G34 boards. I thought a SM G34 board died, turns out it was the new CPUs. No post, just IPMI working.

What does the IPMI say for sensors for the CPU? Have you tried the CPU in a different machine?
Hmmmmm.... The IPMI shows nothing on any sensors. (With or without CPU or memory)
I don't have any other system to test the CPU on.
Would the CPU sensors show anything if it doesn't POST ?

Since you are reviewing this MB, can you test this with a Seasonic PSU and no CPU.
Do the sensors show anything before POST ?
 
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Immy

New Member
Apr 17, 2011
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Australia
I don't know if it is the same problem as yours, but I had similar symptoms about a year ago with an Asus server board and a Supermicro 80+ gold PSU. It seems that the Asus server board I was using, Z8PE-D12, does not work if the PSU voltages are too close to spec. The gold power supplies tend to keep the voltages as close to spec as possible. When I tried a very old, non-80+ PSU I had lying around, the Asus board fired right up. But I tried two different Z8PE-D12 motherboards with two different Supermicro PSU's (I was building two systems in parallel, luckily, which speeded up my troubleshooting), all I got was a 0.5sec fan spin and LED flicker whenever I tried to power-on the systems.

I swapped the Asus MBs for Supermicro X8DTE-F boards, and everything worked perfectly after that. No more Asus server boards for me.
As a final PSU test, I hooked it up to a Corsair HX1000 ... Same result. Fans briefly turn. No sensor readings. IPMI somewhat works.
 

Speedyme

New Member
Jul 6, 2011
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I have a S5510GM3NR with E3-1240. It works fine with my LEPA G500-MA (500W, 80+ Gold, Modular) power supply. I tried it with an Antec EA-650 that I had -- and got the quick click and shutdown you describe.

Patrick: I would like to know if you can duplicate an issue I had: When I first assembled the system, I tried running Memtest via iKVM using iso redirection -- with only MB, CPU, memory, and a single SATA drive -- and BIOS defaults -- hitting F11 to get to boot menu and select the iso. It would run a minute or so, and then get a repeatable set of 60 or 120 errors -- and then run forever clean. Not being a frequent system builder -- I was stumped. Finally, I turned off the PXE Boot (option) ROM on the LAN 1 port in the BIOS -- and the errors magically went away. Apparently, the (unconfigured) option ROM was writing to RAM about a minute after cold or warm boot and corrupting the MEMtest. Is that expected behavior?
 

Immy

New Member
Apr 17, 2011
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Australia
Well I tried the S5510GM3NR with a Thermaltake Litepower 500W PSU. No change. Exactly the same result. Fans briefly spin on and off again.
I think I can safely say this mb is dead.
 

Patrick

Administrator
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Dec 21, 2010
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Well I tried the S5510GM3NR with a Thermaltake Litepower 500W PSU. No change. Exactly the same result. Fans briefly spin on and off again.
I think I can safely say this mb is dead.
Do you have access to another CPU? Literally just had this happen in a 2P G34 system due to dead CPUs (returning them today.)
 

amo

New Member
Jul 7, 2011
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Here is PSU list I got from Tyan

S5512
Vender Model
ZIPPY R2G-5800V
ZIPPY PSL-6850P
ZIPPY PSL-6A00V
Turbo-Cool Turbo-Cool 1200
SILVER STONE ZM1200M
SILVER STONE OP1000
SILVER STONE OP1200
Seventeam ST5000UAG-05F
Seventeam ST-750EAD-05G
DELTA TDPS-600CB S3f
ETASIS APAP-560

S5510
Vender Model
LEMACS PSM-6600PE
LEMACS SSL-9850P
DELTA DPS-700NB A Ver:S3F
DELTA DPS-250AB-50 REV:S1F
DELTA DPS-500VB B REV:S1F
 

Immy

New Member
Apr 17, 2011
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Australia
Do you have access to another CPU? Literally just had this happen in a 2P G34 system due to dead CPUs (returning them today.)
Update:
There was no available retail stock of Xeon E3 CPUs in Australia until just today.
While waiting for CPU stock I decided to resolve this once and for all - I ordered another S5510GM3NR motherboard.

It arrived today. I just installed the original CPU and one piece or memory.

Drum roll.... It works. Original CPU + new motherboard.

So it was the motherboard.

IPMI versions:
Faulty motherboard S5510 R1.2
Working motherboard S5510 R2.00

I just finished installing ESXi 4 :D
 
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Patrick

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Dec 21, 2010
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Update:
There was no available retail stock of Xeon E3 CPUs in Australia until just today.
While waiting for CPU stock I decided to resolve this once and for all - I ordered another S5510GM3NR motherboard.

It arrived today. I just installed the original CPU and one piece or memory.

Drum roll.... It works. Original CPU + new motherboard.

So it was the motherboard.

IPMI versions:
Faulty motherboard S5510 R1.2
Working motherboard S5510 R2.00

I just finished installing ESXi 4 :D
Good to hear that is working!
 

emc

New Member
Sep 15, 2011
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Could anyone please post what power supply you did get to work with the S5510/12?
 

Speedyme

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Jul 6, 2011
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As I posted here earlier: I have a S5510GM3NR with E3-1240. It works fine with my LEPA G500-MA (500W, 80+ Gold, Modular) power supply.
 

emc

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Sep 15, 2011
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Thank you Speedyme ... I had seen your earlier post ... was hoping for others to weigh in as well for more options.
 

joshenders

New Member
Jul 26, 2012
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My Tyan S5510GM3NR is not POST'ing either. I've reduced the machine down to four components: RAM, CPU, PSU, motherboard and tried swapping the RAM and PSU with known good spares. I've also reseated the CPU (checked for bent socket pins) and reseated the BIOS EEPROM as suggested by a Tyan technician. No luck, it still won't POST.

The BIOS EEPROM was labeled V103, I assume this means bios revision V1.03. I was told that if the problem was an incompatibility issue with the Ivy Bridge Xeon (support was added in V2.01) that the board would at least POST. So that rules out that possibility.

I called Tyan customer service and quickly reached a knowledgable technician. He said that they don't offer replacements but repairs only and later followed up by email with the description below. For what it's worth, their support system, "HelpSTAR" is a slow and dated ASP web app.

Please keep in mind that the RMA is a repair process and not a replacement. The typical turnaround time for local repair is about 6 weeks and is only an estimate. Physical damage to the board or components on the board including bent CPU pins is not covered under the warranty. If an Out of Warranty (OOW) service is needed the initial cost is $75, and $75 per major component to be replaced, the total costs will be determined once the board is received and the system is diagnosed. We must stress that due to the complexity of some repairs and component replacement, including CPU sockets repair is not guaranteed and has a high rate of failure. Original warranty service is 3 years from the time the board was sold to the distributor, not the end purchase invoice date.
So there you have it, approximately 6 weeks to replace a Tyan motherboard if it's DOA and outside the return window from your retailer. They don't offer an advanced RMA process as they rework the boards as they receive them.

In case it's helpful to somebody else, here's my support ticket with Tyan describing the problem in greater detail.

System configuration:

(1) Intel Xeon E3-1230 V2
(1) Kingston 1333MHz Unbuffered ECC DDR3 RAM model KVR1333D3E9SK2/8G
(1) Seasonic SS-400FL (also tested with Corsair CMPSU-750TX)

Reproduction steps and behavior:

1) Push power button (green motherboard status LED solid)
2) Red LED near CPU socket flashes once, CPU fan spins
3) System powers off
4) System powers on (green motherboard status LED now flashing)
5) CPU fan spins, Red LED near CPU socket blinks
6) System powers off
7) Repeats steps 4 - 6 indefinitely
 

joshenders

New Member
Jul 26, 2012
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I had another S5510GM3NR overnighted and tested it with the same configuration and reproduced the problem on the new board. This board also had a BIOS EEPROM labeled V103 and I'm beginning to think that this version won't even POST with an Ivy Bridge CPU and that the information the Tyan tech gave me was incorrect. Is anyone using an Ivy Bridge CPU on a S5510GM3NR with a BIOS at version 1.03?

Anecdotally, I removed the RAM and I reproduced the same exact behavior. This leads me to think that the problem is occurring before RAM is initialized. This might isolate the CPU as the cause of failure. The CPU should be the only similarity between the two boards. Barring of course that both boards are defective or that the CPU is defective.

I emailed Tyan support to see if they could send me a BIOS EEPROM with the latest version installed. If they decline, I'll buy a non-Ivy Bridge Xeon to test with. Very frustrating.
 

mobilenvidia

Moderator
Sep 25, 2011
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New Zealand
Try non ECC RAM ?
To rule that out.

If you remove the RAM and boot does it do the exact same thing ?

Pity the board doesn't have the LED diagnostics that mainstream boards do, makes life so much easier.
 

john4200

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Jan 1, 2011
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What PSU(s) have you tried?

The newegg reviews say that it is finicky about some PSU models.
 

joshenders

New Member
Jul 26, 2012
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Try non ECC RAM ?
To rule that out.

If you remove the RAM and boot does it do the exact same thing ?

Pity the board doesn't have the LED diagnostics that mainstream boards do, makes life so much easier.
I've tried with non-ECC RAM and pulled the RAM out and the it behaves the same way. This leads me to believe it's a problem with the CPU.

john4200 said:
What PSU(s) have you tried?

The newegg reviews say that it is finicky about some PSU models.
I've tested a Seasonic SS-400FL and a Corsair CMPSU-750TX.
 
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Mike

Member
May 29, 2012
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Are you sure that it's not Watchdog enabled in the bios to reboot after 20 minutes of inactivity? Just thinking out loud, real quick.
 

joshenders

New Member
Jul 26, 2012
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Are you sure that it's not Watchdog enabled in the bios to reboot after 20 minutes of inactivity? Just thinking out loud, real quick.
If I could get into BIOS I could tell you ;)

(No, it power cycles after about 30 seconds.)