[RANDOM] Server Turns On and Off Rapidly (PUZZLING)

[Husky]

Hello,

 

I have a very puzzling and random issue with an old Server. It is a Sun SunFire X4100 server from around 2004 with dual AMD Opteron 254 CPUs and 8GB of DDR1 memory (1GB identical sticks, ECC, spanning across all 8 slots).

 

The issue only started happening about a month ago. I was using the server for experimental purposes, messing with Ubuntu Server, pfSense, Windows Server 2008 R2 etc... trying to find a use for it. It then sat under my bed for a month before being used again about a month ago.

 

The problem is that the server seems to lose power completely RANDOMLY without warning, and then turns on and off very rapidly. The fans and lights “flicker” on and off really fast as if the power cord was loose and is sparking.

 

It has dual power supplies and I have tried both individually, tried both at the same time, reseated and swapped them around, tried different plugs around the house, made sure our house wasn’t overloaded but still it does it. It is VERY RANDOM. It doesnt have anything to do with load. It even shut down while just sitting in the BIOS, at the Windows desktop and even during POST. The server needs to be unplugged and left for a minute before it will turn back on. I wish I could record the way it behaves on camera but it is so random that it would be nearly impossible. It has shut down “flickering” on and off over 10 times some days, and others it runs for a few hours before having problems.

 

Any help would be appreciated, I am extremely puzzled and have no idea what could be wrong, it is so random. I have tried almost everything, reseating RAM, CPUs, PSUs, RAID cards, network cards, HDDs, cleared CMOS, even picked it up and shook it around... my only guess is that it could be shorting somewhere, maybe I should take the whole thing apart, clean it with a brush, vacuum the case, then reassemble and hope it works.

 

Image attached to show what this monster looks like lol

[Archon42]

6 minutes ago, Husky said:

Any help would be appreciated, I am extremely puzzled and have no idea what could be wrong, it is so random. I have tried almost everything, reseating RAM, CPUs, PSUs, RAID cards, network cards, HDDs, cleared CMOS, even picked it up and shook it around... my only guess is that it could be shorting somewhere, maybe I should take the whole thing apart, clean it with a brush, vacuum the case, then reassemble and hope it works.

Shorting seems most likely, but I would not rule out random shutdowns from the anti-meltdown/specter patch either. Have you checked temps on the CPUs and/or add-in cards (if any)?

[Husky]

56 minutes ago, Archon42 said:

Shorting seems most likely, but I would not rule out random shutdowns from the anti-meltdown/specter patch either. Have you checked temps on the CPUs and/or add-in cards (if any)?

The shutdowns were happening before the Specter and Meltdown patches were out. I have checked temperatures and they seem normal (below 50C). All fans are screaming and working. Add in cards seem fine. I will disassemble the whole thing and clean it out. I will also gently flex the motherboard once it is out to maybe find out if it is a solder joint.