Proxmox installer reboot loop on Dell PowerEdge R730xd

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urtzid

New Member
Jan 25, 2026
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Hi everyone,

I’m trying to install Proxmox VE (8.x and 9.1) on a Dell PowerEdge R730xd, but the system reboots consistently during the installer boot (USB installer).
It reaches the Proxmox menu, sometimes even starts loading the kernel, and then reboots.

What I’ve already tried:
  1. Different Proxmox versions (8.x, 9.1)
  2. Graphical and Terminal installer
  3. USB boot (different sticks)
  4. Kernel parameters (nomodeset, noapic options)
  5. BIOS and Lifecycle Controller firmware updates
I then ran Dell ePSA hardware diagnostics, and I’m getting hardware errors:
  • Error 2000-8007 → System Board Fan2 RPM warning
  • Error 2000-0251 → Event log contains failing records
  • Multiple IPMI logs with “Non-Recoverable CPU Machine Check”
Temperatures look normal, but the system keeps triggering non-recoverable CPU events, which cause immediate reboots during Linux boot.

To make it clearer, I’ve uploaded a short video showing the reboot behavior during the Proxmox installer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EZX7Q1IF9gedmJyGHFW0q5NF7rMEsuYv/view

At this point, Proxmox installation seems impossible.

My question:
  • Has anyone seen Proxmox/Linux fail to boot on R730xd due to fan / sensor / BMC issues like this?
  • Is there any workaround, or is this strictly a hardware problem that must be fixed first?
Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!
 
Can you try on a identical machine to see if its hardware related (as it sounds like?)
 
I don’t have access to an identical R730xd to test on another machine.
What I can say is that Dell’s official diagnostics (ePSA) consistently report hardware errors: 2000-8007 (System Board Fan2 RPM warning) and 2000-0251 (event log contains failing records), along with repeated Non-Recoverable CPU Machine Check events.
I swapped Fan2 with Fan3 physically, and the error remained on System Board Fan2, which suggests a possible system board fan header or sensor issue rather than the fan itself.
That said, I cannot state with certainty that the fan-related issue is the direct cause of Proxmox failing to boot. It may be related, or it may be another underlying hardware issue that only manifests when Linux initializes ACPI / sensors.
What is clear is that both Proxmox and Debian reboot during kernel initialization, while Dell diagnostics flag the system as having hardware-related warnings/errors. At this point, the problem appears hardware-related rather than Proxmox-specific, but the exact causal link is still unclear.
 
You could also boot the debug mode from the installer and try to capture the logs, the debugging mode also helps to identify on which step exactly in the installer the reboot will be triggerd.
 
Thanks to everyone for the help.

I managed to fix the reboot loop on my Dell PowerEdge R730xd after upgrading to Proxmox VE 9.

The issue was caused by the newest PVE kernel (6.17.x) triggering Machine Check Exceptions on this hardware (older BIOS / CPU power management). It was not a Proxmox bug.

Solution:
- Boot from GRUB using an older, stable kernel:
Advanced options → Linux 6.8.12-18-pve
- Pin that kernel:
proxmox-boot-tool kernel pin 6.8.12-18-pve
- (Recommended) Install intel-microcode and use a Performance profile in BIOS (disable deep C-states).

After pinning the 6.8 kernel, Proxmox VE 9 runs perfectly stable.

Hope this helps others with similar Dell R730xd systems. Thanks again!
 
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