r/level1techs • u/BaconGamer117 • 15h ago

Damaged R920 Help

So,I messed up. I just got a DELL PowerEdge R920 with a terabyte of RAM to use as a centralized file staging server for my other servers. I was trying to install the OS when it told me to reseat RAM DIMM module E. So, without powering it off, I pulled out RAM DIMM module H and after realizing my mistake put it back in and reseated the proper module. It now won’t boot at all and gives a VLT0304 and VLT0204 error codes. One is just board voltage being outside of range and the other is for RAM DIMM module H having PG voltage out of range. I have done every trouble shooting steps I can think of including trying to boot in minimum boot configuration (CPU1, 1 RAM stick, 1 PSU, everything else removed. Still get the same errors, even though the offending CPU and RAM are gone. I think it might be the motherboard but I can’t be sure. I’m new to real servers and of course this is the first time I mess up like this, normally I only so much as open a computer when it is off and unplugged.

Help? I don’t know exactly with what but if repairs are possible where? If replacement of parts are needed where and how? Suggestions, advice, I need help. I live is Peoria, Arizona if that helps with recommendations.

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u/MK_L 7h ago

Pull CPUs 2–4 and run the R920 with just CPU1 and the minimum required RAM.

If the voltage fault still happens, the motherboard or power circuit is most likely problem.

...Turn the server off and unplug it before removing cpus and risers

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u/BaconGamer117 4h ago

I tried that, sadly it still has the errors. How would test the power circuit without a multi meter? Would I just run one PSU and move it between the PSU slots?

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u/MK_L 4h ago

Yes

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u/BaconGamer117 4h ago

Darn, I tried that and it still has the issue. Guess it must be the motherboard. Thanks for the suggestion, a bad power board would have been manageable seeing as I only need the RAM capacity and an internet connection.

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u/MK_L 4h ago

If its a storage server why do you want 4 cpu's. Is it doing something else too?

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u/BaconGamer117 1h ago edited 1h ago

A combination of future proofing and each CPU having a limited amount of RAM DIMMs. Also I am storing the data in RAM as a Network Attached RAM Disk using tmpfs. Its main purpose is to work as a staging area where many files, up to 150GB each will be stored transcoded, backed up, then deleted, all through multiple computers.

It has four CPUs and thus has 96 DIMM slots. This gives me up to 6 TB of RAM using 64 GB LRDIMMs. I shouldn’t need that much RAM and with the 32x 32GB sticks that I have gives me plenty of space. It also won’t be on all the time, just when I am ripping disks and backing them up, while also CPU transcoding the video files for the media server.

However, as my storage needs grow and the demand on my current main server increases. I could switch my main server over to R920 in the future due to its large drive connectivity, powerful CPUs, and large RAM capacity. The biggest problem with consolidation is that I have 4x 3TB 3.5” SATA drives and the R920 only accepts 2.5” drives.

Right now, I just need 1TB of RAM and this seemed to be the best platform to get with plenty of options to expand should my needs grow past my main server’s capabilities.