I think my ASRock C2550D4I is toast :(

[qwertymodo]

A few days ago, my NAS went offline. It was stuffed away in the attic crawlspace without access to a monitor, and I was unable to communicate with it via SSH/WebGUI/ping, nothing. So finally I went up and unplugged it and brought it down to my workbench, and I power it on to see absolutely nothing. Now, the motherboard usually took a good 30-60 seconds before anything showed up on the video output, but I've left it for several hours, still no video, no network communication, nothing. There are a few green LED's on the board that light up, one that blinks, but that's about all I can see happening. I've pulled all of the hardware and installed it onto a SuperMicro board I had lying around and it all seems to be working, so the issue seems isolated to the motherboard. Is there anything else I can do or test at this point, or is it just toast?

 

[Darren Myers]

Did the server have good/decent airflow? How hot was it up there? a crawlspace is never a good place for electronics unless you have a AC up there lol. Other then taking the motherboard out and testing it with a known good psu, i would RMA the motherboard and get a replacement and get back rockin and rolling

 

[qwertymodo]

The crawl space was easily the coldest spot in the house due to poor insulation. It was also literally the only place that I was able to hook it up to a hard-line ethernet connection, so I really didn't have another option. Airflow was fine, it was completely clear on all sides. RMA is probably out of the question, as I've had it 3 days short of a year, but I've sent an email to ASRock support, so I'll see what they say. I've tested it with a known good PSU, and the RAM tests fine on another mobo.

 

[Darren Myers]

Newegg says the warranty is 3 years, limited but still warranty.

 

[qwertymodo]

Well, good news is my pool is still good, so the issue looks to be completely isolated to the motherboard. I've emailed asrock to see about that warranty (newegg said the 3 year warranty was manufacturer, they only cover 30 days), but no data loss as far as I can tell... so I'll just count my blessings while I wait to hear back tomorrow.

Edit: Just because it amuses me, I present to you, the GhettoNAS

 

[marbus90]

Why do you not use IPMI? It's shared with the first LAN port btw.

 

[qwertymodo]

It's not shared, it's a separate port. Honestly, I lost the password and locked myself out and never got around to fixing it. In any case, the IPMI port isn't responding either, so it wouldn't be any help in this situation.

 

[Ericloewe]

It's not shared, it's a separate port. Honestly, I lost the password and locked myself out and never got around to fixing it. In any case, the IPMI port isn't responding either, so it wouldn't be any help in this situation.

LAN 1 is shared with IPMI and carried IPMI traffic if the dedicated port is disconnected.

 

[qwertymodo]

Huh, didn't know that, thanks for the info. Unfortunately, after losing the IPMI password, I also forgot what IP address it was set to, so I can't get in either way.

 

[rogerh]

You don't say what latitude you live in, but in the UK in summer the space below tiles or slates can get up to proverbial egg-frying temperatures. We've just had an unwonted week of sun, and I wouldn't give much for the chances of a computer in our loft space over that period.

 

[qwertymodo]

42N, over 4000' elevation, things stay pretty cool in the rafters, at least in this house. The sheet metal roof reflects the heat pretty well but does nothing to insulate against the cold at night. The main insulation is in the ceiling. In any case, RMA came through under warranty, so it's in the mail on its way out now.

 

[rogerh]

So "Like a cat on a hot tin roof" wouldn't be an expression you'd use much locally, then? I still think it's worth leaving a maximum-minimum thermometer up there for a few sunny days.

Edit: or at least sort out IPMI and/or the smart monitor temperature limits in FreeNAS.

 

[qwertymodo]

Oh, *on* the tin roof gets plenty warm, but the heat is mostly reflected upward, rather than cooking the rafters. I'll definitely get IPMI set up correctly when I get the RMA board back though.

 

[qwertymodo]

Just an update, my RMA is on its way back to me, and the tech support staff at ASRock have been nothing short of amazing, so I just figured I'd throw that out there. Having a mobo die on you is no fun, but competent, customer-centric support makes a world of difference, and I'd say ASRock has made a loyal customer out of me as a result of my dealings with them (assuming this board doesn't develop a history of dying repeatedly or anything like that...). So, just thought I'd put that out there for anybody reading this thread in the future, especially if you're on the fence about buying from them for whatever reason.

 

[cynod]

Thanks for following up with the ASRock response. I'm debating either the ASRock C2750D4I or 2550 so this is good to know!

While I have you, how are you finding the 4 core 2550? I'm a little wary and am leaning to the 8 core 7250 but I don't imagine doing more than 1 or 2 transcodes at a time and the box is just for storage and Plex.

 

[marbus90]

At 2 transcodes go for the C2750. Plex recommends 2k passmark points per transcoding stream, each core has little over 500 passmark points.

 

[qwertymodo]

I've never tried 2 transcodes but the 2550 has been perfectly sufficient for 1. Everything I've seen online says you'd want the 2750 for more than 1.