Re: OT: Strange interaction between NIC, SSD and motherboard

From: David Christensen <dpchrist_at_holgerdanske.com>
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2022 02:25:31 UTC
On 7/30/22 17:43, Aryeh Friedman wrote:
 > On Sat, Jul 30, 2022 at 7:55 PM David Christensen wrote:
 >> On 7/29/22 17:10, Aryeh Friedman wrote:
 >>> I have a MSI Motherboard (DMI info output below) and have two
 >>> identical SSD's (one [sata0] with FreeBSD installed and Windows
 >>> on the other [sata1]and then I bought a D-Link DGE-560T NIC
 >>> (wired 10/100/1000) and soon I connected the NIC the machine
 >>> could not see the FreeBSD drive at all (the BIOS that is) even
 >>> after swapping cables and SATA connectors.  As soon as I took
 >>> the NIC out everything returned completely to normal.
 >>> Manufacturer: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd
 >>> Product Name: MS-7C02


 >> STFW motherboard
 >>
 >> https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450-TOMAHAWK


 >> STFW NIC
 >>
 >> 
https://us.dlink.com/en/products/dge-560t-gigabit-desktop-pci-express-adapter
 >
 > I got it specifically because the back of the box said it was
 > compatible with FreeBSD 7/8+ ...


"It works fine on my machine!"  ;->


 >> STFW SSD
 >
 > 
https://www.microcenter.com/product/508183/inland-professional-1tb-ssd-3d-nand-sata-30-6-gbps-25-inch-7mm-internal-solid-state-drive


 >> What version and edition of Windows do you have?
 >
 > 10 with updates through about 2 weeks ago


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_editions


It probably does not matter for this issue, but you should understand 
Windows editions and be able to identify yours.


 >> What version and release of FreeBSD do you have?

 > FreeBSD neomarx 13.1-STABLE FreeBSD 13.1-STABLE #3
 > stable/13-n250682-58f49b7da7d: Fri May  6 00:51:39 EDT 2022
 > root@neomarx:/usr/obj/usr/src/amd64.amd64/sys/GENERIC amd64


 >> Have you tested the power supply with a hardware power supply tester?
 >
 > Don't have access to one


Buy one.  I have the following.  It has paid for itself many times over:

https://www.amazon.com/Antec-ATX12V-Power-Supply-Tester/dp/B000H5C6KU


 > but I specifically overpowered the power
 > supply under the assumption I would be adding stuff to the machine
 > over time.


What is the make and model of your PSU?


 >> Have you disconnected and re-seated the power cables connected to the
 >> motherboard?
 >
 > yes


 >> Have you run memtest86+?
 >
 > Passed with flying colors


 >> Are you confident in your SATA cables?
 >
 > Yes I even tried two brand new ones

 >> If you disconnect everything from the motherboard except for the power
 >> supply, CPU/ heatsink/ fan, memory modules, Windows SSD, keyboard,
 >> mouse, and monitor, and connect the Windows SSD to each motherboard SATA
 >> port in turn, does CMOS Setup see the SSD for every port?  Does Windows
 >> boot for every port?  What are the results if you repeat these steps
 >> using the FreeBSD SSD?
 >
 > Those are all the connectors I have on the machine (no on-board video
 > so I have to leave the card in)
 >
 > There are 2 16 connector PCI-E slots that the NIC can plug into tried
 > both of them with the same results as above.
 >
 > Yes Windows boots from all ports and FreeBSD is seen from none of
 > them.    FreeBSD (my default boot device) will boot from all of them
 > if the NIC is taken out.   If the NIC is not present it also will dual
 > boot windows as normal on all ports.


It seems that you have a different motherboard than I STFW, above:

Onboard Graphics

     1 x DVI-D port, support a maximum resolution of 1920x1200@60Hz12
     1 x HDMI 2.0b with HDR port, supports a maximum resolution of 4K 
@60Hz123

     Only support when using Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics and 2nd 
Gen AMD® Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Graphics/ Athlon™ with Radeon™ Vega 
Graphics processors
     Maximum shared memory of 2048 MB
     Graphics specifications may vary depending on the CPU installed.

Slots

     1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (PCI_E1)
         1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen AMD® Ryzen™ processors support x16 speed
         Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics and 2nd Gen AMD® Ryzen™ with 
Radeon™ Graphics processors support x8 speed
         Athlon™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics processor supports x4 speed
     1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCI_E4, supports x4 mode)1
     3 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots1

     PCI_E4 will run x2 speed when installing devices in PCI_E2/ PCI_E3 
slot.


Please confirm the motherboard URL, above, or post the correct one.


While you are at it -- please confirm the NIC URL, above, or post the 
correct one.


 >> If you connect the Windows SSD to the first SATA port and connect the
 >> NIC to each motherboard PCIe slot in turn, does CMOS setup see the NIC
 >> for every slot?  Does Windows boot for every slot?  Does the NIC work
 >> for every slot?  What are the results if you repeat these steps using
 >> the FreeBSD SSD?
 >
 > The CMOS sees all devices in all ports *EXCEPT* the FreeBSD SSD when
 > the NIC is installed.   All devices are also 100% functional with the
 > NIC in except of course not seeing FreeBSD at all.

My WAG is that there is a bug that involves the motherboard firmware, 
the NIC firmware, and/or the SSD firmware.  I would pick one device and 
replace it.


As I said before:

On 7/29/22 21:53, David Christensen wrote:
 > I have had good luck with Intel network interface cards.


As for SSD's, I prefer Intel SSD 520 series.


David