Dell PowerEdge R620 - Unable to get CPU2 to work

Question

Hello everyone,

I've owned a PowerEdge R620 for a few years now, and it worked perfectly until recently.

I decided to upgrade the CPU on this server. I had two Xeon E5-2620, which I decided to replace with two Xeon E5-2680 v2.
The rest of the configuration hasn't changed. When I start the server, it gets stuck on "Configuring Memory."

So I suspected a CPU issue. I swapped the two CPUs, but the problem persists.

I removed CPU2, and it booted normally. I then put the spare CPU in CPU1, and it booted normally as well.

The server won't boot when CPU2 is installed, and I can't figure out why.

I tried putting my two old CPUs back in, and they booted.
The two CPUs I bought are indeed compatible with this server; it's stated in the Technical Guide.

The BIOS is version 2.9.0 (latest version).

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

I should mention that the iDRAC is accessible, and when two CPUs are installed, each with 4x8GB of RAM, I only see CPU1 and 32GB of RAM in the Web UI.

Dell-Martin S · Answer

Hi,This points much more to a motherboard/socket issue on CPU2 than to an unsupported Xeon. The R620 supports dual CPUs, and Dell documents that the system’s memory controller is per-processor, so if CPU2 or its socket has a fault, the B-side DIMMs will not initialize and POST can hang at 'Configuring Memory.'    Because the machine boots with either CPU installed in CPU1, both processors are probably alive. The fact that it fails only when a CPU is installed in socket 2 strongly suggests a bad CPU2 socket, bent pin, poor contact, or a motherboard fault in the CPU2 power/reset/memory path. - Inspect socket 2 very carefully for bent or missing pins, contamination, or uneven heatsink mounting pressure. - Reseat CPU2 and its heatsink, and try the known-good CPU in socket 2 by itself with only the minimum boot parts installed. - Boot with the minimum configuration: one PSU, motherboard, risers, CPU1, and one DIMM in A1; then add CPU2 only after confirming that baseline is stable. - If CPU1 works in socket 2 is still failing, the motherboard/CPU2 socket assembly is the likely fault, not the E5-2680 v2 compatibility.

DELL-Joey C · Answer

Hi,

You did mention 4 memory modules each CPU, can you verify the modules are installed in A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, B3 and B4.

Have you also tried 2 CPU configuration with single memory module? A1 and B1. Can you confirm that iDRAC/Lifecycle firmware also been updated.

Kowzey · Answer

@DELL-Joey C​ Hi,Yes the memory modules are in A1 B1 A2 B2 A3 B3 and A4 B4I also tried with only one memory modules per CPU (A1 and B1) and the server does not start.And yes iDRAC is updated at the latest version 2.65.65.65Thanks

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Dell PowerEdge R620 - Unable to get CPU2 to work

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