New build does not get through POST. Advice?

[Tom R Strickland]

My new build is specified here:

Feedback request on proposed SOHO build

Hi, I have done a fair amount of reading around before posting this, so I hope that I haven't missed anything obvious that wastes the reader's time when they have to point it out. I can't wait to get stuck into this. Requirements Most likely going to be using TrueNAS SCALE, as I am more...

www.truenas.com

... but to summarise:
Xeon E3-1230v6
Supermicro X11SSL-CF
4x Hynix - 16GB PC4-17000P-E (2RX8, DDR4-2133MHz
Corsair RM750x PSU

POST gets part-way through, then stalls saying:
PEI -x DXE Phase Start 60

The BMC Heartbeat LED is blinking away.
I have tried taking the CMOS battery out for 20 mins, resetting the BIOS.
I removed all of the memory modules and got an error (this being advised by the Supermicro manual).
I have tried with one of the memory modules in different sockets, to no avail.

What should my next troubleshooting steps be?

 

[Tom R Strickland]

To add some context: I have no parts to swap at the moment and all of the gear was second-hand. I am a little stressed, as the CPU took so long to show up that it has crunched the time I have to test everything.
I cannot get into the BIOS through the keyboard.
I had not connected much, but have disconnected even the USB cables. The only cables still plugged in are power, CPU fan, Power button, Reset button and HD LED

 

[Redcoat]

Check for bent pins and that the CPU is seated properly.

Do you get any beeps from the motherboard speaker?

Do you need a BIOS upgrade?

Ask a question of SMC support about your specific error message.

 

[MrGuvernment]

Try 1 stick of ram at a time, and make sure the ram slots are populated properly (normally an error would show if not, or it would give memory related beep codes. When you say you tried 1 stick at a time, did you try 1 stick across each slot, or just 1 stick in the first slot and then the others?

Remove any additional PCIe cards installed, if any (you noted you disconnected everything, but just to double check)

Could also remove the mobo from the case and try to power it up outside the case to make sure nothing is shorting out (but normally if that is the issue, the system wont even post anything..)

 

[Tom R Strickland]

Many thanks for the replies.

Support
Can I get support from Supermicro even though the board is 2nd hand?

BIOS
I have not tried IPMI before, but will give it a whirl. I think that I need to download IPMIView from here:

Supermicro IPMI Utilities | Supermicro Server Management Utilities | Supermicro

The SMCIPMITool is an out-of-band Supermicro utility that allows a user to interface with SuperBlade® systems and IPMI devices via CLI (Command Line Interface).

www.supermicro.com

Then I'll be able to examine and perhaps upgrade the BIOS.

Memory
I have not exhaustively tried every memory module in every slot yet, but I am not seeing any variation with varying modules and slots yet. However I have tried one stick in every slot, then tried another. I will try all permutations.

 

[MrGuvernment]

Support not likely, but you could try. Have you checked the ram sticks show as on their approved list for that board? Sometimes vendors can be real picky about that.

Perhaps a bad CPU?

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[Constantin]

RAM can be super picky.

I had sticks here that were identical to the ones on the approved hardware list for my SuperMicro board except for the revision of the RAM dies on the module.

That tiny delta was enough to make my motherboard only POST if <=2 RAM sticks were installed. Any combination of sticks was possible but if I installed more than 2 sticks, the RAM test would fail.

Replaced all nearly-acceptable sticks with the EXACT SKU deemed acceptable by SuperMicro, and all has been well since.