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29252
August 26th, 2014 15:00
PowerEdge 2900 CPU upgrade
I need to upgrade the CPU in my
PowerEdge 2900
[Service Tag removed per privacy policy]
I contacted Dell support and they gave me a list of quad core CPU's that would work with this box. I ordered two and I get an error "Unsupported CPU configuration" at the end of the POST.
I went down the list and ordered the next slower chips (still Quad Core Xenon CPUs) and again, the same trouble. Will not POST. I get the error message AT THE END of the POST "Unsupported CPU configuration" and the system halts.
I need to get this upgraded and running ASAP. Does anyone know of a CPU type (quad core) that will work with this? Even though the BIOS shows (after the BIOS upgrade to 2.7 ???) that the CPU's are supported the system halts.
Any advise is welcomed! The server still runs great. We just need to put the thing to work with more horsepower. Otherwise it's an anchor.
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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August 26th, 2014 15:00
Which processor(s) did you try?
There are three revisions of the 2900: I, II, III. Each successive revision supported an additional family of processors. You may have a number in the upper-left corner of the front of the chassis, it may say in your order details which revision you ordered, and/or it will say in OSMA (OpenManage Server Administrator) under System, Main System Chassis, Information which one you have.
According to the order details for your Service Tag, it would appear that yours is a revision II. This means that you cannot use any 5400-series processors and will need to upgrade with a 5300-series, and I believe that the 5365 is the highest processor meeting the specs for the 2900.
ISDPCMan
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August 27th, 2014 10:00
The first set of CPU's we purchased were Xeon X5365 3.0GHz. Same error. Then we found a list someone posted showing that the MB supported Xeon E5450. We tried those and same error.
Do you know if the Gen III motherboard supports any of these two processors? I can get one for about the same cost as new CPU's and I'd rather use the CPU's we just bought instead of buying more.
Any suggestions to get this to work are appreciated.
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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August 27th, 2014 12:00
I think it is extremely unlikely that your 2900 supports the 5400-series procs. Your order details would have to be wrong, or it would have had the original motherboard replaced after purchase with a rev III motherboard.
Your purchase date shows as July (if I remember right), and the III was not released until after November and the II definitely does not support the 5400-series.
The 5365 should work. I know you said BIOS was at 2.7.0, but BIOS MUST be up to date. The ESM/BMC must also be up to date and is often overlooked during firmware upgrades. Did you try the 5365's separately? If the CPU stepping is different between the two, they probably won't work together.
The III motherboard supports both CPU models you listed.
You might also try clearing the NVRAM using the jumpers on the motherboard in case it has been corrupted, causing the new CPU's to not be properly recognized.
theflash1932
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16.3K Posts
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August 27th, 2014 14:00
ESM: Embedded Server Management
BMC: Baseboard Management Controller
The 2900 will refer to this as the BMC, however these two terms refer to the same device - the device that works with the BIOS to manage and monitor the server hardware. It is commonly overlooked when updating the BIOS but is a critical part of the base hardware functionality.
I would try each processor installed alone in slot 1. If either/both work in slot 1 when installed by itself, then the processor versions probably do not match. This will also ferret out a potentially faulty/damaged processor.
Remember, if your motherboard/system revision is II, your 5400-series won't work.
ISDPCMan
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August 27th, 2014 14:00
What is the ESM/BMC? The BIOS was updated prior to the CPU upgrade (because it had to be loaded using Windows installer and rebooted. ) I have verified the BIOS update is in there.
The CPU's purchased were from another server. I'm not sure if timing on the other server is as sensitive to this as the Dell is but they were both in the same box at one time.