Z440 - Can you help decoding the error code

[Jammer_sr]

Hi, 

I've recently purchased a Z440 to use it as NAS and subsequently adding hardware upgrades mostly HDDs, ssd and nvme and related peripherals to attach it.

Yesterday, while after adding an extender molec to sata ports, I started getting white light error. Few times it was starting and not, then gradually just keep giving beeps everytime I tried. I tried removing all peripherals like RAM, GPU, etc but of no use. 

I took a video of the beeps which you can find in the link below. Hosted on Dailymotion.

Z440 Beep sound 

Can you help to identify what might be the issue? 

[SDH]

Time to download the Z440 Service guide from h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04823811.pdf

In there you'll find the flash and beep codes. What you are seeing is not a conventional error code. In my experience that is an electrical failure event. Check to see what power supply you currently have. There are two: 525W 85% Efficient Power Supply or 700W 90% Efficient Power Supply. Sounds like you were loading up your wattage and perhaps blew something, hopefully in the power supply. I'd only run the 700W one, and note there are different revisions (later = better generally). Two part numbers to search eBay for the same part, both highlighted:

I've replaced HP power supplies with recycled ones and never have had one of those go bad. Someday it will happen, but not yet over 15 years of fixing and upgrading. I'd bet a quarter it is a failed power supply, and I'd get one coming. At the low cost on eBay you should keep a spare handy regardless given your stated intent for this workstation. Even if you have to replace the motherboard that is quite inexpensive, and odds are you'd get one licensed for W10/W11. Even if it was licensed instead for Linux the cost for a W10Pro/W11Pro license has come way down for savvy buyers.

[Jammer_sr]

Hi SDH,

Thanks for the reply.

My PSU is 700w.

Also, it was having E5-1620 v4, I purchased E5-2690 v4 and have been running it for the last 7-10 days. 

I thought that the issue would be with the Molex to SATA extender, as I find it to be of inferior quality. But, even after removing it, there was no change.

I currently have 1x1TB HDD (NAS HDD yet to get delivered) as temporary setup, 2x128gb SSD and 1 512gb NVME connected via Ugreen adapter. So, high power chances are less. 

Let me give the sequence in which it happened. I got the extender delivered. Z440 was running fine. HDDs yet to come. However, to test whether the extender is fine and working, I thought to install it.

I connected two SSD through extender and HDD via original source. I switch on, it started giving error. 

I removed the SSD, checked again. It started.

I connected the SSD again, and the issue was again there. I noticed that one of the SATA connector wires (the original HP one), in the upper layer, has come out, and it might be an issue. So, I replaced it with another SATA wire. However, afterwards still Z440 was starting then not starting randomly without a pattern. Tried with RAM and different parts connecting and disconnecting. Could not find the culprit. 

I was not happy with the Molex extender. So, removed that too. 

Finally, I just connected all the parts which was before the whole disruption to look at it later and gave a final check. It booted. I checked the TrueNAS dashboard, I find the temperature to be around 40 for all cores which I felt slightly high and aound 9 % CPU load. These are not major. But, higher than usual metrics as not much is there on it. 

Anyways, there was an update on TrueNAS which required boot. It went for boot. Afterwards, yet to get it booted without error.

During this, even without RAM and other parts, including the GPU, the red beep was not happening; this white blinking was only happening. In initial diagnostic, when I removed all RAM, it directly went to red beep. But, not anymore.

[SDH]

Sounds like something got shorted. Least cost is another 700W power supply and they are quick and easy to swap in.

If that does not fix things then you've got a spare good power supply available. Next step for me would be a motherboard transplant. Cost is about 50.00 and 1-1.5 hours of time. As I said, there is nothing about the failure that sounds standard. I've chased odd things like this over the years and have found the sequence above to be a good investment of time and money.

If we are lucky DGroves who has chased much oddness over the years will weigh in, and later you'll tell us all the solution. Don't give up... those Z440 workstations are excellent if you don't short them out. 🙂