Question Why would a HP z400 not boot up without a gpu

[envyjack]

I have a HP z400 i use headless for hyperv server 2019 with some VMs on it. SInce i couldnt get the GPU (quadro K4000) to passthrough, i removed it for use in another build (we all know how easy it is to get a gpu now).

Since i removed the gpu, the server wont boot up. The power button on the chasis blinks in red 6 times , from hp support site, it is POST failure (pre-video graphics card error). hp support site

The cpu and chasis fans are spinning, and no other issues are apparant.

Can i make it boot without a gpu? Why wont it boot without a gpu?

Has anybody else had this problem?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Can i make it boot without a gpu? Why wont it boot without a gpu?

Cpu doesn't have integrated gpu. Discrete graphics card is necessary.
Just any graphics card - cheapest card available.

 

[kanewolf]

I have a HP z400 i use headless for hyperv server 2019 with some VMs on it. SInce i couldnt get the GPU (quadro K4000) to passthrough, i removed it for use in another build (we all know how easy it is to get a gpu now).

Since i removed the gpu, the server wont boot up. The power button on the chasis blinks in red 6 times , from hp support site, it is POST failure (pre-video graphics card error). hp support site

The cpu and chasis fans are spinning, and no other issues are apparant.

Can i make it boot without a gpu? Why wont it boot without a gpu?

Has anybody else had this problem?

The Z400 is a workstation. It is not unreasonable to have the requirement for a graphics card in a device that is SUPPOSED to display things.

 

[bignastyid]

I have a HP z400 i use headless for hyperv server 2019 with some VMs on it. SInce i couldnt get the GPU (quadro K4000) to passthrough, i removed it for use in another build (we all know how easy it is to get a gpu now).

Since i removed the gpu, the server wont boot up. The power button on the chasis blinks in red 6 times , from hp support site, it is POST failure (pre-video graphics card error). hp support site

The cpu and chasis fans are spinning, and no other issues are apparant.

Can i make it boot without a gpu? Why wont it boot without a gpu?

Has anybody else had this problem?

GPU is required to post(post occurs before boot) and that system lacks an igpu so a dedicated gpu is required to use the system.

 

[envyjack]

Let me start with an apology. I did not do an exhaustive enough search before making this post. I kept searching for psot issues and gpu. but searching for z400 headless, i came across this gem. Youtube Video

Essentially, the hp bios has a headless mode setting, but it is not visible in the configuration. You can use the HP Bios Configuration utility to edit the bios to enable headless mode, and teh post errors go away. This method relies on you having a working windows installation with a graphics card on the device.

Alternately, if you dont have a working windows installtion or gpu on the machine, you can use the "Replicated Setup" function in the bios which will give you the bios config to edit in a txt file which can tehm be applied using the same method. Credit to youtuber Hongbo He for pointing this out.

I can confirm that the server has booted up without a post error after making this change.

Thanks everyone.