blank screen on forced reboot after bios upgrade for R210II and T110II

Question

Hello,

I got some out of warranty hardware to create a low cost cluster.

I used the official boot disks provided at the following addresses to upgrade the firmware:

https://dell.app.box.com/v/BootableR210II

dell.app.box.com/.../BootableT110II

The exact version:

T110II/BootableISO_2017-07-17_14-32-38
R210II/BootableISO_2017-07-17_14-42-21

The update process took a ridiculous amount of time (1h or so) but it was documented.

All 10 server ended the process with the hit a key to reboot.

Unfortunately 2 of them did not complete the firware upgrade at the reboot, I waited for hours (the suggested completion max time was in the range of 30 mins) and then after searching for more info the only option (blank screen, key press on keyboard not having any effect) was to remove the power.

The 2 server now reboot, but the screen is always blank. The fans are loud for some time, then quiet again.

On the R210II the 34 digits are green. I swapped the RAM memory with another server. Same 34 on green. The other server boot well. So the 34 message is at least wrong!

On the T110 no output.

I tried also to remove the power and the CMOS battery for a while. No effect.

I am new with dell, but already disappointed for not being able to complete a firmare upgrade and the poor tooling offered (the output of the bootable iso is at least unreadable and not storable...).

I searched the documentation and forums but did not find any relevant help for at least restoring the bios with a working version!

Thanks in advance for your suggestion.

Best

DELL-Chris H · Answer

FBK1,

There 3 4 lights you are seeing is indicating that the Memory subsystem configuration is in progress. Memory modules detected but a memory failure has occurred. What I would suggest is to start with taking the server to the Minimum to Post configuration. That is removing everything from the server but the following;

System Board
Processor with Heatsink
1 DIMM in slot 1
Riser Card
Power Supply
Control Panel and Cables

Try taking it to that configuration and then try powering up.

Let us know what you see as a result.

Thanks.

fbk1 · Answer

Thanks Dell-Chris H for your quick and detailed answer.

I followed your instruction (to be compliant I removed additional net
card, detached the disks and removed 1 dimm).

I have a more detailed (but not complete, I missed some led start and
stop) boot visual log:

- 0 attach the power
- ~ 12 s all led off for few seconds
- ~ 15 s fan at max for few seconds
- ~ 30 s 3 4 green and red dot start blinking
- ~ 40 s fan at max for few seconds
- ~ 200 s nothing changed

On another try (did not take the fans in account):

- ~ 45 s 3 4 green and red dot start blinking
- ~ 50 s 3 4 green and red dot end blinking
- ~ 300 s nothing changed

Nothing on the screen, nothing also attaching the keyboard. Nothing
changed also after removing and re-adding the CMOS battery.

I wait for other suggestion and try them tomorrow (I am in a European
Time zone).

Thanks again!

DELL-Chris H · Answer

To verify, did you simply remove a single dimm, or did you take the server down to only a single dimm installed?

fbk1 · Answer

Sorry for being unclear, I removed one dimm of the two to have only a single one installed.

The dimm now installed comes from another server and was fully working on the other server (the other server was also a R210II).

I guess that now the only options are:

- reset the nvram pin

- order a bios chip as spare part (but this page does not list bios as spare parts:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/pfydresults/225162/?categoryId=7566

)

- reflash the bios oflline (not sure if possible or the tools are worth buying)

I Will try soon the reseet of nvram and post the result.

Best

PS: I am pretty tired to work for free selecting cars for minutes for reCAPTCHA...

fbk1 · Answer

The rest with NVRAM pin did not solved the problem (maybe this is not surprising, it seems that it has the same effect of removing the cell battery according to dell documentation).

I made no progress on the latest two options, and I am a bit surprised that those information are so difficult to find.

DELL-Chris H · Answer

Try the dimms individually in the slot, if you still see the same issue then likely the motherboard slot is the cause of the issue.

fbk1 · Answer

Changing the dimm has no effect.

I will label this failure as failed bios upgrade.

I see that there is no support in case of failed bios upgrade.

Lesson learned: upgrade the firmware of out of warranty hardware at your own risk, and be aware that vendor provided tools are lacking basic safe recovery.

I will move the ram and disk of the failed machines to other ones and keep the remaining hardware (PSU, etc.) as a spare...

Thanks for your replies Dell-Chris H !

PowerEdge Hardware General

blank screen on forced reboot after bios upgrade for R210II and T110II

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