5+ SSD failures on new OptiPlex 3000 series

3000 is wide gulf of years,  why not just first tell what you have there like 3020MT (mini tower) or what case size.

2012 to 2019 made, surely you can better  on models.

141 did not lie to you ,HDD is bad, (or not plugged in) 141 means PnP can not see the drive,(non detected)

what do you expect for old PCs,.  magic, parts that last over 10 years?  they do not, 

RTC coin cell files first then HDD, 2nd, (even the reverse  is so common) every refurb I bought had this bad.!

the COIN cell below 2.9vdc (metered) is bad,  if you are refurb house replace the coin on all and not have very angry customers, ok.  ?  if your  PC will not boot or self boot or do any crazy thing?  RTC bad,

that is because NVRAM lost power then configs are totally random, and for sure crazy, effects..

is this clear, the spec on the coin is 5-7years, with AC power , no AC is less (stored PCs in boxes)

next is HDD death seen as  smart test fail first most times. (run ePSA DIAG)

the PC power ON, hammer F12 at splash , run ePA diagnostics, (after a new RTC coin cell ,ok?)

if the HDD passes ePSA diag , then it is ok,   so then....

turn off PXE in BIOS,  for sure. turn on all SATA ports in BIOS, turn on SATA boot check boxes in BIOS.

make boot drive first in BOOT ORDER helps. (no CD in PC no usb boot devices, now)

the service manual states for 141 (no hard drive detected) means that the HDD is not talking at all and doing

its Plug and play ID messages, means HDD is dead or not spinning at all (listen at case hear it spin?) 

no spin means dead HDD. it must be heard to spin, or it can not ID itself to BIOS, ever.

refurb guys need to learn this. (massive data behind curve of life) a fact of life to deal with , put in SSD next.

I have 2 clients who are also getting these identical error messages. I'd like to share with you some details to see if we can find any correlation:

2 separate clients: 6 out of 10 systems have shut down at least once (some 3-4 times), with this error message and alert noises. After powering off/on, they come back up fine.

"Critical Error Message. Version: Build 4400.07 UEFI ROM. Error Code: 2000-0141. Hard Drive - No Hard Drive detected."

Optiplex 3070 Small Form Factor with SSD. 5 of the failing systems have the same manufacture date, 01/02/2020. The other is slightly older, 10/27/2019.

The only software that I've installed on these systems across locations is Webroot Antivirus and Atera system management software. Do you use either of these?

I've updated all drivers and BIOS using Dell Support Assist and Command Update. This does not lessen the issues.

Dell sent replacement hard drives for one client (who had 4 of the computers) but we've only replaced one so far. We've asked Dell to test the hard drive we did replace to see if it is actually bad, but they say they'll just recycle it and will not test it. The errors are too sporadic to know yet if replacing the one will help.

Dell diagnostics show NO issues. 

I'm open to suggestions.

what does detected mean?> lets do that first?

it means when you turn the PC on, using the power button, do not use AC power cable switches ever..

use the front panel button dell gives you. Dont turn PCs on using the wrong way. OK???????

the PC turns on the correct way via BUTTON , front of my 3020MT top left, (1 example)

then The PC powers up fully PSU goes  full active power. (all DC rails are now HOT)

the BIOS goes active (hard bootstap) and the BIOS sends the HDD command power up to the HDD(or ssd)

the BIOS then scans the HDD for the PnP identification data from the drive, any and all drives in fact..

if the boot drives does not report its ID status,  the BIOS F1 fails and tells you NOT DETECTED.

It means the drive is dead, or (out to lunch now) this must never happen.  but do  read on....

if the HDD/SDD fails in 2 PCs the drive is bad. (very hard to do if PC set to UEFI mode, infact impossible unless erased first)

one more thing,  if you have a bad AC WALL power, in your unstated country this can cause the HDD or PSU

or many things in the PC to latch up,(self preservation mode, vast chips do that,  and is a FEATURE !)

Power surges. and.

lightning hits near by but not too close as vast things blow up. near hits. we call them and PC latches up..

on purpose. (by DESIGN)

The best way to solve that is use a UPS,  so the power  to the PC is clean all time times, I'm using one now.

that is about allways  from Sunday, good luck, 

Many business in USA run centralized UPS, or groups. do so and win. (like 911 call centers do, )

OP what PC,  tell the exact full name of PC,  and size.

and I'm sure are old as you are refurb seller right? 

and tell what you do to refurb then next. 

• dust off
• new coin cell battery. RTC.
• new SSD?

what?

hyjacking OP  (out the gate ,wow)

 3070 Small Form Factor (SFF) with SSD. unknown.

what SSD is it maker and model.."? 

BIOS   Version: 1.2.1 ? 26 Nov 2019?

this is a IN WARRANTY PC right?  OP never told what PC  he has nor of in warranty.

the problem to me seems to be one of these. (in no order)

1. bad PSU , PSU failing and causing SDD Plug  and play to  fail (PSU noise or PSU rails failing)
2. bad SSD (some can be firmware upgraded, take to the maker ? of the drive,? Corsair or what it is?
3. BIOS bugs, if BIOS can not find the drive, BIOS is bad, or the SSD PnP is now dead.
4. Malware/Virus infected SSD.? that corrupted boot files?> (reload OS?) 141 is not this, 141 is drive not talking PnP on command.. from BIOS, 141 is HDD does not respond to any commands.(from BIOS)

His message specifies they were new systems after October 2019 and use SSD. Coin cell shouldn't be an issue, 

I will say that my client with 5 of these failures requested replacement computers, but Dell refused.

I feel bad that he is having to manage the bill for all of my time troubleshooting issues on brand new computers, and on the systems that we are testing drive replacement, having to pay for all of that time.

I welcome suggestions. I have turned off PXE boot as @savvy2 suggested, though I don't think this will have an effect since the systems are booting fine and then going down mid-use.

Yes, BIOS is 1.2.1.

Hard drive is the one installed by Dell, BC501 NVMe SK Hynix 256GB

Small Form Factor PC

No strange noises. PC will work fine for days or weeks, and then crashes with error in screenshot (earlier post), and then we can simply power off/on. It never repeats when we try to power it back on. No events in the event logs indicate a common thread that I see. 

Try updating the BIOS or re-Installing the BIOS.Sometimes if you don t update the bios the pc starts randomly having problems.Mine did had problems and when i updated the BIOS everything got a lot better.Do it carefully because if you unplug the power cord you can say bye bye to the computer

BIOS has been updated on every system. It has not resolved the issue. FWIW, Dell chat advised that I should talk to their "software team," and gave me a phone number to call. On calling that number I was told that "software support is a paid service, and is not included with my warranty."

Hard drives at client that had most of the 'failures' used BC511. The one I'm at right now uses BC501. Both are NVMe SK hynix.

Working with Dell Support, but not making much new progress.

@CallBrady  Really bad form hijacking someone's else post !  It's like jumping in line ahead of someone who is first in line. HORRIBLE.

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@MSP2020   You've sold 47 of these 3000 series since October 2019?  What service do you offer your clients? Which specific model?

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Hello Everyone,

Glad this thread is getting traction. I want to clarify everything:

1. 37 of the units are small form factor, i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD
2. 10 of the units are micro form factor, i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD
3. They are all the 3070 models.
4. All computers have 3 year pro support warranty
5. All computers have the same HYNIX SSD brand
6. We are a full service managed IT provider, and with Windows 7 expiring, we sold a lot of Optiplex systems.
7. All systems are FULLY PATCHED on Windows, BIOS, and dell drivers and firwware

Dell is working with us and has agreed to replace the motherboards and drives on these machines. Internally we are debating right now if we are going to let them do this, or just purchase Samsung PRO 256GB SSDs for each machine and replace it out of pocket so our customers are taken care of.

I have confirmed all drives are the same exact model: BC511 NVMe SK hynix 256GB

@CallBrady we also use Webroot Antivirus.... I am trying to think of a scenario where Webroot malfunctions and causes the PC to reboot.. ok lets say that does happen, why would PC boot into diagnostic mode and flash a hard drive not detected?

Not sure my brain can connect Webroot to the PC booting into diagnostic mode, saying no hard drive detected, and then a power cycle of the machine will make it boot fine without issue.