NUC unexpected shutdown

Roon Software Discussion Linux
1

Seeking advice - I run Roon on Wine using Spockfish’s script on a I5 8 gen NUC using Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon. It communicates with ROCK, which is on a separate NUC, via WiFi. It has been running fine for months, albeit with the high CPU usage as discussed in this thread.

Yesterday, on two occasions, while running Roon the NUC shutdown without warning (after about 15 minutes of use). At the same time, the audio zone I was using to listen to music, a Bluesound node, which is hard wired to the ROCK NUC, also shutdown and went through a reboot cycle. The ROCK NUC was unaffected. Other devices on the LAN were also unaffected.

If the NUC shutdown due to CPU overload, a failing motherboard, a power supply issue etc, why was the Bluesound node also shutdown? Maybe it was the other way round - the Bluesound shutdown caused the NUC shut down. Either way, I cannot understand how one would cause the other to shutdown, especially when the NUC is a Roon Remote communicating with the Bluesound Node via WiFi over the LAN.

The NUC’s system report did not report any crash. Looking through the system logs I found:
2024-10-23T10:25:45.132896+11:00 mark-NUC8i5BEH kernel: warning: `wine_sechost_se’ uses wireless extensions which will stop working for Wi-Fi 7 hardware; use nl80211
But this appears regularly in the log at times well before the approx shutdown time.

I am hesitant to run Roon again on the NUC playing to the Bluesound node till I better understand what the issue is. However, I have run Roon on the NUC with no audio zone selected. This still incurs high CPU load even though nothing is playing but no shutdown occurred (ran for 1 hr). The fan runs in a normal manner and the NUC’s temperature is not elevated. Also, for 3 hours, I have run my laptop (Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon) which also runs Roon on Wine using Spockfish’s script and played music through the Bluesound node with no problems.

Any thoughts, ideas appreciated

Thanks
Big Mal

2

Was the power interrupted?

3

The NUC completely shutdown, similar to a power interruption except it did not recover to standby power mode has happens when power returns after a blackout. Required a restart by pushing the power button. However, no other device was effected. The NUC is my desktop machine located in my study. The ROCK NUC, amplifier, router, network switch etc are also in the study but were not effected. So not a general power interruption. Also, the Bluesound node is located in the study.

4

Power interruptions can be very short (fractions of a second). Different power supplies provide varying support times until they run “dry” and current mode (Standby, On, In Use, …) and load also play into this. So with short interruptions it can very well happen that only some of your devices are affected while others are not because their power supply’s support time was long enough to cover the interruption.

1 Like
5

I have moved your post and replies since the issue concerns ROCK NUC not Roon on Wine.

If the NUC is shutting down unexpectedly, it could be caused by overheating – shutdown is expected behaviour. I’d investigate this first.

The solution is to disassemle the NUC, and clean the fan assembly to remove all dust. This needs to be done every year or so.

6

Emphasis above is mine.

@mjw

I think the move of this thread was incorrect. According to the OP, the NUC running ROCK was unaffected. The second NUC running Roon on Wine was the one that had the issue.

7

Thanks for your suggestion about the need to regularly clean the fans on NUCs. But my issue does not relate to the NUC which runs ROCK. The NUC in question is my daily driver which runs Roon on Wine and acts as a remote.

Also, thanks to all who considered my problem. I have change the power supply and where it plugs into the general power outlet. All seems to be good. It’s a bit scary when you look at all the power boards powering the various devices you have in a study!

8

Indeed. I have a 12 socket extension lead similar to this Tower Extension Lead in my study and another in my lounge to run the TV/HiFi stack. The one in the study does not have a single unused socket. The one in the lounge has 2 sockets available. In both locations, I have difficulty remembering exactly what all the sockets are used for (Although I quickly remember when I have to move it all on occaision as I did recently when I had ethernet wall points installed in both locations :frowning: ).

Note: In both cases, I have been very careful with my power budgeting to ensure that this many devices does not exceed the power limits of either the house wiring/socket or the extension lead itself. With 12 devices plugged into one wall socket, it would be very easy to overload the wall socket or extension lead leading to potentially catastrophic consequences.

1 Like
9

I suspect that the short duration power outage as suggested by yourself and @BlackJack is the most likely cause.

However, if the Roon On Wine NUC is working harder for whatever reason than the ROCK NUC as you suggested in your opening paragraph, it is not surprising that it should be more susceptible to such short duration power outages simply because it is drawing more power from the power supply and therefore any stored energy within the power supply is exhausted sooner and thus this power supply will, to quote @BlackJack, run dry quicker.

This does not mean that there is a problem with the power supply (or indeed the NUC itself) although replacing the power supply with one of a different design may change the resiliance of the device to such events (possibly for the better but equally possible for the worse) .

Most power supplies are designed to handle ‘brownouts’ (the temporary reduction in mains voltage) to some degree but, outside of UPS solutions, very few indeed give any guarantees the time that they can sustain a device in a total absence of mains power.

1 Like
10

It’s a very frequently discussed issue that Roon on Wine can create very high CPU loads, probably due to 120 Hz screen refresh. This doesn’t seem to affect everyone at all times. It might depend on graphics card/driver and Wine version. The Roon on Wine threads are full of this.

11

@BigMal @Wade_Oram, I had understood that a NUC was used to host Roon on Wine. In my haste to move the thread, my error was to mention ROCK when I meant NUC.

I thought the symptoms were sufficiently different to move the thread, and still recommend checking for overheating in the NUC, as thermal shutdown will power down.

Nonetheless, I will move the thread to an appropriate category, and amend the title. I’m pleased to see the matter is now resolved.