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Date:      Tue, 5 Jul 2011 08:54:47 -0400
From:      Paul Mather <paul@gromit.dlib.vt.edu>
To:        Nathan Whitehorn <nwhitehorn@freebsd.org>
Cc:        freebsd-ppc@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Xserve G5 keeps shutting down
Message-ID:  <62A03799-7C34-42CF-9DE2-C70D0521D3EE@gromit.dlib.vt.edu>
In-Reply-To: <4E0B8906.5030507@freebsd.org>
References:  <38D89FC6-13F1-4AEF-AF41-0A377EE49DC4@gromit.dlib.vt.edu> <4DFFDEEE.40200@freebsd.org> <E5EE3F19-79AB-417C-A7EE-0F95CE9DB921@gromit.dlib.vt.edu> <4E02C593.6020405@freebsd.org> <C9D9D81E-92B9-4CF3-8DF7-A131DDC34F50@gromit.dlib.vt.edu> <4E0682D3.9070607@freebsd.org> <F05548CE-2EAE-48EA-BA9E-CCD371EB1790@gromit.dlib.vt.edu> <4E089692.30203@freebsd.org> <FC9CB784-FC95-4A69-869A-B0EB6BF54AEB@gromit.dlib.vt.edu> <792DE42C-DCD2-4003-893B-32074FAFE8AD@gromit.dlib.vt.edu> <4E0B8906.5030507@freebsd.org>

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On Jun 29, 2011, at 4:20 PM, Nathan Whitehorn wrote:

> On 06/29/11 15:11, Paul Mather wrote:
>> On Jun 29, 2011, at 11:25 AM, Paul Mather wrote:
>>=20
>>> On Jun 27, 2011, at 10:41 AM, Nathan Whitehorn wrote:
>>>=20
>>>> On 06/27/11 09:28, Paul Mather wrote:
>>>>> On Jun 25, 2011, at 8:52 PM, Nathan Whitehorn wrote:
>>>=20
>>>>> What is odd, to me,  is that this power-off occurred even
>>>>> after commenting out the shutdown line in the thermal power
>>>>> management driver.  So, it must be something else that is
>>>>> forcibly powering off the system, maybe something in
>>>>> OpenFirmware, rather like some PC BIOSes will initiate a
>>>>> power-off when temperatures exceed critical. But, what is
>>>>> definitely odd is that temperatures don't seem to get so high
>>>>> as to be critical, so perhaps it is some other hardware state
>>>>> that is triggering the power-off?
>>>>=20
>>>> Yes, something like that seems likely, either some strange
>>>> firmware thing or the PMU microcontroller becoming unhappy. A few
>>>> more things to try: 1) Does setting machdep.manage_fans=3D0 from
>>>> the loader change anything?
>>>=20
>>> I am trying that now.
>>=20
>>=20
>> Just to follow up myself, I can report that I tried that and it
>> eventually powered off the machine uncleanly, too, so no ultimate
>> change in outcomes there. :-(
>>=20
>> I'm beginning to wonder if this has anything to do with the fans or
>> the temperature.  Tomorrow I'll power on the system and let it run
>> idle and see if it still powers off.
>>=20
>> Do you think it would be worthwhile resetting the PMU?
>=20
> That's unfortunate. Can you go through SVN history and make sure that =
the revision before the thermal control code worked?


I've done some more troubleshooting, having become more convinced that =
this is probably not fan/thermal-related.  The system would power off =
even when the system was idle and the fans/temperature weren't being =
pushed.  Furthermore, I installed Mac OS X 10.5 on an external FireWire =
drive and booted from that with the same result: the Xserve G5 will =
power off after a while.

In the Mac OS X logs I would see this line upon a subsequent reboot: =
"ApplePMU::PMU forced shutdown, cause =3D -122".  An Apple Support =
article (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2109) states "The -122 shutdown =
value indicates that the computer shutdown as the result of a =
power-related issue."  It goes on to suggest:

"Typically, the -122 entry is present if an Xserve experiences a =
complete power loss or a fluctuation in power supply that requires the =
Xserve the shut down. If your Xserve shuts down as a result of a =
power-related issue, it is recommended that you investigate the power =
source for reliability."  The Xserve is plugged into a UPS right now, =
and other equipment plugged into that UPS shows no power-related issues. =
 (I also plugged the Xserve directly into the wall socket but still get =
the power-off behaviour.)

The followup suggestion in the support article is to "use Xserve Remote =
Diagnostics to inspect your Xserve G5."  I've already done that, and the =
Xserve passed all tests.  The final support article suggestion---"If =
your Xserve continues to shutdown or reboot automatically as the result =
of power-related issues, (value -122) please contact AppleCare"---is not =
viable, given we have had this Xserve many years and any AppleCare will =
have expired by now.  (They were bought on grant money, so you know how =
that goes.)

So, unless anyone has any other suggestions to fix this, it looks like a =
bad/dying power supply is to blame for this issue.  Sorry for the false =
alarm!

Cheers,

Paul.





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