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Golfhat

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Golfhat

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January 10th, 2022 16:00

Precision 3620 powers on after 4/5 attempts

Hello folks,

I purchased a Dell 3620 fitted with a 512GB NVMe solid state drive, the intention was to install Linux Mint for use as my daily driver.

The installation needed to be installed using the whole disk as opposed to a dual boot system which I have done, requiring only a modest change to the BIOS SATA settings to AHCI instead of RAID the default.

Whilst the machine would boot fine into Mint if left overnight it would then fail to start, pushing the power button initiated the fans but then shut down. After much trouble shooting it appears the BIOS cannot find the NVMe drive so gives up and powers down, only problem here is that it also prevents accessing the Dell splash screen entering BIOS setup via F2 key.

The only way around this is to remove components such as NVMe drive, CMOS battery and leave it for 30 minutes, reinstall and after several attempt's it picks up the drive and off we go. In the last couple of days this has improved somewhat by powering on the machine for a minute using the power button located at the back, then after it stops powering on as normal, it still takes 4/5 attempts but does power on needing no further attention throughout the day.

Troubleshooting steps

Read multi posts on Dell forum around very similar issues following each resolution without success

Flashed BIOS to latest (Nov 21) using Dell tool which specifically mentions this issue and the flash update which should solve it.

Engaged with other Mint users via the forum who have experienced similar multi start problems with their own individual work arounds, some more technical than others.

Followed helpful steps and diagnostics here https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/precision-3630-workstation/prec_3630_service_manual/diagnostics?guid=guid-9620c9bf-652f-470e-b343-dc73f26a60c1&lang=en-us 

The end result I feel is using AHCI instead of RAID limits the BIOS seeing NVMe drive first thing, using SSD's instead appears to negate this problem but i would like to keep all of the features and storage associated with NVMe technology.

Thanks for any help

 

  • mazzinia_

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 01:00

    Do you have secure boot on, in the bios ?

    Have you considered a different linux distribution ?

  • Golfhat

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 02:00

    Thanks for the reply, yup secure boot is enabled - exact settings followed please see link below

    https://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/mint-20-1/ 

    The thought did cross my mind to try another distro Zorin, but I think being Ubuntu based also uses the same Ubiquity installer, another one under consideration is MX which is deb based, might be an option.

    Just tried starting up machine this morning, within a few hours it reverts back to not being able to detect NVMe drive.

    Under the Boot sequence there is only one option (Ubuntu), whereas before I used to see the NVMe drive, is this correct?

     

    Thanks

  • Golfhat

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 03:00

    Yup, in the beginning tried every combo of BIOS setting, the main problem I had each time is getting back in to reset or try another configuration, not sure what is happening overnight but it loses sight of the NVMe drive.

    When it was running Windows in RAID mode no such problem, this might be an indicator that NVMe on a non RAID setup (i.e AHCI) is a no go.

    Forgot to mention replaced CMOS battery as that looked good as a the culprit as did a poorly earthed extension lead.

    Reading various boards it appears to be a fairly common problem, Dell acknowledged the issue here https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000177843/precision-towers-3420-3620-system-hanging-at-the-dell-splash-screen-or-failing-to-post this is my exact model too, BIOS upgraded to Precision_Tower_3620_2.19.0

    What I may do is get another PC to experiment with, the hardware connections are getting a little fatigued taking in and out which may lead to poor connectivity in itself. I'll give SolydXK a go when I do.

    Cheers

  • mazzinia_

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 03:00

    Have you tried turning "off" secure boot ?

    "Under the Boot sequence there is only one option (Ubuntu), whereas before I used to see the NVMe drive, is this correct?"  >> not sure tbh.

    Try this one https://solydxk.com/

  • mazzinia_

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 03:00

    Well, the nvme in non raid mode being not ok is not factual. I boot from a nvme in the flexbay, and the setting is ahci.

    But windows ( on a 5/7820 ) requires an intel enterprise driver to see the nvme at all. I'm not sure if the same goes for the 3620

  • mazzinia_

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 04:00

    I will check next time I need to reboot ( by memory I think I saw both things in different times )

    The button on the back is a self test for the psu. It's not supposed to be used unless to test the psu, and keeping it pressed for too long "may" not be ideal ( got that impression from some older posts ).

    Are you still under warranty ? ( aka, did you try prosupport to see , if under warranty, if they have some notes for this kind of situation )

  • Golfhat

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 04:00

    ahh okay, when you go into your BIOS and look at boot sequence does it just show the OS, in my case Ubuntu or does it show the drive itself ?

    When I pop a DVD or USB in it will search for these adding them into the boot sequence, the fact the NVMe drive is not there is a concern.

    btw, the power switch at the back, any ideas what the function is as it seems to bypass the 'quick power on' eventually getting it to start.

  • Golfhat

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 09:00

    Thanks, Dell have contacted me when I registered but this machine is just out of warranty, that said not sure it would be covered as removed original OS.

    For the moment going to switch back to Win 10 using the Dell restore tool, will let you know if problem persists afterwards.

    PS, even replying here I get stuck lol, this captha thing is a pain

  • mazzinia_

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 09:00

    The captcha is random, sometimes I get it too ( no clue what's the trigger )

  • Tesla1856

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    Posted January 11th, 2022 20:00

    Sounds like a hardware problem. 

    I would troubleshoot in this order.

    - Power Switch
    - Power Supply (or harness/cabling)
    - Motherboard (or something on it).

    I had a little machine that was working fine. Started doing this after adding some extra ram dimms. Troubleshooting revealed the power-supply had gone weak, and those extra DIMMs used just a bit too much power (to always start and Post).

    Dell Rockstar

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