R730 Server Stuck At Configuring Memory..... Done for Ever

Hello,

I'd be considering a hardware fault. I'd remove all memory, save for A1 (and B1, if you have a dual processor configuration) and see if you get any changes. If it doesn't change at all, I'd swap out the 2 DIMMs and test again. If it still doesn't continue, the issue is probably on the board, or the proc's memory controller. You could remove processor 2 and then try again with a DIMM in A1 only. If you again see no change, swap the processors. This should hopefully isolate the fault location. 

With the BIOS refusing to update, I'd suspect that's the fault, but this should help confirm.

Hi,

As far as I can see you have tried many things. If there are UDIMM and RDIMM memory modules used together, this may cause the problem. Can you check this out? If there are memories taken later, please remove them and try again. Is there an error message on the small LCD screen? If you added a processor later, you can check to see if the processors are the same. You can also try min2post. For R730
At minimum to POST, ensure that the following components are used and that all USB devices including the mouse and keyboard are disconnected.

System board
One power supply unit
Control panel (for power button functionality)
One processor (CPU) in socket CPU1 (minimum for troubleshooting)
One memory module (DIMM) installed in socket A1
Riser 2 and 3 for single-processor configuration
Riser 1, 2, and 3 for dual-processor configuration

hi

done all which you wrote but same state stuck and configuring memory.......done.

but i noticed if we start the server without any memory modules MSG: comes up saying no memory sticks found please check and restart.

if both the processor are installed and memory is populated in only B1 Still it gives same configuring memory... done MSG.

any take on this or help?

HI

All Are 16GB 2133Mhz RDIMM

Both Processor are Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3 2.3GHz

Did  Min2post but same state

All Parameter and Logs In IDRAC Show nothing unusual.

all commands through IDRAC or Racadm are executed perfectly.

Only Issue  Stuck At Configuring Memory..... Done for Ever AND BIOS UPDATE Not Happening.

hi

Only Thing remained is to get any Other V3 Processor and see. (In forum i read this option as a solution but there processor was V4 and V3 One did the trick , but mine already V3 so have very little hope.

will try it and update in the forum shortly.

@DiegoLopez: i repeat all other parameter are perfectly normal, only those two issues. so little hard to take as  M/B Problem.

Hello @pcmentornew,

In the Minimum to Post did you tried both CPUs? If so you could discard if in is a CPU error or a Motherboard error. If both CPUs show the Configuring Memory error on POST then it might be a problem of the Motherboard and will likely have to replace it. But if only one of them is having the error then you will need to replace the faulty CPU:

If you can complete post with any of the CPU try to apply BIOS update.

Regards.

I wholeheartedly believe this is a faulty motherboard. That having been said, you've got hands on the unit, so it's certainly easier to troubleshoot that way. 

If you've already tried processors 1 and 2 in CPU slot 1, I wouldn't expect a third processor to change anything. 2 bad memory controllers seem unlikely. That having been said, I'm certainly looking forward to your results!

Hi pcmentornew, I'm not sure Can you access bios boot manager via F11 but you can follow up this article https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000142454/how-to-update-the-bios-version-of-a-dell-server-using-efi-file-12g-13g-14g 

If you can and it will improve, please share it with us, it will be very useful for community. But frankly, I think there might be a problem with the motherboard like Dylan. However, I hope this article works.

hi

@DELL-Rey G: i did as you had replied but still same issues. as you told bios might be corrupt but how to update the bios?

updating bios from base version might to the trick. please advice.

hi

@Dell-ErmanO: USB Is Not functional F2, F11, Es c Nothing is working in fact USB Keyboard not recognized or not being initialized i suppose.

Hello @pcmentornew,

I think there is not much we can add from our side. Please, let us know if you have any other questions.

Regards.

if the system wont complete post, you wont be able to flash the bios by any means. It looks like you've done all that can be done to tshoot the issue. I suggest a mother board replacement at this point. 

#Iwork4Dell

I see this is an older topic, but I wanted to share my experience with a 14g server getting stuck at a similar spot. My server was stuck at the "Configuring Memory..... Done" for 8+ hours, and would not get past that on subsequent reboots. I went through a lot of the testing measure mentioned here. What I ended up finding was if I had memory in A1, it would get stuck, but if I moved the memory from A1 & B1 to A2& B2, then the system would start up fine. I then added memory to B2 and it still worked, so I was able to determine that A1 was the issue. 

So for someone else with this issue, it would be worth moving memory to different channels and testing. It will likely prove that it is indeed a hardware issue (A1 in my case) but at least you should be able to start the system and complete the bios updates and/or move important data.