Hello,
I have an HP Z620 Workstation.
My processor is a Intel Xeon E5-2660 SR0KK 2.2GHZ 20MB 8 GT/s LGA 2011 8-Core CPU. More properly it is a Xeon E5-26xx (dual-processor) category, 8 cores, frequency 2.2 GHz, turbo 5/5/6/6/7/7/8/8, L2 cache 8 × 256 KB, L3 cache 20 MB, TDP 95 W, Socket LGA 2011, I/O bus 2 × 8.0 GT/s QPI, Memory 4 × DDR3-1600, Release date March 6, 2012, Part number CM8062107184801. It is version 1, not version 2, which is good because my system board's boot block date is 12/20/2011.
I am using Kingston ValueRAM 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR3 1333MHz DIMM Desktop Server Memory. (I have alternatively trying to rule out a memory problem used Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM - Black (HX313C9FBK2/8)) as well in it, to see if that made a difference.)
I don't know how to identify my System Board other than that it reads numbers like "FMB-1102" and "PBLNV0GCY4N0TF" and "AS#618264-001 REV 0G". It has "hp (copyright symbol) 2012" and "E93839" and "FXN1" written on it as well.
My graphics card is an XFX R7 240 780MHz 4GB DDR3 HDMI DVI VGA Graphics Card. (I have alternatively trying to rule out a video card problem used an EVGA Nvidia GeForce GT 620 1GB DDR3 SDRAM PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card to see if that would make a difference.)
In terms of the Power Supply Unit, the standard HP Z620 Computer PC 800W Power Supply S10-800P1A 623194-002 717019-001 PSU. (I have more than one and have tested that also.)
In terms of hard drive, I formatted and re-used a WD Blue 500GB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD5000AAKX.
My problem:
1. Regardless of which video card I use, if I use Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM - Black (HX313C9FBK2/8) memory in it, and boot up, I get a blue light, no beeps, no post codes that I can tell. However no power is supplied to the video card (fans won't spin), and no power is supplied to the hard drive (doesn't try to load and run it). I get a blank screen and can see nothing. Then the back fans begin to spin in turbo mode and very loudly.
2. Regardless of which video card I use, if I use the Kingston ValueRAM 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR3 1333MHz DIMM Desktop Server Memory, I will get a red light and eight beeps which signifies some sort of a ROM problem/CMOS problem/BIOS problem. To this end, I have tried pressing the Clear CMOS button to no avail. I have removed the CMOS battery for a sufficient period of time and put it back in. Nothing changes this situation. It only happens when I put this particular memory into the computer. If I stick a USB Thumb Drive with a BIOS file (BIN) on it that is 3.xx or greater, it will boot to that BIOS on a limited basis. I also had to figure out that I couldn't get it to do anything with a USB keyboard, I could only select options using a PS/2 keyboard - perhaps it locks out certain USB devices at this point?
3. I figured out that if I leave the Crisis Recovery Jumper on the 2nd and 3rd pins rather than the 1st and 2nd pins, that it will load from a backup and I can actually do things. Based on this, I was able to install Windows 10 Education 64-bit, and a host of programs, and otherwise use the computer normally. But I cannot boot unless I keep that Crisis Recovery Jumper set to the 2nd and 3rd pins and hit F1 so that it can boot into the OS normally.
4. I have while in Windows, updated the BIOS to the most current version, HP Z420/Z620 Workstations System BIOS 3.90 Rev.A(8 Aug 2016) using sp77058.exe (19 MB). I have also updated the other drivers as I could using the HP SoftPaq Download Manager (SDM). None of this changes the problem in the initial boot up. At boot up it complains the Front Chassis Fan is not running, but this is not a problem that I suspect would halt a boot up, it would just give a warning and still boot normally.
Pretty much my computer works and is functional as long as I keep that Crisis Recovery Jumper on. But I feel like I should be able to rectify the problem and get it to boot without such interference and without resorting to such a drastic measure. Any suggestions anyone?
Thank you in advance for your time.
Mr. J.