S5520SC board does not complete POSTing; strange diag LED code

[idata]

Hi,

I've just assembled a system based around an S5520SC motherboard and a pair of E5620 Xeons. The system doesn't complete the POST procedure when the power button is pressed. It stops with the diagnostic LEDs showing 0x08 - an undocumented code.

The fans start whirring when the power button is pressed.

If I then hold down the power button to shut down the system, the board will beep in the 1-5-4-2 pattern a few seconds after all the fans have stopped.

I've tried removing all the RAM, but that makes no difference. I don't get the three beep sequence to tell me it's not there.

Thanks,

David

[DSilv11]

Do you happen to have the motherboards part number (printed on the serial number label) ?

If the board is a S5520SC (E30682-30x) it's BIOS does not support the E5620 processors

If the board is a S5520SCR (E30682-35x) , it has the newer BIOS which will support the processors.

If you have a 55xx processor you can install to update the BIOS then swich back to the E5620's, the board should work fine.

[idata]

The box says version E42764-305.

I've managed to get the board to get past this stage by removing one of the CPUs. Now it sits there flipping between diag LED codes 0xB8 and 0xB9 as far as I can tell (resetting and disabling the removable media device). Is it looking for a CDROM with a BIOS upgrade on it?

I don't have a spare Xeon in the E55xx range.

[idata]

David,

That part number came from the factory wth BIOS version 38 installed. If it hasen't been updated, the BIOS update requirement noted applies here. Can you work with your reseller?

Regards,

John

[idata]

Hi John,

I bought the parts separately to try and keep the costs down, so I don't have a reseller as such:-/ There's a company a few miles away that builds systems based on this motherboard and its prefered cases; I can ask them if they can help me.

Should I take it that it's not possible to flash the BIOS without a working main CPU? I was wondering if it was possible for the BSP to do it.

Thanks,

David

[idata]

I think I'm misunderstanding things slightly; the BSP is CPU 1 isn't it, rather than a special separate boot CPU?

[Edward_Z_Intel]

Unfortunately there is no way to upgrade the BIOS without a Xeon 55xx processor installed. Is it possible that you borrow a CPU from someone else to complete the BIOS update?

And talking about BSP, yes normally it's CPU1 which the board boots from. If CPU1 fails then CPU2 becomes BSP.

[idata]

I got a local PC build/repair company to flash the BIOS for me. They'd got some older Xeons lying around. It all seems to work now, with both CPUs in the system.

[Edward_Z_Intel]

The most common cause I've seen is the board doesn't have latest BIOS installed to support the Xeon 56xx processor. The server board has to be at BIOS 45 minimum to boot with Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series installed.

See http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-031498.htm Intel® Xeon® Processor 5600 Series support information for details. Also there's a similar thread: /message/100165# 100165 http://communities.intel.com/message/100165# 100165

[idata]

David,

The S5520SC has to be at BIOS 45 minimum to boot with Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series installed. Once booted, an upgrade to BIOS 48 or later must be done for the processor to run properly and the new features to become available. See:

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-030213.htm http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-030213.htm

Regards,

John