Intel SS4200-E Lives Again

[swechsler]

How far in the boot process do you get before it hangs? I had a similar problem, but I discovered it was because I was trying to boot from a PATA device, which OMV (actually Debian) doesn't support. Also, check your CMOS battery; it's old enough that it might need replacement.

 

[eric90066]

How far in the boot process do you get before it hangs? I had a similar problem, but I discovered it was because I was trying to boot from a PATA device, which OMV (actually Debian) doesn't support. Also, check your CMOS battery; it's old enough that it might need replacement.

It gets pass the os selection screen and where it says something about ramdisk. The next screen it hangs. I think you are right about the CMOS battery. When I went into the bios for the first time had to set the date and time. Since then, the date remains correct, but the time is always wrong. Will swap that out and see if there is any difference. Thanks!

 

[erk]

I've had one of these in near continuous operation, until a power outage resulted in a failure mode: the top two purple LED's lit, all others dark.
The system boots further with an external ATX power supply, and this thread confirms that the power supply can be a problem.

My ask - what are the recommended, reasonable cost, power supply alternatives for this form factor?

 

[Samir]

Thanks op for starting this thread!

I have a ss4200-e that was gathering dust until I decided to use it as a secondary backup.
As noted here, only OMV has the specs that can run on the server.

The problem, as has been noted here as well, is that sometimes the system will boot, but get stuck at a blinking cursor.

I have no idea how to fix this. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. This is particularly frustrating if going headless and coming out of stand by.

Has anyone found a solution before I throw this thing out? BTW, my system did not come installed with a DOM. Also, I am booting from a 14g usb thumb drive.
Thanks!

You're welcome! It's so great to see so many people still have this great unit and are sharing their experiences to rebuild all the knowledge that was once available on these things.

Don't give up on it, and whenever you are ready to be done with it, I can give it a happy home with my units.

 

[Samir]

I've had one of these in near continuous operation, until a power outage resulted in a failure mode: the top two purple LED's lit, all others dark.
The system boots further with an external ATX power supply, and this thread confirms that the power supply can be a problem.

My ask - what are the recommended, reasonable cost, power supply alternatives for this form factor?

The only power supplies I found that were decent were ones that are now discontinued by Seasonic. I can post the model number once I get back to where the power supply is (I haven't installed it yet).

Another alternative that seems like it should fit are 1u server power supplies. The hard part will be finding one with all the necessary power leads, but I think this would be a quality alternative.

And there's always just the option of using a standard pc power supply and leaving it outside the case. I've considered this since I don't move mine once they're in a set place.

Hope this helps! The ss4200-e lives on.

 

[erk]

The only power supplies I found that were decent were ones that are now discontinued by Seasonic. I can post the model number once I get back to where the power supply is (I haven't installed it yet).

Another alternative that seems like it should fit are 1u server power supplies. The hard part will be finding one with all the necessary power leads, but I think this would be a quality alternative.

And there's always just the option of using a standard pc power supply and leaving it outside the case. I've considered this since I don't move mine once they're in a set place.

Hope this helps! The ss4200-e lives on.

Thank you! I looked around a bit, and found that generally 'FlexATX' should have the right shape and existing screw-holes to not need surgery

My first solution was using a standard modular power supply - I found, that it was mostly possible to reassemble with the cables routed through the two openings left by removal of the dead supply! The one unfortunate bit is that the 12V to the CPU made it impractical to redo the plastic air guide - is that important for CPU cooling?

From a long term replacement perspective:

• There's a USD$30 Apevia option on Amazon that I seriously considered, because in between the reviews of miswired connectors and motherboard fires, someone had actually left a review of successful operation with the SS4200E.
• There are retailers listing "DPS-250AB" modules on ebay for about USD$50 mostly for a competing brand of NAS which would need rewiring, but some (from "KDM" that just need a PATA to SATA power adapter cable, - aside from the variants of those which also catch fire. The catch is that these don't seem to be actual 'Delta' supplies.
• All the Seasonic and FSP branded supplies seem to be between USD$90+ new, and have low used availability - but that's just a bit much ..

 

[Samir]

Thank you! I looked around a bit, and found that generally 'FlexATX' should have the right shape and existing screw-holes to not need surgery

My first solution was using a standard modular power supply - I found, that it was mostly possible to reassemble with the cables routed through the two openings left by removal of the dead supply! The one unfortunate bit is that the 12V to the CPU made it impractical to redo the plastic air guide - is that important for CPU cooling?

From a long term replacement perspective:

• There's a USD$30 Apevia option on Amazon that I seriously considered, because in between the reviews of miswired connectors and motherboard fires, someone had actually left a review of successful operation with the SS4200E.
• There are retailers listing "DPS-250AB" modules on ebay for about USD$50 mostly for a competing brand of NAS which would need rewiring, but some (from "KDM" that just need a PATA to SATA power adapter cable, - aside from the variants of those which also catch fire. The catch is that these don't seem to be actual 'Delta' supplies.
• All the Seasonic and FSP branded supplies seem to be between USD$90+ new, and have low used availability - but that's just a bit much ..

Yep, FlexATX is the style that fits, although you need to make sure it has enough amps on each of the voltages to match what is in the tech manual on the ss4200-e as most don't.

Yep, it's actually quite easy to do so since the stock power supply does have a big enough hole. Yes, that plastic is quite important for cpu cooling since it doesn't have a fan on the heatsink itself. I've noticed about 10 deg difference between it being on or off between my 2x ss4200-e units (one has one and one didn't have it). And I've also noticed temperatures skyrocket when there is no fan across that heatsink like when the cover is open, so I wouldn't recommend that at all.

I wouldn't buy it from Amazon, but find a retailer where you can buy it direct. JVC has this message on their web site and I agree with it, just replace the brand JVC with any company and it holds true:

Special Note regarding Marketplaces and Auction Sites: Many of the JVC products listed on Auction Sites and Marketplaces are sold by people not authorized by JVC. Many of these products are counterfeit. JVC will not honor warranties on counterfeit products.

I also saw some supermicro 1u power supplies that might fit since there is a lot of length available for the power supply.

There's a good page on the last remaining wiki for the ss4200-e that talks about power supplies and might be useful:

SS4200 / Possible elevated PSU Failure rate considerations

ss4200.pbworks.com

In my own research, I've noted the following for power supplies:
INTEL PART# FXXSS4200EPSU
DELTA DPS-250AB-24

FLEX ATX STYLE
1U SERVER STYLE

NEEDS TO HAVE:
20-24 PIN ATX
4-PIN CPU
4-PIN FLOPPY
4X SATA POWER

CHECK SPECS FOR PROPER AMPAGE AS MOST POWER SUPPLIES WILL NOT HAVE ENOUGH.

I also found that the Sparkle FSP250-50PLB must have been of interest because I downloaded a spec sheet on it.

A search on the Intel part number led me to this company that claims to have 1193 of the original power supply in stock:

FXXSS4200EPSU | Green Light Electronics Suppliers

www.greenlightelectronics.com

I also tried searches for the Intel and Delta power supply part numbers on ebay and got some decent (<$50) results. But a search for "1u atx power supply" brought a lot more options, many which would possibly work:

1u atx power supply: Search Result | eBay

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