- Aug 3, 2024
- 5
- 0
- 10
...Okay it's not actually a brick. The power button LED does blink so I think it might make a good nightlight. 
My 10 year old computer has been increasingly unstable so I figured it's time for an upgrade. I like small and quiet so I went with this intel NUC 14 Pro Kit with 64GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. I didn't choose the memory and storage myself-- I used Newegg's NUC configurator tool which selected them for me.
I've done one or two builds in the past so I thought it couldn't be that hard. Well now I'm two weeks into trying to get this thing to work and it hasn't been easy. I've already sent one back to Newegg and the second one I received has the exact same problems at the first.
Firstly a note on the NUC case. On the first one, it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to open it up. I misinterpreted the label with arrow and the color coded locking mechanism that shows either black or red.
I was thinking red means locked but no, it's the opposite. I was putting a significant amount of pressure on that release latch to get it open, and the latch wasn't budging. Red means unlocked. The release latch slides near effortlessly when it's unlocked.
Anyway, I open this thing up and the first thing I notice is this long ribbon cable that's been crushed between the baseplate and the RJ45 jack. Obvious pinch mark in the cable from the corner of the metal jack housing.
Doesn't look like there are any wires exposed, but the cable has been permanently crimped. Not good, and a definite bad design. There's a 45 degree fold in the cable which I think is meant to turn the cable 90 degrees and away from the RJ45 jack before the lid gets closed, but the fold isn't substantial enough to ensure that the ribbon cable stays out of harms way. It takes a conscious effort to keep the cable from getting crushed, and it must have been 4PM on a Friday when these two machines were made because BOTH NUC14RVH's I received had their ribbon cables crushed this way.
I get the RAM and M.2 SSD installed, the case back together and I try to boot this thing up. The front power button blinks amber for 20+ blinks (I lost track of exactly how many) then it switches to blinking 3 blinks. I look this error code up on Intel's website and my heart drops. Memory error.
So I do the regular troubleshooting things. Reseating the memory, same 3 blink error. Swapping the memory slots, same 3 blink error. Trying only one memory stick, each time in a different position. Trying the other memory stick in both positions. Same 3 blink error.
After the first machine failed this way, I sent it, the SSD, and the memory back to Newegg. I reason that the memory is DOA, the damaged ribbon cable is unacceptable, and I want a new one ASAP so I can get back to work.
I wait a week and a half and I get the replacement. Remembering how to open the case from the first machine, I got in just fine and realize in horror that this second machine also has a crushed ribbon cable. I'm disgusted at this point and consider sending it back immediately.
My old machine is further degrading and I'm desperate for compute so I ignore the damaged cable. Instead, I satisfy my curiosity to see if this new memory is good or not. I get the memory and SSD installed and I tape down the horribly designed ribbon cable with Kapton tape. Maybe the factory worker who put this case together didn't care if the cable gets crushed, but I do.
I plug in and immediately the LED 3 blink error pattern is back. At this point I'm starting to think that Newegg matched me with incompatible memory for this NUC14 when I used their NUC configurator. So I look up the tech sheet. "2 x SODIMM slots, with support for up to DDR5 4800 MT/s memory 48GBx2". But Newegg sold me DDR5 5600. Could that be the problem? I know the basics and the importance of grounding but I really don't know the details of whether or not that should work or not. I was hoping for Newegg's configurator to give me what I need but so far I'm not having much luck with that.
Another thing I can think of is maybe the lack of an OS is causing a problem? I was planning on installing Manjaro on here, but so far I haven't seen any display output to give me clues on what keyboard button to press to boot to USB or anything like that. So far, my monitor goes to sleep almost immediately after plugging in the HDMI cable.
I'm looking for any clues on how to get this machine working. I'm going to dig around online and see if I can find any more documentation on getting started with the NUC14RVH. Maybe there's something I missed? BIOS, drivers, etc.? I'll update this thread on what I find out.
My 10 year old computer has been increasingly unstable so I figured it's time for an upgrade. I like small and quiet so I went with this intel NUC 14 Pro Kit with 64GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. I didn't choose the memory and storage myself-- I used Newegg's NUC configurator tool which selected them for me.
I've done one or two builds in the past so I thought it couldn't be that hard. Well now I'm two weeks into trying to get this thing to work and it hasn't been easy. I've already sent one back to Newegg and the second one I received has the exact same problems at the first.
Firstly a note on the NUC case. On the first one, it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to open it up. I misinterpreted the label with arrow and the color coded locking mechanism that shows either black or red.
I was thinking red means locked but no, it's the opposite. I was putting a significant amount of pressure on that release latch to get it open, and the latch wasn't budging. Red means unlocked. The release latch slides near effortlessly when it's unlocked.
Anyway, I open this thing up and the first thing I notice is this long ribbon cable that's been crushed between the baseplate and the RJ45 jack. Obvious pinch mark in the cable from the corner of the metal jack housing.
Doesn't look like there are any wires exposed, but the cable has been permanently crimped. Not good, and a definite bad design. There's a 45 degree fold in the cable which I think is meant to turn the cable 90 degrees and away from the RJ45 jack before the lid gets closed, but the fold isn't substantial enough to ensure that the ribbon cable stays out of harms way. It takes a conscious effort to keep the cable from getting crushed, and it must have been 4PM on a Friday when these two machines were made because BOTH NUC14RVH's I received had their ribbon cables crushed this way.
I get the RAM and M.2 SSD installed, the case back together and I try to boot this thing up. The front power button blinks amber for 20+ blinks (I lost track of exactly how many) then it switches to blinking 3 blinks. I look this error code up on Intel's website and my heart drops. Memory error.
So I do the regular troubleshooting things. Reseating the memory, same 3 blink error. Swapping the memory slots, same 3 blink error. Trying only one memory stick, each time in a different position. Trying the other memory stick in both positions. Same 3 blink error.
After the first machine failed this way, I sent it, the SSD, and the memory back to Newegg. I reason that the memory is DOA, the damaged ribbon cable is unacceptable, and I want a new one ASAP so I can get back to work.
I wait a week and a half and I get the replacement. Remembering how to open the case from the first machine, I got in just fine and realize in horror that this second machine also has a crushed ribbon cable. I'm disgusted at this point and consider sending it back immediately.
My old machine is further degrading and I'm desperate for compute so I ignore the damaged cable. Instead, I satisfy my curiosity to see if this new memory is good or not. I get the memory and SSD installed and I tape down the horribly designed ribbon cable with Kapton tape. Maybe the factory worker who put this case together didn't care if the cable gets crushed, but I do.
I plug in and immediately the LED 3 blink error pattern is back. At this point I'm starting to think that Newegg matched me with incompatible memory for this NUC14 when I used their NUC configurator. So I look up the tech sheet. "2 x SODIMM slots, with support for up to DDR5 4800 MT/s memory 48GBx2". But Newegg sold me DDR5 5600. Could that be the problem? I know the basics and the importance of grounding but I really don't know the details of whether or not that should work or not. I was hoping for Newegg's configurator to give me what I need but so far I'm not having much luck with that.
Another thing I can think of is maybe the lack of an OS is causing a problem? I was planning on installing Manjaro on here, but so far I haven't seen any display output to give me clues on what keyboard button to press to boot to USB or anything like that. So far, my monitor goes to sleep almost immediately after plugging in the HDMI cable.
I'm looking for any clues on how to get this machine working. I'm going to dig around online and see if I can find any more documentation on getting started with the NUC14RVH. Maybe there's something I missed? BIOS, drivers, etc.? I'll update this thread on what I find out.
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