Poweredge r440 DS1 and DS7 motherboard LED blinking, server does not boot.

Hi @TimS2002, as far as I know, I am not aware of a document that you can publicly control. I looked at it via our internal tool. 

If you have recently changed any parts or joints, first restore them. When I look at the meaning of these LEDs, it says that there is an invalid configuration with the processor or memory.

Check that the memory is populated according to the guidelines in the Installation & Service Manual. Keep an eye out for things like mixed R- and LRDIMMs, NVDIMMs in white slots or DIMMs being populated out of white-black order

Make sure that the primary CPU (CPU1) is in place and that it’s compatible

Examine the CPU’s connecting area on the motherboard for any signs of damage like bent pins or unwanted substances such as thermal paste.

Try to check these above situations first.

Hope that helps!

@DELL-Erman O​ Hello, thanks for your swift reply! I have just taken ram and cpu from a poweredge r740, which are confirmed to work, and put them into the r440. Its a single xeon gold 5122, and 16 gig ecc ddr4... the blinking code persists. The memory is in the slot A1, so its all according to the manual. The socket is clean, and i have nothing else connected apart from backplane, motherboard, psu, one cpu, and one stick of ram...

TimS2002,

Would you take the server to its minimum to post configuration, the minimum to post configuration for the R440 is removing everything internally and externally from the server but the following;

• One processor (CPU) in socket processor 1
• One memory module (DIMM) in socket A1
• One power supply unit
• PDB/PIB and cable
• System board

I know you were close to that, but wanted to confirm the other elements were installed/removed as well. NOw if the issue still persists after trying this then you may be looking at an issue with the systemboard itself. 

Do you happen to have another R440 we could test with?

@DELL-Chris H​

Thank you for your help!

Just tried the following configuration:

1 Psu in slot 1.
PDB

Mainboard

1 Cpu in slot 1

1 16gb ram stick in slot A1

5 Fans

Backplane and cables.

---
All Risers are removed, this is the barebones configuration as you mentioned.
Same LED status code comes up, idrac does not show up in network, and amber info led blinks after fans spin down on connecting power. Main power button is still not doing anything.

Oddly enough, pressing the info button for 16s seems to reset idrac since the fans spin up to max, and the amber light goes away... So maybe the motherboard is fine? Sadly this is a r440 without a lcd, so i literally have no other way of debugging the error but the motherboards DS- leds...

What are the odds that the motherboard is defective?

Thank you.

So if you reinstall everything and then boot and then do the holding of the info button, does the server boot normally, or does the error then reappear?

Also, is the server up to date and current on everything, like the BIOS, iDrac, CPLD, and raid controller?

@DELL-Chris H​ When holding the info button the fans spin up for aprox 5 seconds, then spin down to a lower speed and turn off after around 30 seconds. At no point whatsoever did the server boot. I havent gotten any video output or continuous fan spin apart from resetting the idrac by holding the info button (as i just mentioned). The Server was running up to date firmware when it was last running.
It did have a period of around 1 months where it was just off though. Could this hint to a problem? I checked the cmos battery, it is a 2.9V so i assume it is ok.

Sorry what  meant was that if you reinstall everything, then boot the server yourself, then hit the info button to reset idrac on boot, does it continue to boot up normally afterwards or no?

Now if you have the server in its minimum to post configuration and it doesn't clear post, then it is likely being caused by one of the devices listed in the minimum to post below. 

• One processor (CPU) in socket processor 1
• One memory module (DIMM) in socket A1
• One power supply unit
• PDB/PIB and cable
• System board

So if you have swapped out the individual dimm you have installed, and swap out the cpu as well, and then since there doesn't appear to be any voltage errors, that really only leaves the systemboard as the cause.

Lastly, would you confirm the part numbers of the CPU as well as the dimms? I know you said that it worked previously, but I just wanted to eliminate compatibility as a variable. 

@DELL-Chris H​ 

It sadly does not boot up normally when resetting idrac. It just spins its fans down after a while, and never gives a video output / never posts.

The Cpu (i have tried 2 different cpu's) is a Xeon Gold 5122

The DIMM (Also tried 2 different sticks) is a Micron MTA36ASF2G72PZ-2G1A2KK 16gb PC4-2133P DDR4 ECC

The PSU is a 6V43G - 550W 80 PLUS PLATINUM
The PDB is a 01NV2N board.

Thank you!

@TimS2002​ Also i should mention, that the PSU lights up green. So it seems to communicate properly with the pdb and not be faulty.

Thank you. 

In my opinion I think it may be an issue with the systemboard itself. I know you said that the other R440s you have are different, being they have LCDs, but can you see if any of the known good R440s share the same systemboard part number, and if so would you be able to test the known  good in this system to see if the issue is resolved?

@DELL-Chris H​ 

Sadly i dont have access to another r440. I mentioned the ldc earlier, since i have read about other models of the 440 having an lcd.
I suppose the motherboard is just defective? Wellp i guess thats the end of that server then considering the price of new system boards haha. Thanks for your help man! Have a good one.

@DELL-Chris H​ Hey! I just measured around and checked the voltages of the motherboard, looking for a possible short. I found that the white cable coming from the pdb is 12v (normal) but the yellow wires coming from the pdb (should be 5v) are 0.3v... Also the voltage on these yellow wires steadily drops with around 20mv per second, until the voltage bottoms out at around 0.1V. Could the power distribution  board be at fault and the motherboard is fine? Do you know if there is any voltage feedback circuitry on the motherboard? or is the only voltage feedback on the distribution board. Maybe theres hope for the mobo... Cheers!

There is a chance, as I can't be certain it is the motherboard, it is just based on what we are seeing. You can try reseating the cables on both ends and the PDB, but normally I would expect that the system would have presented a voltage error in that case, so I can't be sure.