NUC 14 Pro freezes when running headless

J

JMcClane72

New Member
Jan 2, 2026
1
0
1
Buchen (Odw), Germany
Hello,

I have just started exploring Proxmox. I had an Asus NUC 14 Pro that was not currently in use, so I installed Proxmox and a few VMs on it. Everything works fine as long as I don't run the PC headless.

When it runs with a monitor and keyboard, everything is OK. If I start it without a monitor, it runs for 1-2 hours and then just freezes. Connecting a monitor now doesn't help; there's no output, no log, no error message. The NUC is still on, the power LED is lit, but it's frozen.

I've already updated the BIOS to the latest available version and experimented with all possible power settings in the BIOS, but nothing seems to help.

System:

Asus NUC 14 Pro with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H

32 GB RAM

1 TB NVMe

Proxmox 9.1.4 (6.17.4-2-pve)

Intel Microcode is installed

Code: 
# grep microcode /proc/cpuinfo | uniq
microcode       : 0x25


In the BIOS, I have disabled Wi-Fi and Thunderbolt, and GNA, iVPU, and Failsave Watchdog are enabled.

I have enabled “Virtual Display Emulation,” but I have also tried with Display Emulation disabled.

Dynamic PL1 and Dynamic PL4 Support are off.

Power Sense is off.

Pseudo G3 is off.

Wake System from S5 is off.

USB S4/S5 Power is off.

PCIe ASPM Support is on.

Native ACPI OS PCIe Support is on.

Intel Virtualization Technology and Intel VT for Direct I/O are enabled.



Does anyone have any idea why the system runs stably when connected to a monitor but not when headless?



Regards, Rolf
 
Hello, I unfortunately dont have a solution, but I came here to say I am having the same issue. My system uses an N250, but it is an ASUS Nuc 14, and it will randomly freeze anytime between 2-48 hrs. I run it headless, but I have left a capture card connected to the display output to see what is happening and it still freezes. Just no activity. Left at the login prompt, takes no input, and the cursor stops blinking. There are no messages in the system logs to indicate any sort of issue. Ran full disk and memtests. I have updated Microcode and messed with the BIOS settings the same as you. I have even sent the device into ASUS suspecting some fault I couldnt detect but they just sent it back. Sort of dead in the water with this. I suspect now after seeing your post, more strongly than I did before, that its just some issue with Proxmox and will try a different OS.
 
Last edited:
The vendor has stated that this is a specification.

It has no relation to PVE.

You simply purchased something that doesn't work in a headless environment. Considering a product that doesn't function in a headless environment as a PVE issue is illogical.

https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1052525/

NUC products use processors and HD Graphics that are targeted for mobile devices such as laptops or tablets. These types of processors expect that a display is always going to be present.

Plug an Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) emulator into a graphics port on the NUC. Some customers have reported success with devices like Fit-Headless*, VGA Dummy*, or Dr. HDMI*.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: beisser and Johannes S
uzumo said:
The vendor has stated that this is a specification.

It has no relation to PVE.

You simply purchased something that doesn't work in a headless environment. Considering a product that doesn't function in a headless environment as a PVE issue is illogical.

https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1052525/

NUC products use processors and HD Graphics that are targeted for mobile devices such as laptops or tablets. These types of processors expect that a display is always going to be present.

Plug an Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) emulator into a graphics port on the NUC. Some customers have reported success with devices like Fit-Headless*, VGA Dummy*, or Dr. HDMI*.
Click to expand...
The FAQ you linked however is not related to the issue that I described. This is not an issue with a black display. This is a total system freeze that occurs even with a capture card connected. That means the display is active and outputting.
 
just like @uzumo said, edid emulator is the way to go. i bought a 10 pack of those things cheap on aliexpress for such occasions (like 1.50 euro or so per piece).
they work wonders when you have issues like black screen, 640x480 resultion when remoting in and similar.
luckily my nucs dont need it, but i have another minipc with igpu passthrough where remoting doesnt work when no display is connected. the edid emulator fixed it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back