Intel® Server Board S1200SPSR Troubleshooting

[Awaces]

Hi

This is my first time really getting into physical servers.

I am in my possession of an Intel S1200SPSR C232 Server Motherboard DA0S6EMB6C1

Unfortunately, this motherboard/system has weird syndromes. It starts extremely slow, every action takes hours. So my first idea was to flasheh the bios.

I extracted the following ZIP (s1200spo_spl_sps_efi_biosr03015049_me040104400_bmc0118r12306_frusdr028) onto a USB stick.

Next, these are the actions I do:
connect power cables to both power supplies, connect VGA cable to the motherboard's VGA port and connect a mouse and keyboard

on the front i/o panel the light of the triangle with the exclamation mark is on.

I press the power button
As soon as I press the on button, the power button lights up and the server starts running. after 30 seconds the computer beeps 3 times and shows the bios version

after 2-3 minutes I finally get to see the page inter havanah & server. I press F6 and 'Entering Boot Manager' comes up.
After 1 min and 15 seconds the screen comes black.
After 2 minutes I get the blue screen please select boot device.
Suddenly the server starts blowing hard and the system status symbol pinks. A few seconds later the pc beeps once and goes back to normal. The light now goes back to normal instead of pinging.
I plug in the USB and click on launch efi shell.

The screen goes black
After 40 seconds I get to see the screen to update the firmware. I press a random key and the flash procedure is started.

The same as just happened, the computer starts blowing hard and the status indicater starts blinking.
After 4 minutes the transfer BMC firmware image is at 12%.

After 2 hours, this still has not changed.
In this interim, the computer has started blowing hard several times, the status indicator started to blink, and a beep came.

I have tried playing with the ram memory myself. Different ram slots, 1 ram bar out. Unfortunately without success.

My Specs:

Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1270

Intel S1200SPSR C232 Server Motherboard DA0S6EMB6C1

2 * Kingston KSM26ED8/16ME - 16Gb

Intel® Server Chassis P4000XXSFDR

[Awaces]

The beeping only occurs when I set the jumper to pins 2 and 3.

[JoseH_Intel]

Hello Awaces,

Could you tell if using an Intel branded chassis for this board? What PSU model and specifications are you using? Also you want to check on the Intel Server Configurator tool for the memory you are using if showing as validated or not. This is a common source of issues on this servers.

Regards

Jose A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

For firmware updates and troubleshooting tips, visit:

https://intel.com/support/serverbios

[Awaces]

These are my hardware components:

Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1270
Intel S1200SPSR C232 Server Motherboard DA0S6EMB6C1
2 * Kingston KSM26ED8/16ME - 16Gb
Intel® Server Chassis P4000XXSFDR
Sandisk Solid State Drive 256GB
2 * E98791-010 INTEL 750W POWER SUPPLY 80 PLUS PLATINUM G5

KSM26RD8 is in the list KSM26ED8 is not... I doubt that this should be the reason...

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Awaces

Thank you so much for your response.

Based on the components in your server, we would like to know if you could try testing the system with one of the validated DIMM options found in our tested hardware list?

Additionally, we know that you shared with us that you have an Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1270; however, can you please confirm if that’s the exact model you have, or do you have an Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1270 V2, V5, or V6?

Best regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[Awaces]

Hi Victor!

Thanks for joining the journey

Unfortunately I have no other RAM modules in my possession so I can't test validated RAM.

Its an E3-1270 V6

Kind regards

Steven

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Awaces,

Thank you for your response.

Please let me review this information internally, and kindly wait for an update.

Once we have more information to share, we will post it on this thread.

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Awaces,

Thank you for your patience.

To continue with your situation can you please provide the following:

1-Within the components that you have in this server by any chance do you happen to have a RAID Controller installed? If yes, can you please confirm if when we requested from you to test the system in minimal configuration (board, PSU, 1 DIMM only) was the RAID controller also removed?

2-In order to move forward with the case, we will need a Sysinfo log, we understand that you had some issues getting it from the system; therefore, please follow the instructions below in order to retrieve it.

Instructions:

SYSINFO_UserGuide

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/server-products/server-boards/Intel_SYSINFO_UserGuide.pdf

Note: Use page 8 for installation and page 11 for retrieval. If you are using RAID, please make sure you retrieve not only the sysinfo_log.txt, and the OS_Eventlog.txt but the RAID_NVRAMlog.txt as well.

System Information Retrieval Utility (SysInfo) for Intel® Server Boards and Intel® Server Systems Based on Intel® 61X Chipset

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/17949/system-information-retrieval-utility-sysinfo-for-intel-server-boards-and-intel-server-systems-based-on-intel-61x-chipset.html

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Awaces]

Hi Victor

Thank you for your email.
Jose A. had indeed indicated on 23-03 that I should boot the system with minimal config.
Since I don't know much about it I had sent a picture of the system:
https://community.intel.com/t5/Server-Products/Intel-Server-Board-S1200SPSR-Troubleshooting/td-p/1370229/emcs_t/S2h8ZW1haWx8dG9waWNfc3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ufEwyOUVZNUFNOVQzVzJWfDEzNzg4OTh8U1VCU0NSSVBUSU9OU3xoSw?attachment-id=82496

I just had a closer look at the inside  and noticed that I have the following component:
Intel Integrated RAID Module RMS3CC080 Raid controller
I assume that I have a RAID controller and did not disconnect it during the previous test.
Can you confirm which cables I should remove during the test? I have removed the marked cables from the attached picture but notice no difference.

The sysinfo logs are successful.
Unfortunately the tool did not create raid controller logs though. I saw that I had to install the RAID drivers to get this but the README of the following file:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19574/intel-embedded-server-raid-technology-2-esrt2-windows-driver-for-s1200sp-family.html
indicates that I have to install the driver manually, however I can't find the raid controller under device manager.

Kind regards

Steven

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, Awaces.

Good day,

Thank you for the logs and the information.

You are correct, those are the cables that you had to remove, but also the card, it needs to be removed as well. For the memory, I noticed two DIMMs in your picture, can you work only with the one on A2?

It is possible that if the system is not configured in RAID mode, in that case it's normal that nothing shows up for you to install the driver. Also, did you run the command adding the "-raid" parameter to check if they could be generated? for example: sysinfo.exe -raid

Please allow us to work with the information you have provided and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Awaces]

I was probably just lucky yesterday when I was able to run sysinfo successfully.

When I try the exact same steps as yesterday, I get back the message I always got before:

KCS Policy Control Mode is currently set to "DENY ALL". This function depends on an unrestricted KCS environment to operate. To run utility, please change "KCS Policy Control Mode" using BMC web console or other authenticated session.

I have removed the raid controller and 1 ram module. (see pictures)
I now notice that the server starts much faster. So this might be a possible cause.

After removing the raid controller I can also run sysinfo again without any problems. Of course not the RAID function since I removed that module.

  

[Awaces]

Hi 

Have you guys had the chance to investigate the files I provided?

Thanks

[Awaces]

Hi!

I dont' want to be rude, but is it possible to get an update on this?

Thanks!

Kind regards,

Steven 

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, Awaces.

My apologies for the delay, this had to be reviewed internally.

Please review the following recommendations:

1. KCS Policy Control Mode is currently set to "DENY ALL", this causes the error "insufficient permission" in the Sysinfo log. Is there a specific reason why this is the case? If not, you can change it to "Allow All" in BMC and then restart the server.
2. Only the BIOS and ME are on the latest version. The BMC and SDR show an older version in Sysinfo. All the components "BIOS, ME, BMC and FRUSDR" should be updated to the latest version. Please re-run the update and make sure to update all components during the firmware update process.
3. If you encounter any problems during the update, please remove the RAID card and try again to perform the update (in case you installed it again).
4. Have you tried other operating systems in this machine? just to confirm if you notice anything different.
5. Regarding the memory test, if it seems to be better with just one, have you tried replacing the one in the system with the one you just removed to confirm if this problem possibly follows the DIMM?
6. Also, try to disable "Quiet Boot" and check if it helps.

I will follow up on May 18th just in case.

Regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Awaces]

1. I'm unable to contact the BMC page. I tried setting up a static IP and I also treid using the dynamic mode. Both don't give me access.

2. I started downloading https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18551/intel-server-board-s1200sp-bios-and-firmware-update-package-for-efi.html?wapkw=S1200SPSR

Since the update did not start while extracting the files to an usb stick and going into UEFI shell. I tried downloading the following:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18601/intel-server-board-s1200sp-bios-and-firmware-update-for-intel-one-boot-flash-update-intel-ofu-utility-and-winpe.html?wapkw=S1200SPSR

After booting the server I launched WinPE_x64_Update.bat

I ended up with this:

BIOS Version....... S1200SP.86B.03.01.5049
BMC Firmware Version:
Op Code....... 1.18.12306
Boot Code.............. 01.05
ME Firmware Version:
Boot Code: 04.01.04.109
SDR Version:
SDR version: SDR Package 0.28

so I guess this is fine?

3. I tried everything with the card installed and also without the card. Without the card the system runs extremely fast. With, everything goes slow.

4. No

5. there is no difference with one or 2. The system runs smooth when disconnecting the raid card

6. I tried it but there is no difference..

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Awaces,

Thank you for your response.

In regard to the problem with the BMC, you can follow the steps in the article below in order to successfully set it up. If you run into any problem or have any doubts don’t hesitate to let us know.

How to Configure the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) for Remote Monitoring and Control for Intel® Server Boards and Intel® Server Systems

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000007913/server-products.html

Note: Please make sure the static IP address given to the BMC is one available based on your network.

In regard to the FW update it seems that the BMC firmware and the ME firmware are the only ones who are not completely updated; however, based on the behavior of the system it doesn’t seem to have affected anything since the system as you mentioned runs faster or slower depending on whether or not the RAID card is installed in the system.

The problem seems to be due to the card been installed in the system, the question will be if you want to proactively use the card and create a RAID array, because that will involve a different set of steps and the addition of more disks into the system to be able to create an array. By the card just been installed in the system you will get no benefit from it since is not been used; however, if you decide to troubleshoot this further we can provide a series of steps in order to make sure that the RAID controller is up to date and usable; nevertheless, that’s completely up to you.

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Awaces,

We would like to know if you were able to check the previous post. 

Please let us know if you need further assistance. 

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician  

[Victor_G_Intel]

Hello Awaces,

We have not heard back from you.

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Regards,

Victor G.

Intel Technical Support Technician

[Awaces]

I will not have access to the server for two weeks so I will have to come back to this later