pe2850 unable to update firmware via bootable cd

Unfortunately, there's no good recommendation I could make for the 2850. The bootable firmware update images are only being hosted for the 12th generation and newer, now. You can create your own using Repository Manager, but you have to manually download every file you want to have in the image, because you'll have to manually create a catalog. 

The alternative to this would be to install a supported operating system and run updates from within that. 

You could also try something like booting to a Linux live image and then run the updates from a USB.

Not sure what you mean by "runs" ... 

You should still be able to run updates from the supported versions of the tools:

Boot to SBUU:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=5gd6p&oscode=wnet&productcode=poweredge-2850

Choose Update Firmware, and load the following SUU ISO/DVD as the update repository:https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=c6nk3&oscode=wnet&productcode=poweredge-2850

Otherwise, installing Windows temporarily to run the Windows Update Packages is also a good option ... OR just leave it. It's so old and outdated that the value of the firmware updates is questionable. What are the other device firmware versions at?

thanks but using windoz doesnt load without raid drivers and then a key so thats out.

seems like the 2 dvds you pointed me to do not actually load the suu dvd and dont know why but even the sbuu disc doesn't allow firmware to be installed from its xwin presentation so how do i get these on board how do i execute the repository in rhel

You won't need to do anything special, just make sure that the files are available in an accessible directory, then I'd just launch them as root from the terminal.

none of those methods seem to work 20 dvds later none of which would run suu. went to trying to find redhat 5 for dell with no luck so i tried suse and it partially ran so next i went to fedora but libx11 drivers failed again so back to square 1

what is gonna run?

after several different methods of getting your OMSUU utility to even function loading fedora 511 i386 load and runs the open manage utility to the extent that i can see the package summary.. but in no way does it even allow me to install any of them????

i see package type package name component type release id and description but nothing i click on runs or installs or loads any such file. top of the page is the summary but nothing more except help/about/exit... seems useless how is this how i would update anything and when i run compair from a command line it refuses to execute.????

looking at suu logs

location /var/logs/dell/suu

it says CMException/var/log/dell/suu/invcolOutput.log (no such file or directory)

.media/SUU_2.0.00164/BIN/LINUX/INVCOL

so where do i go from here

tried DTK 3.5.0 but i just gives me a cli prompt with no further instructions and no further instructions.. so that didn't work either

"thanks but using windoz doesnt load without raid drivers and then a key so thats out"

If you can use Server 2008 x64 - drivers are built in:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11093

Inbox drivers were discontinued for 2008 R2, but you can load this one during the install (after extracting contents):
https://dl.dell.com/scsi-raid/LSI-LOGIC_MULTI-DEVICE_A00_R227150.exe

You could also disable RAID until your firmware is up to date ... small chance you may need this driver (after extracting):
https://dl.dell.com/FOLDER83949M/1/DellBPA05.exe

You DON'T need a key. If it does happen to ask you for one and won't let you continue without one, you can use the KMS key to bypass the prompt (or error message, depending on the message, may need to use the KMS key in the EI.cfg file):
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/jj612867(v%3Dws.11)

"seems like the 2 dvds you pointed me to do not actually load the suu dvd and dont know why but even the sbuu disc doesn't allow firmware to be installed from its xwin presentation so how do i get these on board how do i execute the repository in rhel"

You need to BOOT to SBUU, update firmware and insert/select the SUU disc/ISO as the repository. I know this method works - I updated a 2800 a couple of months ago using these same versions (not to mention dozens of them years ago).

Where to go from here? Given your level of frustration, I'd suggest you ditch it altogether or use Windows. We're talking about a 15-16 year-old server - what exactly is your reason for updating it? Does something not work? Just 'good practice' (I totally get this one!)? Got to ask yourself if what you gain by updating it is worth the struggle to get it there. And a $50 refurb desktop with a gen 3/4 i5 would run circles around this thing.

I would use Windows if you need to update it.

ugh!! accessed the wrong driver url

still says no drivers found even after finding correct driver

the file with the raid back-plane doesn't work mine is 2x3 and still doesn't see a driver

I was going to include that one, but that is the older version of the driver I linked to.

installing updates but not sure i have them all.. last set of suu's that did not work from win08 r2 was ver 340 because it was looking for an suu launcher that was 32 not 64.. any ideas i feel all i have left is an ipmi update and possibly a slim dvd rom code and radeon driver

so far so good...solutions have sped up boot process

well I'm not sure if all the firmware patches are in place but ipmi works..what exact management tool works with this in a screen monitoring situation i downloaded BMC utils 6.5 but after install it disappeared and never got a display to connect to.... granted this is not an idrac but any idea of how to monitor and check powersupplies to know if they have gone bad etc..?

thanks for your earlier help..