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HP Recommended
Z620
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

With reference to locked thread Solved: Crisis Recovery Jumper Z620 Z420 Z820 Revealed - HP Support Community - 6658619

My Z620 failed whilst in use yesterday.

Sequence leading up to the failure was...
1.  Booted as normal
2.  Windows update happened (as its a little after patch Tuesday)

3.  Reboot error  - LED flash red 3 times (which I believe may indicate a CPU issue)  * Mine has 2x physical CPUs
4.  Turned it off/on - Windows started normally and no CPU issues
5.  After maybe 30/40 minutes of use, it shut off (as if power removed)
6.  Will not complete post.  No video output.  Fans ramp up to max after approx 60 seconds.
7.  Turn it off / drain power / remove drives and internal cards leaving only the GPU - same.
8.  Google led me to the link below for crisis recovery
9.  Move the crisis jumper to pin 1-2 (was 2-3)

10.  Format USB and copy bin file - insert to front USB2 and power up.

11.  Fans ramp up after 60 seconds or so and the USB activity doesn't happen as per step 5.

Could I be unlucky with the USB stick?  I've got an 8Gb physical on which I created a 256mb FAT partition with only the bin file present?  I've tried a few times, each time draining the power by removing the cord and pressing the power button.

I assume they'd be nothing in a Windows update that could brick a Z620?


  1. In the ZX20 workstations there is a motherboard header, E15, incompletely documented in the Technical and service manual, which can be used to force load of a BIOS .bin file from a USB drive into the motherboard. The position of this 3-pin jumper is partially documented in the technical manual, but the position for the Z420/Z620 virtually identical motherboards is the same as its position on the Z820 motherboard.  The Z220 SFF and CMT motherboards have two different positions, which are documented in the manual.  There is a big difference between a restart and a cold boot (from power fully off).  You must follow the instructions below exactly:
  2. Power off the workstation and unplug the power cord.
  3. CORRECTED:  Change the jumper position from bridging pins 2-3 (the default condition) to bridging pins 1-2 (the Crisis Recovery position). In the Z420/Z620.  The E15 motherboard header is between the bottom PCI white connector and the next up PCIe black connector.  Pin 1 is the far left (towards the workstation's backplane).  Remember that the header position and pins to jump are different for the Z820.
  4. Have a non-NTFS formatted small USB2 drive with the target BIOS .bin file on it, at the top level of the drive, and plug that in to the TOP FRONT USB2 port of the workstation. You could also use a rear USB2 port.  Do not use a USB3 port.  For the current 4/18 BIOS for the Z420/Z620 version 1 and 2 workstations the BIOS is 3.92, and the .bin file you would have on the thumb drive should be named J61_0392.bin.  This can be harvested from the BIOS SoftPaq by auto-unpacking it and going into the SWSetup folder that creates on the root level of C drive, and then going into the source SP84163 folder that is created in SWSetup, and go into the DOS folder that is in there, and copy out that .bin file.  You can turn off hiding of extensions of known file type in the Folder view tab control panel to make this easier to find (I keep that setting unchecked always).
  5. Plug in power cord, power up, and wait.... you should see it blink the USB stick on, and then 7 red lights/beeps from the workstation. NOW wait.... the workstation will auto-reboot, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!
  6. It will restart and you will get blinking USB Stick, and red lights flashing (but this time 

    and then a few seconds later the workstation's lights will go blue and the BIOS will come on. DONT TOUCH YET!

  7. The workstation will restart again, and the BIOS screen will start, NOW PULL THE USB STICK OUT, and you will see BIOS firmware flash itself.
  8. The workstation will now auto-restart, and flash 9 times and then fully auto-shut itself off.
  9. Unplug the power cord, and don’t forget to set the recovery jumper back to its default position (bridging pins 2-3).  That is, shift it back to the far right on the pins, where you found it before starting the process.
  10. Plug back in the power cord, power up, and restore any settings you had in the BIOS, and BIOS should be back to working properly.
4 REPLIES 4
HP Recommended

Sounds more like a component failure...

 

If it is a motherboard component failure then you're somewhat lucky because you can buy a used version 2 motherboard off eBay for reasonable cost and all the rest of your parts will be fine.

 

I'd start with reading the bottom paragraph first.  Then:

1.  Remove all memory sticks and randomly pick out only one stick for slot 1, and try to boot with that.  If no go randomly pick out another stick and try that in slot one.  If neither worked then it is not your memory.  I'd put that all back in.  Clean the contacts with high % isopropyl alcohol while you have them out.. use damp but not dripping cotton cloth.

2.  Could be a processor failure.  I'd remove the processor from socket 1 and leave the one currently in socket 0 and try booting with that.  If no go then replace the processor from socket 0 with the one that was in socket 1.  If no go then the issue is likely your motherboard.  The original thermal paste can be re-used for the quick boot test.  You'll need to do a good clean of the processor top and heatsink bottom and put on new thermal paste when you do the final re-install.  I like Noctua NT-H1 specifically, not NT-H2 which does not spread as well.

3.  If you don't know if you have a v1 or v2 motherboard take a pic of the central bar code label on your motherboard and post it here... I can tell you what type motherboard you have from that.

4.  The same method can be used to ensure you buy a v2 motherboard from eBay.  Even with that info you generally won't know if a used motherboard is "branded" for Windows or Linux.  Hopefully you have your original W7 install discs from HP and can use them for clean install onto a "stunt" SSD.  Keep your original drive separate.  If the motherboard is Windows branded you can use those HP install optical discs and thereafter upgrade to W10Pro64 (assuming you are on W10Pro64 now).  That will register your new used motherboard as W10Pro64 enabled on the MS W10 registration servers and then when you put back in your original drive all should be well.

 

There always is the possibility that it is simply a power supply that went bad... I personally keep one spare available from eBay for each type of HP workstation we use for a quick replacement to check for that.  It is rare that could cause your symptoms but it can happen and that attempt is a quick and cheap way to troubleshoot for that issue.  You might want to order one today for that purpose if time is an issue, and to have a backup handy.

HP Recommended

Thanks for the reply

I've tried removing the 2nd CPU card on the assumption it might help reveal a weakened PSU, or if the 2nd CPU had failed, or RAM on the riser was somehow involved, more by 50:50 luck looking for a change in start-up behaviour.  It only took a moment to try so worth a punt.

In all my experience with other PCs, bad RAM still gets a POST or motherboard beeping sounds so I'm currently putting RAM down the pecking order of issues but not eliminating it.  Do you think the HP would beep with bad RAM?

I've never had a CPU go bad but there is always a 1st time.  I'll find some paste and consider switching the CPU riser processor to the main board in case that makes a difference.  I'll reduce the RAM at the same time.

With the case opened, I'm seeing the blue LED top right.  From memory of the write ups I've read, that suggests the BIOS is corrupt.  I'd rather complete the exploration of a BIOS restoration before I move on to buying another motherboard.

I believe I've a v2 board as I've got E5-2630v2 CPUs.  Motherboards are on eBay for £150 to £200.

Is there a published method to test the PSU?

HP Recommended

You're across the pond... changes things a bit for motherboard costs...

 

Yes on the usual beep even if a stick is bad, but once you go down the component failure rabbit hole all bets are off.

 

Risers... these tend to increase your risks overall, and I'd disengage them.  Get back to basics.

 

Power supply failures... usually the "BIST test" works but not always.  For example, BIST might pass but a rail voltage may have drifted too low.  Unlikely, but I've seen it.  Yes, agree you have a v2 based on your original processors from the factory.

 

I edited my original post a bit... worth a quick re-look.

HP Recommended

The PSU passes the BIST test.

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