Question HP Z420 Workstation with Bad SATA controller?

[Shawn]

I've got an old HP z420 workstation which is plenty fast enough for what I use it for: a plex and file server that I also use as my primary desktop. I've got 4 HDDs and 1 SATA SSD. For the last few years I've been fighting with cryptic errors in the event log and a computer that sometimes just refuses to wake from sleep. The errors are always vague but they always mention some sort of disk error and not always the same drive. They seem to be completely random as well. Sometimes I'll go a week without rebooting and no issues, other times I'll get crashes and freezes multiple times a day. Usually what happens is the computer will refuse to wake from sleep and/or windows acts like a SATA cable has been unplugged, but sometimes I do get a BSOD. I think the fact that the affected drive changes indicates it's not the SATA cables.

I'm pretty sure it's the sata controller, right? Which would indicate the need for a new motherboard. Anyone know if a better board would fit my Z420 case, without needing to replace the CPU and ECC DDR3 ram?

Also, would something like this work instead of replacing the motherboard?

 

[Steltek]

As long as you have a free PCIe slot, you could give it a try.

Another option would be to get a complete compatible refurb Z420 motherboard on eBay for ~$50 (make sure the one you get matches your existing motherboard part number, or at least has the same CPU socket).

However, if you are running non-retail Windows (or other software tied to the motherboard) do keep in mind you could end up with software activation issues.

 

[aigomorla]

I'm pretty sure it's the sata controller, right? Which would indicate the need for a new motherboard. Anyone know if a better board would fit my Z420 case, without needing to replace the CPU and ECC DDR3 ram?

HP uses almost EVERYTHING proprietary.
This is one reason why i avoid HP enterprise like a plague.
They are really worse then Dell when it comes to aftermarket accessories, the best being Supermicro.
Meaning you need to replace the board with another HP board or you may have problems with your PSU, or front IO.

SATA controller issues on the z420 which i am assuming its the E5 Xeons can also be traced to the CPU.
Its really tough to debug IMO.

Do you have a free PCI-E Slot? (although again, HP firmware / bios may block it.... but if you have some money to burn, having a dedicated SAS controller is something nice to have as a spare.)

Maybe you can try to put in a cheap SAS controller, and run the system on it.... you need some knowledge on how to set one up tho.

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with 8087 to sata breakout cables would work.
These guys run a bit hot, so you may want to put it near a fan, or at least buy a slot blower.



Or you can try to use a HBA but those are more expensive ironically, because they are all being snatched up by freenas people.

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Just make sure you get the slot right, meaning its not a low profile version.

However again, at the prices shown, i would probably just get a new board, so i could rule out if its the board or CPU.

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at the very least, you would have a spare board.

 

[Steltek]

I wonder if he could try a cheap (~$30) refurbed Dell PERC H210 or H310 SAS/SATA card? Isn't the H310 an OEM'd LSI 9211-8i? I very dimly seem to recall reading instructions somewhere about how it was possible to cross-flash the H310s with the LSI 9211 firmware (not that he'd probably want to do that as it is probably a significant amount of work).

Of course, a guaranteed refurb motherboard for $50-$60 would be the most prudent route.

 

[Shawn]

Wait, so it could be caused by the CPU? It is a Xeon E5-1650.

 

[aigomorla]

Wait, so it could be caused by the CPU? It is a Xeon E5-1650.

yes...

because all the pci-e lanes come from the cpu, and hence the sata ports as well.
This is why it can be difficult to diagnose.

It could be in these order.
1. The drive itself. (however you said its not isolated to one drive)
2. The sata cable. (again its not isolated to one drive)
3. The physical sata port.
4. The Sata Controller

4. can be isolated on both the motherboard and cpu.

 

[Shawn]

Interesting.... so if it's a bad CPU could I stress it with something like Prime95 and cause the issue, or would this be an independent problem?

I'm probably going to buy a new board but there are 2 versions of this board. The one I have now supports the Xeon v2 CPUs, while the cheaper ones on ebay don't specify which board I may be getting. There was one that was $65 that said it was a version 2 board.

 

[Steltek]

You can probably search here to determine the HP part number for your system board for your particular machine. I'd search by the seven digit model number for your particular system (there are a LOT of different Z420 models).

Once you have the part number, the eBay seller should be able to verify if they are selling you the correct system board via PM before you purchase. If they can't, you don't want to be buying it from that seller.

 

[Shmee]

Sounds most likely to be a board issue. The good news is if it is not, used Xeons are pretty cheap as well.