PE 2950 - System Halted! PCIe Degraded Link Width Error

Question

Hello,

I have a Poweredge 2950 Server, I believe it is a Gen-II, that suddenly stopped working a few days ago. Basically everything was running fine then it froze, with the front panel complaining about a PCIe Error. After rebooting, near the end of the POST process it displays the following error:

PCIe Degraded Linked Width Error: Embedded I/O Bridge Device 18
Expected Link Width is x8
Actual Link Width is x4

System Halted

(screenshot)

From various Google searching I've found answers that range from replacing the PERC card to the motherboard, but haven't found many people that actually were successful in fixing the issue.

I have tried removing everything from the system that isn't necessary for successful POST (except the 2nd CPU, and the DRAC card), and the error is the same. The unit did not / does not have any expansion cards installed. I also tried two different sets of memory. I can't access the BIOS setup or any other menus.

The only thing that changes is, and it seems random to me, the "actual link width" changes varies between 4 and 1, on each power cycle, even tho no hardware changes are made between.

If anyone has any suggestions before I purchase a new Motherboard I would appreciate them. The warranty has unfortunately expired for this unit.

Thank you!

Daniel My · Answer

Hello

Device 18 does not appear to line up to any physical slot. I suspect you are going to need to replace the system board, but I would do these things first:

Double check that all unnecessary devices are disconnected. This includes USB.
Clear NVRAM via jumper and be sure to disconnect power when moving the jumper to also drain flea power
Reseat both risers
Reseat and swap power supplies if they are redundant
Test with known good risers if you have any available
Test with known good power supplies if possible

If there is no change the the system board would be the most likely component to replace.

Thanks

theflash1932 · Answer

Look at the expansion card RISERS - reseat them.  Consider replacing those if replacing the motherboard doesn't fix it (it usually does).  You might also try clearing the NVRAM using the jumpers on the motherboard after reseating them.

AJ3293 · Answer

Thanks for your suggestions, I tried re-seating the risers and clearing the NVram but it didn't fix it.

After going through the list tho, it seems the problem is the riser next to the power supplies. I swapped it with a PCIe riser from a working server and the unit completed post just fine. So it looks like all I need is a new riser then!

Thank you very much for you help guys!

PowerEdge Hardware General

PE 2950 - System Halted! PCIe Degraded Link Width Error

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