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July 18th, 2017 12:00
Power Edge R520 IDrac Issues
I have a power edge r520 unit, has worked well for years. Now randomly during startup it says initializing IDrac and fails, then needs an F1 to start. The server never had an IDrac card installed. There is no way to tell the BIOS to not look for this, so every boot I have to F1 to continue the startup. Also the fans are running like crazy now. This all happened during a standard reboot, no windows updates no updates to bios or firmware.
I was told to buy an IDrac card to install and see if that gets noticed. I bought the following card and installed it. Same thing it tries to initialize and fails. Is there anything more I need to do to get the card setup? I can't access the IDrac settings in the BIOS as it says it was unable to communicate to the card so no settings are shown. All card slots are enabled in the BIOS.
What else can I try / do to get this server fixed without swapping out the motherboard, which I fear is the only way to correct this?
Daniel My
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6.2K Posts
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July 18th, 2017 15:00
Hello
The iDRAC is embedded into the system board. The license you use determines the feature set of the iDRAC/BMC. It can be licensed as a BMC, iDRAC express, or iDRAC enterprise.
The iDRAC/BMC controls system fans. If the iDRAC is not functional then the fans will run at max RPM.
That is the optional iDRAC port card. It should have no effect on the ability of the iDRAC to initialize. It just adds additional features like a dedicated port and vFlash to the iDRAC. The iDRAC is embedded into the system board.
If the issue still persists you will likely need to replace the system board.
Thanks
waterfarmer007
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July 19th, 2017 06:00
Do any of these things effect the raid and or the operating system? The last thing I want to do is completely loose my server configuration and the ability to boot it to its current state.
Also I was unaware that my PowerEdge 520 had an iDrac on the motherboad, I must have missed this as it was never used for anything but the default actions.
Daniel My
12 Elder
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6.2K Posts
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July 19th, 2017 10:00
Those steps should not cause any data loss, but it is best practice to have a valid tested backup before making any hardware or software changes to a production system. There is always a chance that something will go wrong.
Thanks
waterfarmer007
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July 19th, 2017 13:00
I do believe I am on the most recent bios and idrac firmware, server came with this already installed. It is only 2 years old, is there any downgrading that could be done to try and correct this? Or do I simply reinstall the same versions?
Daniel My
12 Elder
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6.2K Posts
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July 19th, 2017 16:00
I would only downgrade if reflashing the same version does not work. You should be able to reflash the same version if you are already at the latest. It usually pops up with a message letting you know that you are already at this version are you sure you want to proceed. You may have to use the DOS bootable version to flash the same version. Not every update method may work for flashing the same version.
Thanks