DELL R910 - E1234 Memory Riser G Power Failure

Question

Hi,

We have a DELL R910 server (Service Tag:<ADMIN NOTE: Service tag removed per privacy policy>) and have read some articles here about the problem "E1234 Memory Riser Power Failure" . We have done some of the suggested troubleshooting. On our system, here's what we've done so far:

1. Reseat the Memory Riser G and its DIMMs. Same problem encountered.

2, Cleaned the Slot and contacts of the riser for any dusts or dirt. Same problem encountered.

3. Swapped Memory Riser from C with that of from G slot. Same problem encountered (the problem is still on Memory Riser G slot)

4. Removed the Memory Riser from slot G so there's no Memory Riser installed on slot G. Same problem encountered (the problem is still on Memory Riser G slot)

So it seems that slot G on the System board unit have a problem. I haven't replaced the system board unit yet (will be waiting for replacement). Is there any other way to make this server boot up as we need this one badly. Can we just disable slot G and place the Memory Riser on the other slot allocated to that CPU? (Note: we have 4 CPUs, so we have 2 slots of Memory Risers per CPU)

Regards,

Paolo

DELL-Chris H · Accepted Answer

Paw0702,

Did the error happen to start during a power up or while it was running normally? If it did it on power up then we can try the following procedure to clear the issue.

1. Power off the system if it is not already powered off

2. Remove AC cord, wait for standby voltage to dissipate (10-20 secs or no LEDs visible and no LCD illumination)

3. Remove the G memory riser identified by the E1234

4. Check the memory riser for any damaged components. Also, make sure the heat sink clip is installed correctly. Then leave the riser out of the system until step 10)

5. Install a jumper on pins 5-6 of the jumper block labeled “J_DBGCPLD1” which is located near the iSCSI key connector (which looks like a phone jack) as seen below. There isn’t a jumper installed on this block from the factory, so you will need to borrow one from the NVRAM_CLR/PASS_EN block or get it externally.

7. Apply AC. Wait ~45 seconds to a minute for the iDRAC to be initialized. The front LCD will flicker momentarily and you can see the LCD interactive when it is initialized. The power fault message will be cleared from the LCD message queue.

8. Remove AC, wait for standby voltage to dissipate (10-20 secs or no LEDs visible and no LCD illumination)

9. Remove the jumper (if you borrowed from the NVRAM_CLR/PASS_EN block, make sure it is replaced in the proper position)

10 . Reinstall memory riser

11. Apply AC

12. Power up the system

Let me know if that resolves the issue.

Paw0702 · Answer

Hi Chris, Yes, the error happens to start during power up.  Thank you very much for the assistance as this procedure fixed our server.  We were able to boot up as normal! Regards, Paolo

imd.dlh · Answer

Hi Chrish, Thanks for the solution. Could you please explain what we did by connecting the jumpers to the pin 5-6. Thanks imd.dlh

DELL-Chris H · Answer

It clears the NVRam  (Non-Volatile Memory) on the motherboard. Essentially almost like a hard reset.

Caleb Meadows · Answer

Thank you Chris! I ran into this issue tonight during an upgrade and your fix saved my maintenance window. Caleb Meadows

Jarbson Santana · Answer

I had a similar case in Raiser A, it was solved without problems with this solution.Thanks

DELL-Joey C · Answer

Hi,   The R910 J_DBGCPLD1 jumper block location would be here:     This is only available for PowerEdge R910.

lexneri · Answer

Hello, I cant locate the J_DBGCPLD1 on my moho and i also cant view the picture given. Can anyone please help me?

YJjoe · Answer

You solve what appears to me unsolvable, thanks! (I meant this reply for Dell's dev)

terrencechew · Answer

Hi Chris,

I am having the similar issue , with the server cannot turn on. My issue is Riser B instead.

What should i do to reset this issue.

the error message is : E1234 Memory Riser B power failure. Reseat riser and DIMMs

Appreciate your your advise

Terrence Chew

DELL-Chris H · Answer

Terrencechew,

I would start with reseating the riser B and the dimms installed on it, as advised. If that doesn't resolve it then try taking the server to MInimum to Post configuration, which is removing everything but the following;

Two Processors to POST and boot to DOS or OS (can use one installed, but system emits an error message for improper CPU configuration and will not hand off to boot)
Two DDR3 RDIMMs in Slots 1 and 2 of Memory Riser_A
I/O riser installed
One power supply
2.5" SAS backplane (4-drive or 16-drive) installed and connected to system board
Control panel connected to system board
Power Distribution Board connected to the power supply and system board

If the server powers like that then restore the hardware individually and see what retriggers the error.

To troubleshoot the dimms, you can swap all the dimms from one riser to the other, and see if error then jumps to other riser.

If the error doesn't clear, even when riser is removed, then it may be the slot the riser connects to.

Let me know what you see.

evansste · Answer

I suggest being very careful with the notion of putting a jumper on J_DBGCPLD1. I tried this, and have bricked my entire system. Doing this has caused my front panel display to stop working. Now, I get no status messages, or anything. When I plug in the server, the panel display remains blank and completely dark.

Based on some of the positive responses from others, this may seem to work. However, I just wanted to give this warning since, for me, jumping J_DBGCPLD1 has caused my system to provide no information whatsoever. It has turned my server into a paperweight.

PowerEdge Hardware General

DELL R910 - E1234 Memory Riser G Power Failure

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