Fanless Roon Rock Music Server - Intel i3 7th Gen or i7 8th Gen
SKU: Roon Server
CPU
i7 8650U - NUC7i7DNBE (Better than Roon Nucleus +) RAM
4GB DDR4 (1x4GB) Storage
128GB M.2 + 2TB 2.5" SSD Power Supply
Default NUC 19v Power Supply
Networking Gear & Setup Details
Sky router, all connections via ethernet
Connected Audio Devices
NAIM NDX2, connected via ethernet and WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra backup hard drive.
Number of Tracks in Library
Description of Issue
I’ve been using my roon system as above since I bought it in 2020, I can’t really remember much about how I even set it up, think I installed an SSD into the NUC, networked my external HDD as a backup and put it all on the ethnet network. I’ve got an office/gaming PC that uses the same network. Never had any issues with it, keep it on all the time.
I played some music on 30th March and it said an update was needed for the Roon core and for Roon, I accepted these. After a few minutes I tried to use the rooon app on my phone to select another album and it seemed to have frozen, wouldn’t accept me typing anything in. I did force stop, then restarted my phone, but on restart it wouldn’t connect to my roon core.
I went on my office PC and it could no longer see the roon core on the network, though it can see other networked devices (my external backup HDD). I’ve tried turning off for 5 minutes and restarting but no difference. I reinstalled the roon app on my phone so it has the latest version - I now just get to the connection screen saying it can’t find the roon core.
I’ve taken the roon core NUC and tried to power it up while connected to my monitor via HDMI and get no signal. The blue power light on the device does come on and I don’t hear any beeps but I’m not sure if my model gives diagnostic beeps.
I’m not hugely tech savvy with PCs so am a bit of a loss what to do next - can I do something with a USB boot stick?
Sorry if long - just want to listen to my music again! I suppose worst comes to worse I can set my office pc as a roon server while its sorted.
When was the last time you cleaned the interior?
While looking inside you might try reseating the memory and m.2 drive.
You might also hook up a keyboard and monitor and try getting into the BIOS (hit F2 while booting, timing is key here, just start spamming F2 and then hit the power button to turn it on)
If you can get into the BIOS:
Check to see if your are running in UEFI or Legacy mode.
If you are in Legacy mode you might want to go ahead and switch to UEFI anyway to get the latest features (this is required for the latest features in Roon to show up).
Thank you, yes had a look inside, all looks clean and it’s fanless and sealed so there was no dust. I took out and reseated memory, the 2 M2 drives and my SSD and tried again. I don’t get anything registered on the monitor (and used both HDMI ports), no boot screen, logo, no signal at all. Hitting F2 made no difference.
Also ran through the wizard, mainly goes through problems with the monitor or cable but it can’t be that because it works on my main PC.
Is it worth trying a USB boot drive and what would I put on it? Or does it look like something I need to send back for a repair?
In your image it looks like there are two memory cards (the one I can see says it’s 4GB), but you said you only have 4G (with two 4GB cards there should be 8GB of memory). Maybe the memory is the issue? Try removing one of the memory cards and see what happens, then swap that one with the one you took out.
Just for clarity:
If you still don’t get anything on the monitor you might try resetting the BIOS ( you would then have to go through and redo the settings per the ROCK install guide):
To reset an Intel NUC BIOS, you can try using the Power Button Menu or by using the BIOS security jumper. The Power Button Menu method involves powering off the NUC, plugging in a recovery USB, pressing and holding the power button for 3 seconds, and then selecting F4 to initiate the BIOS recovery. The security jumper method involves opening the NUC, removing the jumper, plugging in the recovery USB, and powering on the NUC.
Elaboration:
Power Button Menu Method:
Prepare: Power off the NUC, and ensure a recovery USB with the correct BIOS file is plugged in.
Access Menu: Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds, then release it.
Initiate Recovery: The Power Button Menu should appear. Press F4 to start the BIOS recovery process.
Wait: The process may take a few minutes to complete.
Restart: Once complete, the NUC will either turn off or prompt you to do so.
BIOS Security Jumper Method:
Prepare: Power off the NUC, unplug the power adapter, and open the chassis.
Remove Jumper: Locate and remove the BIOS security jumper.
Plug in USB: Plug in the recovery USB with the BIOS file.
Power On: Turn on the NUC.
Wait: The recovery process will begin and may take 2-5 minutes.
Complete: Once complete, the NUC will either turn off or prompt you to do so.
Reassemble: Remove the USB, replace the jumper, close the chassis, and restart the >NUC.
Important Notes:
BIOS Files: Ensure you have the correct BIOS file for your specific NUC model.
USB Format: If using a USB for recovery, it should be formatted as FAT32.
Power Supply: It’s recommended to have a steady power supply during the BIOS recovery process.
OK, thanks for suggestions, and for spotting that I don’t know the difference between the memory and M2 slots. I tried swapping the memory out and in different combinations with no joy. I then created a USB boot with the bios installer on it and used the power button menu (still nothing at all comes up on the monitor so had to do it blind) and left it for 10 minutes, but on restart still nothing, and on plugging it back in to the network still not recognised.
I think I’ve reached the limit of what I can do with tinkering so going to send it to a local PC repair as it’s obviously some sort of hardware issue - the lack of display at all make me think it can’;t just be a boot up or bios problem.
If not might be looking at buying a new NUC board - hopefully I can just plug in my old memory and SSD and install it in the case and install ROCK by USB onto it?
