Roon core on Intel NUC goes down after some time

Support
1

Roon Core Machine

Roon Core Intel NUC, I don’t know how to find Model, CPU, and RAM info. But I bought it according to Roon specs a few years ago. Happy to receive guidance on how to retrieve the info!

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Computer connects to Roon Core via WiFi. Roon Core is connected to my home network through Ethernet.

Connected Audio Devices

Two BlueSound Node 2 devices and one PowerNode N150.

Number of Tracks in Library

9270 tracks

Description of Issue

My Roon Core stops responding after a few hours of uptime. Meaning that when I start Roon on my computer or iPhone they can’t find the core. If I restart the Intel NUC it goes back online and then disappears again. I am not sure how long it takes. The device is still connected to my Ethernet so it’s not totally offline. Is it possible to retrieve error logs or similar from the Roon Core?

2

Use a web browser to see if you can connect to the Web Administration page. If you can, check to see if the Roon Server stops running after a while. That would help diagnosis.

Also, have you checked to see if the fan is free of dust? It may be overheating.

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Two comments

  1. Attached monitor and keyboard to nuc and go into bios. You will find the data there, RAM cpu, etc.

  2. Nucs can get clogged after awhile and a good spring cleaning can fix that. Try Geoff’s advice on cleaning out the fan. I do it once a year.

4

Thanks!

The NUC was indeed very dusty. I vacuumed its cover and opened it up to see if there was any dust there (very little and I can’t see a fan). But when I opened it a strange piece of plastic / rubber fell out and I have no idea where it is supposed to be (see lower right side of image). Also, after I start the NUC, only the startup screen shows (with BIOS keys) and the boot does not continue. Is it possible that something has been destroyed by overheating?

I don’t have a keyboard yet so I can’t go into the BIOS. But that will be my next step. Until then I would be very grateful for any tips:

  • What is this rubber thing?
  • How would I go about to get the NUC running again or find out if some of all of it is wrecked?

IMG_1840
IMG_18401920×2560 489 KB

5

My guess is a heat soak. Probably went on the Kingston A2000.

The fan on these things on are the other side (bottom). You have to remove the motherboard to get to the back to blow it out.

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Hey @Brjann_Ljotsson,

Ben with the support team here, I wanted to check in on your status since some time has passed on your issue.

Let me know your current status, and if you need additional help!

I’ll be on standby for your reply. :+1:

1 Like
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Thanks @benjamin! I guess this is not a Roon support issue anymore (?) since my NUC stops at the boot screen. I need to figure out if it’s broken and if it can be fixed. But I’m somewhat lost in how to proceed.

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  1. Look at the underside of the NUC. Intel prints the model number there.
  2. Are you able to enter the BIOS? That should tell you whether the m.2 SSD is being detected and how much RAM you have.
  3. Can you configure the BIOS as described in the ROCK Install Guide?
  4. If you can’t do steps 2 and 3, then can you post a photo of the Boot screen - any error messages there would help in further diagnosis.
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Thank you everyone for responding!

Here is a summary so far

I’m not sure how to remove the motherboard without having to remove the silver colored soft parts (heat sinks?) that seemed glued to the casing.

It is a NUC8i7BEH2

I’m shown the BIOS boot screen for a couple of minutes with the following options

F2 to Enter Setup
F7 to Update BIOS
F10 to Enter Boot Menu

However, the computer is completely unresponsive to key presses. I know that the keyboard works because after a couple of minutes the screen goes black and this screen is shown.

11666479-25F8-48FC-8507-AEBD3328959D_1_201_a
11666479-25F8-48FC-8507-AEBD3328959D_1_201_a1457×554 196 KB

If I press N here, the computer resets and goes back to the previous screen. However, if I press Y, nothing happens, even if I now press N.

After this, I updated the BIOS by following these steps

  1. I downloaded BE0094.bio from https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/743906/bios-update-becfl357.html and saved it to a USB
  2. Unplugged the power and removed the yellow security jumper
  3. Inserted the USB and booted the computer
  4. The BIOS seemed to update fine from a 2020 version to a 2023 version
  5. Unplugged the power and reinserted the yellow security jumper
  6. Restarted the computer. It started and restarted about 3 times, and then the BIOS screen with F2, F7, and F10 keys appeared again.

However, it is still unresponsive to keyboard pressings. Again, after a couple of minutes the computer resets and the unsuccessful POST attempt(s) screen appears. However, this time it is not responsive to either Y or N keypresses.

I’ve tried plugging the keyboard into all four USB ports, doesn’t help.

So I fear my NUC is fried? Should I try with another keyboard?

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During Boot, check the blink pattern on the LED. This could give you a clue as to what the hardware problem is. See this article:

If you are not able to enter the BIOS settings by pressing F2 on the keyboard, then you could try another keyboard. Either that has a problem or your NUC does.

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Update:

  • No blinking pattern.
  • I bought a new keyboard but F2 still doesn’t work. However, this time I left the computer on when the POST failed message was shown, and after a while it entered the BIOS setup. A quick try indicated that the keyboard works in there. I’ve gone on vacation now and will troubleshoot in a couple of weeks.

My plan is to buy new memory and SSD drive and see if that resolves the issue. If not, it would be great if I can reuse the memory and SSD in a new NUC.

EDIT: I checked the supported NUCs and changed the models

These two NUCs are available in my price range in Sweden

Is there any reason to prefer i5 over i3 with my library size, 9270 tracks? Is it possible to buy memory and SSD that will fit both my NUC8 and any of these two?

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It was the SSD that was malfunctioning. I replaced it with a new SSD and was able to boot the NUC and install a new Roon Core. However, now I can’t restore from backup. But I’ll create another issue for that. Thanks for all your help!

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