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I have been trying to setup a headless server using Ubuntu 18.04 (server option) to no avail. My hardware is a mini computer Z83-F Minisforum. I have setup autostart on bios so that the computer starts up on its own after power outage. This works, and I can tell so because the lights on my keyboard keep flashing repeatedly after sometime which makes me feel like some activity is going on when the monitor is not connected to the server. However, the OS doesn't start and the server is not assigned an IP address from the router it's connected to. When the server is connected to a monitor (via hdmi in my case), it works and I can log into it via ssh. If the monitor is not connected, the server does not indicate being bound on my router and I cannot connect to it via ssh. I have tried the solutions on grub below to no avail.

Any help?

Goodman
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1 Answers1

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The OS doesn’t care if a monitor is hooked up. However, the BIOS / UEFI settings on your device may recognize it as a fault and stop the POST process waiting for you to solve the issue.

Look for an option in the BIOS settings referring to halting startup on warnings or errors or ignoring warnings or errors on startup. Often times there is something related to the keyboard as well. If a keyboard is not plugged in it will halt.

If you can’t find the related settings or continue to have issues, also try to download an install the latest firmware update.

Appleoddity
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  • I have upgraded the BIOS to no avail. As for the settings, I have tried searching for one but I haven't been able to - none of the settings refers to 'halting startup on warning ....'. Could you share some more pointers? – Goodman May 08 '19 at 12:43
  • Send the link to the actual manufacturer’s page with support documentation. I couldn’t find it. – Appleoddity May 08 '19 at 13:06
  • http://www.minisforum.com/index.php/z83-f-mini-pc/ – Goodman May 08 '19 at 13:20
  • @Goodman Hi and thank you for the info. I wish I could help but I can’t get any information on your system of value. Here is the link to the manual I found in the comments: http://www.mediafire.com/file/nid11k7fu9wna3k/Z83-W%25E8%25AF%25B4%25E6%2598%258E%25E4%25B9%25A6.pdf/file you can see it is quite limited. Because I’m not sitting in front of it I can’t tell you where to look. I could be completely off base. But most BIOSes have an option about startup warnings/errors and how to handle them. The comments section is pretty active, I would suggest posting there to ask for help from them. – Appleoddity May 08 '19 at 13:55
  • @Appleodity is there a way I can share images of my BIOS with you ? – Goodman May 08 '19 at 15:01
  • @Goodman Here’s a troubleshooting tip. Unplug your monitor and reproduce the issue. While the system is still on, plug the monitor in and look at what you see on the screen. At that moment you should see what it is complaining about and what is preventing it from starting. Follow up with those details. – Appleoddity May 08 '19 at 15:03
  • when I plug in the monitor, it's blank and the first thing I see is the splash screen of the product i.e. minisforum. Then booting starts... – Goodman May 08 '19 at 15:15
  • @Goodman did you allow the system to sit long enough to confirm the problem was reproduced? Then plugged in the monitor? If so, then this does confirm the system is not completing its POST process with the monitor unplugged. But I don’t know why it would continue after plugging the monitor in. You need to reach out to them about this. I don’t have any further information I can give you. It may be a bug with the unit, or it may be a BIOS setting. Please ask the people who know and support the system. – Appleoddity May 08 '19 at 15:24