Question about Xeon W-2235 and Asus WS C422 DC motherboard, both purchased used, with Q-Code 00.
Question about Xeon W-2235 and Asus WS C422 DC motherboard, both purchased used, with Q-Code 00.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
Did you verify that the pins on the socket aren't bent or broken?
How can I verify if this is a compatibility issue or whether one of the parts is actually broken, provided that I don't have any replacement for MB or CPU ?
You would need to source a known working motherboard(not something that's advertised as working) with the right BIOS version and see if the CPU doesn't throw up an error.
Speaking of errors, what are the rest of the parts you've paired with the used motherboard and CPU? Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model.
CPU: Intel Xeon W-2235
CPU cooler: Regular Intel cooler
Motherboard: Asus WS C422 DC
RAM: M393A4K40CB2-CVFBQ
Storage: Not used
GPU: EVGA GTX 750 Ti 2G
Power supply: Brand unknown, estimated around 400W, likely from a functioning PC from about 15 years ago; another person tested a newer PSU and confirmed it works well.
Chassis: Not used
Operating system: Not used
Display: VGA monitor and HDMI TV in sequence
I’m considering purchasing a CPU that is one generation older (Xeon W-2135), since those are significantly cheaper than upgrading to a higher model’s motherboard. Generally, motherboards with the C422 chipset are rare and usually cost around $300 minimum, whereas my board was about $110, which made my purchase feel fortunate.
The most probable issue here is the motherboard itself, but it doesn’t seem logical given Intel’s typical approach of releasing two generations for a single platform. Even their official BIOS updates appear to include the required microcode for compatibility. Could it be that despite having a compatible chipset, my specific board still can’t support newer CPU models?
Another point to consider is whether the memory I'm utilizing comes from an HP server (branded by HPE) and if it could be flagged as restricted by the motherboard.
Is it UDIMM, RDIMM or LRDIMM? I think it's probably not on your motherboard's QVL.
I prefer HP certified DIMMs in my HP servers for simplicity, yet I overlook warnings about uncertified hard drives.
You may also verify whether your motherboard expects RAM to be installed in a certain sequence within the designated DIMM slots. Incorrect order could cause POST failures.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't have the QVL for my motherboard. I've searched everywhere, but the manufacturer's site doesn't list compatibility details for memory. It looks like this board might be a data center modification, given the DC reference in its name. I'm considering reading the firmware from the EEPROM on the memory sticks and adjusting it to a more standard format, though the chip on the RAM stick doesn't show any visible markings. If anyone has an EEPROM photo, feel free to share it for identification purposes.
I placed another CPU for the Xeon W-2145 motherboard, which is the most outdated on the platform. Still nothing, it only boots in a zombie mode. The Q code shows 06 (CPU_EARLY_INIT as per manual) and then keeps displaying 00 indefinitely.
I also bought several memory sticks without any brand names: ECC UDIMM, ECC RDIMM, and LRDIMM. None of them helped to start with either of the CPUs I have.
I attempted to flash different BIOSes during testing, but that didn’t make a difference either.
At this stage, I feel it’s time to stop working on this board. Maybe another idea will come up, but it looks like the hardware is either dead or requires some proprietary components to function.
PS: The only memory type I haven’t tried yet is regular non-ECC UDIMM, but that seems unlikely to help.
After some additional research online, I identified the BMC subsystem as the likely cause. It appears unresponsive, which contradicts the usual behavior where a motherboard can connect to itself even when inactive. The absence of any new IP address on the network suggests the BMC is not functioning properly. The Ethernet port is flickering, but that’s the main point. From what I learned, the BMC stores MAC addresses in memory, so the lack of a usable web interface or a new device on the network implies the BMC isn’t working correctly. Many people report their motherboards becoming unusable after BMC failure, which fits here.