Netgate XG-7100-DT PWD LED remains red
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@Expletive1500
I don’t know if, on this particular model, a faulty eMMC could prevent it from starting up. The only way to check this would be to desolder it completely. Of course, this is a non-trivial task, and you might need to find a service that can do it. That’s assuming the problem is actually with it — which, in principle, is quite possible. -
@w0w
Interesting, I would assume I could still reach BIOS even with a faulty eMMC and just reinstall pfSense to the M.2. -
@Expletive1500
There have been people on the forum and on Reddit who desoldered the eMMC and the bricked device started up. However, I believe they were talking about the 2xxx and 4xxx series, but I’m not entirely sure.You can also buy a working used unit or motherboard on ebay
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@w0w said in Netgate XG-7100-DT PWD LED remains red:
Shouldn’t the fans start in that case?
Oh good point. Yes, it would come up with the fan at full speed whilst it's training. That seems more like a power component failure then if the fan never spins at all.
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@Expletive1500 I have personally experienced 3 or 4 devices that appeared to be completely dead when the eMMC failed, and there are other posts about the same issue. The devices work fine once the eMMC is desoldered.
The task is not too difficult - you just need a heatgun (a hair drier might also work), some aluminum foil to shield the surrounding components, and something to gently lift the eMMC chip off the board when the solder melts.
If you are going to replace the device or the board anyways then you have nothing to lose by trying to remove the eMMC chip.
I believe the eMMC chip is located by the CMOS battery and will likely be labelled "Kingston."
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/xg-7100/m-2-sata-installation.html
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@andrew_cb
Hmm, sorry l, but using hairdryer is a bad idea, untill you are using some industrial heat gun to dry your hair. You need more power then hairdryer can provide, I think.
There are other extreme methods, but they require skill. I have removed some chips using a torch lighter and flux, but you have to be very careful with this. This is in the realm of so-called “Pakistani repair,” where they even desolder using a candle. -
@w0w @andrew_cb @stephenw10
Thank you all for your input, it seems the appliance can't be easily saved and I now have an expensive paperweight. I might try seeing if I can get the eMMC removed since the appliance is unusable anyways.
Needless to say I will not be buying anything else from Netgate, I've had cheap-o aliexpress appliances last for longer than this which I frankly think is embarrassing for Netgate.Again, thank you all for your suggestions!
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@w0w I agree that a hair dryer is not the ideal tool, but if the device is already in/headed for the scrap pile, then there is no harm in trying
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@Expletive1500 said in Netgate XG-7100-DT PWD LED remains red:
I've had cheap-o aliexpress appliances last for longe
Me too, but they’re not cheap — mostly expensive versions modified to work with 10G cards. None of them use eMMC, and none have the same features or number of ports out of the box, like Netgate appliances have.
I don’t think failed eMMC is a valid reason not to buy Netgate hardware anymore, I have seen a lot of other hardware failed because of that, like TVs, phones and other stuff.
But everyone has their own opinion. Don’t forget that the price includes the Plus version with a lifetime license.In any case, you really have nothing to lose by trying to desolder the chip, and if it helps — great, I hope the device will serve you for a while longer.
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Unfortunately I doubt this is an eMMC failure. That would not stop the fan running. It should run at full speed until the POST completes when the fan controller is given the default fan data.
It potentially could be both. You might try connecting he fan to the other controller.
