HPE Proliant SE316M1 won't boot at all!

[jncunha]

I have a HPE Proliant SE316M1 that all of the sudden won't turn on.

After a lot of taking off parts I'm now trying to figure out what I need to replace instead of trying to find a magical solution to make it boot.

1. No hardware changes before the reported problem

2. iLO won't show any errors in IML because the server won't boot at all

3. When the power cables are plugged the PSU fans will spin

4. The amber light in the power button does turn on

5. When the power button is pressed (AND ONLY IN THAT MOMENT) the red health led turns on and starts blinking

6. No other fan starts spinning after pressing the power button

7. No errors show up in IML because the server won't boot at all

What I have tried:

1. Removed both PSU's and started trying using one of the other; none of them make the server turn on but both of them make the respective fan spin when the power cable is plugged

2. I removed all RAM sticks leaving only 1 RAM stick per CPU

3. I removed CPU #2 and respective RAM stick and tried only with CPU #1

4. I swapped CPU #1 with #2 to make sure it was not a CPU problem

5. I removed the RAID card

6. I removed all HDD's

RIGHT NOW THE SERVER ONLY HAS 1 CPU, 1 PSU, 1 RAM STICK (I'VE TRIED VARIOUS JUST TO MAKE SURE), NO RAID CARD AND NO HDD'S.

Bellow are links to some videos that show the behavior after pressing the power button:

https://youtu.be/QY2J8_9KR1s

https://youtu.be/CtHdT81Rqv8

At the moment I have NO IDEA what is wrong with this thing and HOW I can diagnose what part I need to find to make it work. I can't find any similar problem online or any kind of documentation that can point me in some direction.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you for reading!

João

[sudhirsingh]

Hi,

Few suggestion:

1. Clear CMOS (Disconnect Power cord, remove CMOS batter fro few mins)

2.Change power source, also any known good power source.

3.Remove any PCI adapter/riser if any still there.

4.Unplug the fan one by one and check the status.

regards,

Sudhir

[jncunha]

I have cleared the CMOS, removed all PCI adapters and removed PSU's (used one at each time).

I haven't tried to remove the fans. Could that cause the server to not boot at all? I'm not talking about posting the BIOS. It doesn't start at all.

[sudhirsingh · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I had a similar issue on different model server where server was not starting and we have almost replaced all the parts,

finally we got the breakthrough when we removed the FAN6, server starteded.

So, i would suggest to try that as well.

also

Is there any pattern in front panel flashing led ?

Regards,

Sudhir

[jncunha]

Ok now you got me intrigued. As soon as I get home I will start removing fans and try to boot it.

I'm saying this because a couple weeks ago I was getting IML errors on FAN 5 and 6 and I ordered 2 used replacements from eBay. The old ones were working but they gave me a continuous blinking amber health light. I proceeded to replace them with the ones I bought and the errors disappeared. Maybe one of the replacements actually died in the next couple of days and is causing the server to not boot at all?

You can see the pattern of the red flashing light in the following YouTube video I made: https://youtu.be/QY2J8_9KR1s.

Thank you for your help!

[jncunha]

And the thing just booted! I have to be honest, I didn't know a fan could prevent a server from booting. What's strange is that at first I removed FAN 3 and the server booted. I then proceeded to shut it down again and after that I could only boot it if I removed FAN 1 and 2 also. It's like the 3 were failing at the same time. Strange right?

I hope this is not a motherboard problem. I ordered more replacement fans to test if it works correctly without showing any errors in IML.