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May 9, 2008 09:22 PM

Categories: HP MediaSmart Server

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Bob

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Joined: 05/09/2008

I purchased an HP EX470 about 2 month ago from Newegg and have been very happy with it until a month ago.  I have started to get a ramdom messeage that my system was at risk.  Opening the Hardware Staus window I discoverd that my system temperature was "overheating" with a temperature of 61 to 62 degrees C.  It had been running around 29 to 31 degrees C.  The MSS box itself was still cool to the touch, both fans were running 1,418 to 1,430 RPM, and the processor temperture was running 27 to 29 degrees C.

I called the HP Support line and they told me this was a "known" problem that is either software or hardware related. I was instructed to do a factory reset.  If the problem went away for a while, then it was a software problem and a patch would be out with the PP1 upgrade.  If it came right back, then it was a bad sensor.  We'll my luck was not running that day since the system warning came right back.  

I called HP support with the results of the test. They are now stating it is only a software issue and they were wrong to tell me that the sensor was going bad.  So, I am NOT sending my system back at this time. Crying or Very sad

I read in another forum that I could change the temperature warning limit my editing the "HP MediaSmart Server.ini" file.  I did that by changing the temperature warning to 75 degress C but my system temperature has continued to increase.  It is now at 70 degrees C and rising one degree every few days.  The box itself is cool to the touch and the fans & CPU are running normally.

What I would like to know is this really a software issue that is going to be fixed with PP1 or do I need to keep bugging the Support people about a replacement.

Thanks.... 

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 1-18 of 18 | Latest Comment

May 11, 2008 2:22 PM

Sorry to hear that you too have this issue.  I reported this same issue to HP 2 weeks after starting up my HS.  I was first told to do the server recovery, that it should correct the incorrect reporting of the temperature.  I called back a week later just to make sure and was told that the error would come right back and to not bother do the server recovery.  I was given a case number and told that HP was working on a software fix and would be sending it out as an update.   This last communication was mid April.   Like you, my HS temperatures have risen, today they are:

Upper Fan: 1493 RPM    System Temp 86 degrees C or 186.8 degrees F

Lower Fan: 1480 RPM   CPU Temp 26 degrees C or 78.8 degrees F

 I know that the system temp is wrong, the temperature in the top of the server is lower than the temp coming out at the bottom where the CPU resides.  I only have the one drive installed so there is no heat source at the top of the box to drive the temp up.

I too, do not like that my system is reporting such high temps in error and certainly hope HP comes out with the software fix soon. 

May 27, 2008 9:10 PM

I had the same problems within 1.5 weeks of receiving my WHS. Initially I was told by tech support that it was probably a software issue and to wait for an
update the following Tuesday (20 May). On 19 May I got a message from tech support telling me that it appeared to be a hardware problem. Sensor reported 80° celcius. I was instructed to return to HP and they would ship a replacement
when they received mine. Contactedcustomer service with the case# from tech support, got my Return Merchandise Authorization and shipped it back on Tuesday. Received replacement on Friday.

Solitary, Nasty, Brutish, Short, Fat, Grey & Retired

May 28, 2008 7:03 PM

I suggest that you get the SpeedFan application and install it (via RDP) on your MSS. One thing you will immediately discover is that the MSS fans run at only 50% speed! I would recommend increasing to 100% and watching the temperatures. (Use the "Chart" tab in SpeedFan.)

I have set up mine to automatically adjust the fan speeds to control the temperatures AND to set the speed to 100% on each fan if the application is closed. My MSS runs cooler this way and, I hope, this will result in a longer life.

Temperatures WILL increase as the CPU is loaded -- and it happens fairly quickly, too. So if you have added Add-Ins or applications that use CPU cycles this will raise the internal temperatures. You may want to check the process activity (use Task Manager) to see if there is something loading the CPU constantly. (DEMIGRATOR.EXE is the "balancing" function -- that can really run a long time if you have the "stock" CPU and memory configuration -- I know of one case where that was found to be the cause of a rising temperature. (At least one other case very similar to yours was found to be caused by a constantly running application. When disabled the temperature returned to normal!)

Be careful comparing the SpeedFan temperatures to the System and CPU temperatures reported in Settings-->Hardware Status nto make sure you are comparing the right ones. Also note that the Temp1-3 indicators do NOT seem to be the disk temperatures. Also note that you may at times see six temperatures reported and, at many (most?) times only five. We haven't figured out why the intermittent one (a number of folks report it as intermittent) or where some of those sensors are located.

Speaking of disks: If you use the Disk Management Add-In it will report the actual disk temperatures based on a WMI query to the drives. The Client Info Add-In does the same thing -- but the temperature reported is slightly (but consistently) different. Seagate drives tend to run 30-37C and the WD 1TB drives run 23-32C (using Disk Management).

If all of your temperatures run hot using all these packages I would not think it is a software problem.

A good place to continue this discussion would be over on MediaSmartServer.net. I started a thread on SpeedFan there to consolidate discussions on that application:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1236&highlight=speedfan

There are also a lot of other "temperature" discussions in other threads, and a good "search" tool to find them!

...JohnBick

July 15, 2008 7:44 PM

Out of curiosity, have you tried re-seating the backplane? (Disassemble as though about to add RAM, remove the backplane, replace it, reassemble.) This has worked for several folks who incurred temperature warnings immediately after they did upgrades.

The sensor is at the top of the backplane and the A/D converter is on the motherboard. There is an analog signal being passed down the backplane, across the connector and onto the motherboard. It doesn't take much to have a "dirty contact" and the "wiping" action of removing/replacing may clean the contacts sufficiently for you to get a good connection.

...JohnBick

January 20, 2009 7:45 PM

Same hardware fault for me. System was fine for about 4 months but system temperature sensor started rising a little each day for the last couple of weeks which concerned me till today it exceeded the OK temp of 65 Celsius and went to 70 and started getting upset about it.

While it is obvious the system is not at this temperature from feeling the case and air coming out the back, and while you can ignore the reported error to get the nice green lights back, the thing keeps writing an error message to the application log every second to tell you the temperature is critical.

CPU temperature remains around the 20 Celsius mark. I did a hardware upgrade to the memory when I first got the server and it has been fine for three months with four 500Gb drives until this month.

Was there any automatic update that could cause this and how can the error reporting of this specific error (and not others) be turned off before my disks eventually fill up with rubbish log records.

January 20, 2009 9:05 PM

CONFUCIOUS: I ass-u-me you have reseated the backplane and that it did not help the situation. If so, it sounds like the sensor on the backplane, the "System" temperature, is faulty. Time for a call to HP Support and to get a replacement frame.

There is a thread over on http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/ that addresses this with another user.

...JohnBick

January 21, 2009 1:51 PM

I had the same issue and was provided the fix for the software from HP support.
Email me and I can send you the fix.
Thanks,
Joe

January 21, 2009 2:36 PM

JoeSuto: If the "solution" from HP is to disable the sensor, either by increasing the temperature limit or through some other technique, I would emphatically NOT accept this as anything other than a temporary fix to apply while waiting for a new MSS frame to be delivered. A malfunctioning temperature control is a malfunction and covered by warranty. What happens if the unit were to REALLY overheat after the warranty were were to expire?

If they sent you a software (or setting) change it is very likely an override of the alarm. In similar situations that have been posted here and on http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/ there have occasionally been offers to "fix the software". In each case, when questioned, HP has replaced the unit. If there were a software bug they would be pushing the fix out to everyone as part of the routine updates.

Insist on a permanent fix.

...JohnBick

January 21, 2009 10:12 PM

JohnBick,
It was explained to me that the sensor is a redundant one that was malfunctioning and the fix would disable it. If HP though there was any danger it would not provide the fix and replace the unit. The CPU is the true measurement as it was explained to me.
My server was this way out of the box, I opted to return it and get another.
As far as a software bug, I believe it is not one, a faulty sensor it is. Different hardware manufactures implement different hardware configurations. If you were to build a home media server would you even have the same sensors available? Typical CPU you would, system probably not.
The file provided was SystemTempHotfix.msi
Thanks,
Joe

January 22, 2009 1:59 AM

It appears that HP have autofixed the problem as the system temperature reading has now disappeared alttogether from the hardware status window which now only shows CPU temperature. The server logs are not longer reporting any temperature error since 10 O'Clock last night and the log shows a reboot at that time.

Seems like a cheap and worrying solution to simple ignore the sensor by installing a patch without my consent.

January 22, 2009 9:35 AM

The HP MSS has six temperature sensors; one is intermittent for everyone but the other five are consistent and reliable. There is the CPU internal temperature and a redundant measurement on the CPU socket. The Northbridge controller has an internal sensor and there is one in the power supply. And there is the one on the backplane -- which was reported as the "System" temperature. And, of course, all the current disk units also have temperature sensors within.

When I build a system, client or server, one of the things I look for is that it includes redundant temperature sensors. It is very difficult to just add one, but there should be one on every major component. There was only ONE on the MSS backplane, a primary spot to monitor fan and disk heat problems. Granted, the disks provide some redundancy and could help to monitor the fan operation in a remote system; even the CPU would provide that to some extent.

I am personally disappointed that HP is choosing to stop reporting temperatures but between the Disk Management Add-In and SpeedFan we can access and monitor things anyway.

Here's a suggestion for an Add-In: Monitor AND PLOT/GRAPH the six internal temperatures (as shown in SpeedFan) as well as all the attached disk drives. Also overlay a plot of the CPU utilization and fan speeds. Allow the user to enable/disable each plot. Anyone up to the challenge? I volunteer to be a beta-tester!

...JohnBick

April 22, 2009 10:45 PM

JoeSuto could you send me the software fix for the Hardware warning...that just started saying all the time CBPU runninog hot...Thanks

April 22, 2009 10:51 PM

MY CPU is running at 32 C per hardware settings and drives 39 and 43 C per disk management. My fans are running at 1450 per hardware settings. This HArdware warning I am starting to get sounds like the problem others have had. Had my server for about 5 months now. EX470....with 1 TB and 1 500 gb. Memory upgrade from start.

April 22, 2009 10:54 PM

Further more when I go to HP Mediasmart updates it now states last update UNKNOWN and when I click check for updates it starts checking then says CANNOT CONNECT TO HP MEDIASMART SITE.................Whats going on with this???HELP

April 23, 2009 7:04 AM

Phil23 said: Further more when I go to HP Mediasmart updates it now states last update UNKNOWN and when I click check for updates it starts checking then says CANNOT CONNECT TO HP MEDIASMART SITE.................Whats going on with this???HELP

Not to worry about the "Unknown". Mine shows that (has for a while now) and others report the same.

The HP site is likely quite busy (processing updates for the EX48x units) and that is the likely reason you could not connect  last evening.

...JohnBick

April 23, 2009 7:26 AM

Phil23 said: MY CPU is running at 32 C per hardware settings and drives 39 and 43 C per disk management. My fans are running at 1450 per hardware settings. This HArdware warning I am starting to get sounds like the problem others have had. Had my server for about 5 months now. EX470....with 1 TB and 1 500 gb. Memory upgrade from start.
Phil23 said: MY CPU is running at 32 C per hardware settings and drives 39 and 43 C per disk management. My fans are running at 1450 per hardware settings. This HArdware warning I am starting to get sounds like the problem others have had. Had my server for about 5 months now. EX470....with 1 TB and 1 500 gb. Memory upgrade from start.

First,  you do not indicate whether these temperatures areunder load conditions or if the unit is just idling. (And either way, the temperatures take time to settle to a steady state so it is important to have it idle for a few minutes before the reading.) 

Second, you don't say anything about your ambient (room) temperature. This is very important as all the internal MSS temperatures will be a function of that. An EX47x CPU temperature of 32C is just fine -- many members would love to see that! (And, since it is so low, I would ass-u-me this is an idle reading.) 

Third, the drive temperatures and the CPU temperatures are very different, Disk Management reports the temperatures of the individual drives, not the CPU and they WILL be different. What do you have for drives? Seagates run hotter than Western Digitals, for example, as much as 7-10 degrees (C) hotter. These also are a function of activity and they take longer to cool down after a period of intense activity. These temperatures do not seem out of line in comparison to your CPU temperature.

Now, all the unknowns aside, your MSS seems fine. 

What you REALLY have not explained is what warning you are getting. This thread is discussing the "System" sensor readings (not the CPU or drive temperatures or any other warnings) and the "solution" that HP provided for the "problem".  (The solution has been a software update toremove the System sensor reading from the display!) There are other threads herre and, even more, over at http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/ that will address other sensors and warnings. SEARCH is your best friend. 

...JohnBick

April 23, 2009 11:09 PM

The warning I get is in the system health tray. It says hardware issue..then you open the problem and it says CPU over heating. You know the system health warnings that can turn one of the lights red on the front bezal of the server to let you know you have system health warning or your tray icon for the server turns red.

EX470 1TB seagate and 500 gb in pool, 2GB memory, LE-1640
Laptop Vista Ultimate SP1
PS3
Netgear WNR3500

April 24, 2009 2:54 PM updated: April 24, 2009 2:55 PM

Please see my 4/23 post immediately above yours. We will need the answers to those questions to attempt to help you. You might also want to install SpeedFan (via the Remote Desktop) and look at the readings from the full array of sensors in the MSS. (There is discussion of SpeedFan and the meanings of the individual sensors at http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1236 .) A screen shot of SpeedFan readings would also be helpful.

MATT: Can you split off the discussions in here after 1/22 and put them either in a more appropriate thread or in a new one? These are unrelated to the subject of the thread -- but certainly legitimate discussions. I would recommend entitling this "EX470 Temperature Warnings" or something similar. Thanks in advance.

...JohnBick

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Back to Top | Comments 1-18 of 18 | Latest Comment

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