OT - HP Workstation Boot Failure

[thescullster]

Hi all

Also posted to comp.sys.hp.hardware, but knowing the breadth of knowledge here.........

We have 6 Z400/420 series workstations which seem to be prone to a boot fault.

The first machine to suffer has had the motherboard replaced twice. The second more recent machine has just last week had the mobo replaced.

The problem is that the first machine has started exhibiting failure signs again.

Basically the machine boots as far as the HP splash screen. It shows a blank inset window labelled "Mini ORom Display" and either hangs there or shows a blinking cursor.

When booting successfully, the Mini ORom Display window populates with text as part of the process.

It appears that the Worstation is even getting as far as reading the system ROM.

So the question is: what causes this sort of early boot failure? The fact that one machine has had motherboard replacements and has still hung once suggests it's not entirely mobo dependent.

The machines are approx 2 years old and still covered under HP 3 year 4 hour warranty, but I want to find the cause if possible before the warranties expire.

Thanks

Phil

[The Natural Philosopher]

hardware or firmware at that point.

try resetting the flash ram and upgrading the bios if you can. And changing any batteries.

I wouldn't bother.

Just get replacements.

[Lee]

If it was a consumer grade machine, then I'd have said check the hard drives...but on a commercial grade machine with extra drive security, who knows, could be anything :) A quick Google suggests there may be a firmware related issue with the C400 SSD, if that's fitted to yours.

Just a thought but you don't have any USB3 media plugged in during boot do you? There was a bios update to fix that though...

[polygonum]

Had a similar tale recently with an HP PC (can't remember model - but a very ordinary "business" box).

Started out fine but within days, it was blue-screening. Memory test, hard-drive test, etc. all clean. Got HP to come out and they replaced motherboard. Seemed OK for a little while. Then it started again. Same process but this time when HP came they replaced both motherboard and power supply.

Has been working OK since, but am very glad it isn't mine - lost faith in it now.

[alan_m]

On 04/09/2014 14:27, thescullster wrote: nt.

Motherboards of a certain age will have a lithium coin/watch battery in a battery connector. When these start going flat the boot sequence can become erratic and maybe fail. It's cheap and easy to replace the battery - often they are a CR2032 and can just be prised out of the holder/connector on the motherboard and a new one snapped back in.

The technical spec for a Z400 mentions a CR2032 but not where its fitted or which function is being maintained.

[Adrian Caspersz]

That's weird enough (being so many multiple incidents for you) to start searching HP's 'HP Enterprise Business Community' for other folks with the same issues.

For instance... do you have USB 3.0 drives connected?

Although yeah good to get sorted out under existing warranty, this sounds like something screwy in the design that HP should offer to fix as SoG Act or goodwill business-to-business support... er, I'd hope but probably rose tinted glasses there.

[thescullster]

Thanks to all respondents.

As this has happened on two different relatively new machines, I am less inclined to suspect cmos batteries. Also, the problem has existed without USB3 connected periperals. Upgrading the bios has not provided a permanent fix.

The machines do have SSD primary drives, so I will pursue this for a start

Phil

[alan_m]

Some of the coin cell lithium batteries I have purchased in the past year have lasted months rather than the years the previous batteries in equipment lasted. I got so frustrated continually replacing some of these cr2032s that I recently chucked out all my old stock and purchased a dozen Duracell branded items from a reputable supplier.

Don't assume that a battery in nearly new equipment isn't just about to fail.

I had to replace the batteries in my maintenance free 10 year smoke alarms. The lithium batteries failed in around 2 years. The replacement required the rivets on the sealed battery compartment to be drilled out. The battery was meant to last 10 years after which I was expected to send the smoke alarm to land fill after getting the highly radio active components removed and stored in a secure facility.

[Huge]

Why? Americium is hardly worth getting excited about?

[Bob Eager]

I dunno. It was an answer on University Challenge tonight! :-)

[Huge]

It was? Damn. I must not have been paying enough attention.

[thescullster]

Surely if these were battery issues this would be trapped at boot time and I would just get an issue with saving cmos settings?

[alan_m]

Were you not you complaining about problems during booting?

I would guess that on a modern machine that the CMOS/BIOS/user settings were all in flash memory not requiring power to maintain the values.

The battery must be maintaining something else - perhaps whatever it is is also required to be a sensible value during booting.

[John Williamson]

How often do you reboot your smoke alarms, as that was what the post you are replying to was about? Of course, it was slightly off topic relative to *your* previous post, but that's usenet for you, always going off on a tangent.

[thescullster]

I was replying to the first paragraph of alan_m's comments. This refers to CR2032s which are standard fare for motherboards. His original post referred to Z400 workstation also on topic.

Phil