Hi @flash_dell,

There are no other hardware installed, just a SATA SSD and the LAN cable connected to the mainboard NIC port or a PCIe NIC card?

Have you tried another known good power cable?

Try removing the drive and the network cable, boot into BIOS and press the power button to shut it down. 

Have you tried checking the cables from the power supply to the mainboard? Try reseating them. 

I'm unsure if this will affect your OS/Data, have you tried resetting the BIOS to default?

Hi @DELL-Joey C 

thank you for your reply,

There are no other hardware installed, just a SATA SSD and the LAN cable connected to the mainboard NIC port or a PCIe NIC card?

> The SATA SSD is for the OS, I have later tried with an additional SATA HDD for data. I have also tried with disconnected LAN cable, so only the power cable was attached, nothing else. - same result - only onboard NIC, no plugin LAN card from the start.

Have you tried another known good power cable?

> I will try

Try removing the drive and the network cable, boot into BIOS and press the power button to shut it down.

> I will try

Have you tried checking the cables from the power supply to the mainboard? Try reseating them.

> I will try

I'm unsure if this will affect your OS/Data, have you tried resetting the BIOS to default?

> I have done that, same result

I forgot to mention:

The power cable is connected to a power meter, which is plugged into the walls power plug. I will remove the power meter.

Hi @flash_dell,

Thanks for the feedback. Let us know the outcome after the troubleshooting.

T20 is relatively a simple server configuration. Try turning on n off the server without the hard drive (OS). If you have already done BIOS reset, then we'll skip BIOS Power configuration. 

Hi @DELL-Joey C 

the T20 stays shut off after I have removed the power cable; BIOS AC Power loss is set to stay off.

It only does not stay off / will auto start after a shutdown after booting into TrueNAS.

Have you tried another known good power cable?

> no luck

Have you tried checking the cables from the power supply to the mainboard? Try reseating them.

> no luck

Hi @flash_dell,

Do try without connecting to the hard drive. If this step doesn't rectify the root cause, I'm afraid you may have to do hardware replacement, starting with the power supply. 

Hi @DELL-Joey C 

I got it to work !

Thank you for hinting into the right directions.

extensive log:

removed 1 stick of 3rd party RAM (8)

only the 4 GByte Dell ECC memory is connected

unplug all 4 SATA cables from mainboard

connect USB Keyboard and Mouse via USB Switch on backside usb port

connect Display Port onboard

chassis case open

unplug from mainboard the yello-black colored SATA power cable

BIOS - press Power button - stays shut off / down, no auto start

---

add 1 stick of 3rd party RAM (8)

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

plug in to mainboard the yello-black colored SATA power cable

plug in to SATA 2 the OS SSD + power

all other SATA mainboard ports are unplugged

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

close chassis case
plug in onboard nic cable

disconnect usb
disconnect Display Port

plug in to SATA 1 (black connector mainboard) the data HDD + HDD power 7 cable

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart
---

open chassis case

power button

(keep plug in to SATA 1 the data HDD + HDD power 7 cable)

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

---

unplug both SATA 1 the data HDD + HDD power 7 cable

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

---

unplug LAN cable - only power cable is plugged in + SATA SSD OS

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

---

unplug from mainboard the yello-black colored SATA power cable

unplug SATA 2 cable - all 4 SATA cables from mainboard are unplugged

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

plug in to mainboard the yello-black colored SATA power cable

plug in to SATA 2 the OS SSD + power

all other SATA mainboard ports are unplugged

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

----

connect Display Port onboard

no LAN cable

connect USB Keyboard and Mouse via USB Switch on backside usb port

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

---

(sleep button on keyboard does kind of suspend, cpu and chassis fan keep on running)

enter BIOS via F2 - Power button

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

unplug from mainboard the yello-black colored SATA power cable

unplug SATA 2 cable - all 4 SATA cables from mainboard are unplugged

unplug and plug in P1 white power supply connector

power button to start and shutdown

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

plug in to mainboard the yello-black colored SATA power cable

plug in to SATA 2 the OS SSD + power - switch from P4 to P5

all other SATA mainboard ports are unplugged

case chassis still open

put SATA SSD (OS) on non metallic surface

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

put SATA SSD (OS) on metallic surface

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

---

put SATA SSD (OS) on non metallic surface

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

BIOS - power down ok

---

exchange SATA cable for SSD (OS)

switch to SATA 0 - blue mainboard connector

Display Port and USB are still attached, no LAN cable

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

power up the system via power button

fail - systems is shutdown, does auto restart

pattern - after switching the SATA mainboard port, system does stay shut down once; after manual start > fail

----

connect LAN cable

---

BIOS - power down ok

---

BIOS reset

restart

BIOS - SATA > AHCI

restart

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

--

close chassis case

disconnect usb
disconnect Display Port

LAN cable still attached

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

Wake on lan fail

---

switch to another SATA cable

plug in to SATA 1 (black connector mainboard) the data HDD + HDD power 6 cable

success - systems is shutdown, no auto restart

---

BIOS

Power Man > WoL > On LAN Only

WoL - ok

---

some minor BIOS tweaks

disable COM port...

Hi @DELL-Joey C 

the auto start problem happened again.

I have change nothing from the moment it worked.

Even disconnecting the LAN cable doesn't improve the situation (WoL).

Back to square 1...

Flash,

That is indeed odd. What I would recommend is to make sure the server is up to date on BIOS, iDrac, Perc and NIC, then for testing purposes I would take the server to its minimum to post configuration to see if it still occurs. If it doesn't then we know one of the removed devices is causing the issue. 

Minimum to post for the T20 is removing everything from the server, both internally and externally, but the following

• System Board
• CPU with heat sink (minimum for troubleshooting)
• Single DIMM configuration with DIMM in socket A1
• Control Panel with cable (to power system on)
• Power Supply Unit

Now if it doesn't do the restart I would individually reinstall the removed devices and then retest, until something causes the issue to reappear, identifying the device. 

Now if it does it under the minimum to post configuration then consider, if available, swapping with known goods to test.

Let us know.

Hello @DELL-Chris H 

thank you for taking the time.

A big shout out to @DELL-Joey C and you for the fast and helpful replies - this is great Dell service.

I have narrowed it down to enabled Wake on LAN causing the issue.

I did a BIOS reset (software - load defaults) and only did change

1. SATA from RAID to AHCI - success, no auto restart

2. enable pure WoL - fail

For my use case I do need WoL / an option to remotely start the system when it is shut down.

Can you please support with that?

Best

flash_dell