NUC D54250WYKH crashes or shuts down by itself

[TheRealAdrian]

Hi,

I have been given a NUC D54250WYKH to play with. It apparently used to work OK but has been sat unused in a store room for years.

The problem I am seeing is that it boots OK but sometime later, up to about an hour, it just shuts down as if it has been powered off. Press the power button and it will happily boot up again.

The spec is D54250WYKH fitted with 60Gb Kingston SSD, 2x 2Gb Crucial RAM cards, USB mouse, USB keyboard, VGA monitor connected to the mini display port via a DELL PNKVT VGA adapter

I've searched the forum and found people posting similar but not quite the same issues. So far I have tried

- checking the mains adapter voltage = 18.95V

- it is plugged into a UPS so not mains dropouts

- updating the BIOS to WYLPT10H.86A.0054.2019.0902.1752

- an alternative SSD

- alternative operating systems (Windows 10 and ROON's ROCK)

- swapping over the RAM cards

- removing each of the 2Gb RAM cards in turn

- trying a single card in either RAM slot

- completely removing the SSD

- completely removing the 2nd drive connections

- replacing the CMOS battery with a brand new one (3.295V)

- used F9 to set defaults

- reset the time

- it does not have a WiFi card so cannot remove that!

- disconnecting the ethernet cable

- trying a different mini display port to VGA adapter

- removing everything except a 2Gb RAM card (tried this with either card in either slot!)

None of this makes any difference . Even when booted into the BIOS by starting with F2 pressed, it runs ok for a while and then crashes.

On a couple of occasions, I was watching the monitor when it crashed. The display just vanishes and the monitor goes to a black screen.

On each occasion the unit can only be restarted by pressing the power button. It does not respond to network wake requests.

I've run out of things to check. Anyone got any other ideas about what is wrong and how to fix it?

Thanks

Adrian

[LeonWaksman]

Did you checked the CPU temperature? 

Is the cooling fan clean and it is spinning? 

Leon

[TheRealAdrian]

Good thoughts Leon

BIOS reports Fan Speed about 3100. I've got the board out on the bench so I can see that it is actually going round.

After about 10 minutes in BIOS mode,

CPU Core Temp = 36°C

Memory Temp = 34.5°C

Motherboard Ambient = 43°C

PCH Temp = 0°C

The first 3 look sensible. But I'm not sure what PCH Temp is measuring? 0°C implies a missing or broken sensor?

[LeonWaksman]

I agree that the temperatures are within the low limit and the Fan RPM looks OK. I don't have D54250WYKH to compare to your findings. In most cases the PCH temperature tends to run a bit higher than the CPU temperature. Could be that the 0 Deg C is result of failed diode or may be you should try other software to monitor the temperature?

Hope that you will have some support from other member (or Intel).

Leon

[TheRealAdrian]

Ok, thanks for that.

As luck would have it I will have access to another identical NUC tomorrow so can compare the Platform Controller Hub (PCH) temperatures.

Will update with the results

[n_scott_pearson]

Any time that I have had a system stored away for an extended period of time like this, the first thing that I would do is replace the CMOS battery as it may have been exhausted during storage. The battery is on the top surface of the board (see: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006787/intel-nuc.html), so you have to disconnect power and remove the board from the chassis in order to access this battery. Here is an example of a replacement battery: https://www.amazon.com/Rome-Tech-Battery-Intel-Strix/dp/B08NZVFQRJ.

After installing the replacement battery, you need to do the following:

1. At power on, in response to the "Intel NUC" BIOS Splash Screen, press the F2 key to enter BIOS Setup (Visual BIOS).
2. Set the date and time.
3. Reset the BIOS Configuration (press F9 and then Y)
4. Save and exit Visual BIOS (press F10 and then Y).
5. See if the system will boot - and see if it survives longer than the hour.

Depending upon the hardware configuration, you may need to re-enter BIOS Setup and customize the configuration before it will boot. This usually isn't the case, so I suggest attempting to boot first.

Hope this helps,

...S

[TheRealAdrian]

Yup, did all that. 
The CMOS battery was down at 2.995V.  It’s a standard CR2032 battery with flying leads and a 2 pin connector. So I pulled the flying leads off with a pair of pliers and rewelded them onto a new CR2032 battery with this wonderful Li-ON welding kit that I bought from a well known online shopping site.

Even running in F2 BIOS mode with no SSD, 1 RAM card, no WiFi, no Ethernet connection, no case it still crashes. 

[TheRealAdrian]

Checked out an alternative D54250WYK. The PCH Temperature reads more than 0°C. More like 46°C

So I conclude that my original one is dead. As the PCH temperature sensor is embedded in the PCH chip which is soldered to the circuit board, I think it is FUBAR. Too difficult to repair.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

I suspect that the system powers up initially and waits for the temperature to rise from 0°C. When it does not change after a sensible time the diagnostic trips and shut it all down.

[LeonWaksman]

Hi Adrian,

So, I suspected, the PCH Temperature Sensor (diode) failed. The sensor failed but probably not the PCH, since NUC is working. Check in BIOS settings Advanced > Cooling if the PCH is not set as Primary Temperature Sensor or Secondary Temperature Sensor. For the Primary I would set Processor, while for the Secondary you may set Memory.

Leon

[TheRealAdrian]

F9 Default settings have set -

Primary Temperature Input = Processor

Secondary Temperature Input = Motherboard

With these set the system shuts down.

I've changed Secondary Temperature Input to Memory. I'll wait and see what happens now.

[TheRealAdrian · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately even with Primary Temperature Input = Processor and Secondary Temperature Input = Memory, it still turns off.

So I guess the plausibility diagnostic is independent of the temperature choices for fan controls

[David_G_Intel]

Hello TheRealAdrian

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities.  

Due to this product being discontinued, Intel Customer Service no longer supports inquiries for it, I am glad to see that fellow community members have the knowledge and they jumped in and helped. You may also find the Discontinued Products website (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/discontinued-products.html) website helpful to address your request.  

You can get the specifications and verify this product's discontinuance status at the Intel® Product Specifications website > Product Status > "Discontinued". https://ark.intel.com/ 

Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel. Thank you for your understanding.   

Regards, 

David G 

Intel Customer Support Technician