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BMC issues poweredge 2900 v2
hi, ive recently got hold of a poweredge 2900 v2 (i think) server, this is currently running dual xeon quad core 2ghz cpus (e54xx series) but every time i boot it up i get an error about communication failure with the Baseboard management controller, ive tried to get the bmc update but it always reports error that its not supported on this system configuration, . im pretty sure its down toa failed firmware update but i cant seem to force an update,
server works fine otherwise other than needing to press f1 everytime it starts and the fans running at full tilt at all times
cheers for any ideas at all on this - i have got a mainboard from an older 2900 also but this does not support my cpus so cannot use that as i need the 8 cores
theflash1932
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April 26th, 2015 07:00
Try to force the update through a bootable medium, rather than from Windows. I believe there are instructions on the forum somewhere to add the update to the diagnostics utility and run it from there. If that doesn't work, your BMC has likely failed.
(Only revision III supports 5400-series processors.)
DJ_Steve
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April 26th, 2015 08:00
must be a REV 3 then :) Any ideas on link for that tutorial
theflash1932
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April 26th, 2015 08:00
Nothing so grand as a "tutorial" ... I or one of the Dell guys simply outlined very generically what to do. Something like "download and run the 32-bit diagnostics setup file, create diagnostics USB, add OS-independent EXE version of BMC update, boot to USB, hit option 4 to exit, run update from DOS command prompt" (there is also a "force" option you may need to use it if fails). When I am in front of a computer, I'll see if I can find it - in case you can't get it working from that little info.
theflash1932
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April 26th, 2015 09:00
None. It is a hard limitation of the boards. All revisions of the boards use the same BIOS file for updates - it is the board that is or isn't capable of supporting the processor type.
DJ_Steve
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April 26th, 2015 09:00
found it, looks like the bmc is totally nuked as the updated wont even detect it at all, any ideas if theirs a way to persuade a older revision motherboard to accept 54 series cpus as it does detect them and boot part way but then halts before starting into the os. so i suspect it would work fine with the cpus but something is stopping it
DJ_Steve
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April 26th, 2015 09:00
so how can a older board even boot with unsupported cpus fitted ? surly that would just throw an error
theflash1932
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April 26th, 2015 10:00
I would guess you aren't getting far enough for the error, not to mention the BMC is the device responsible for communicating system errors ;)
DJ_Steve
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April 26th, 2015 10:00
yes i get the unsupported cpu error once it gets to the end of the bios/option rom loading. but it also recognises the cpus perfectly prior to that, just halts once bmc loads and kills it, even though up to thjat point the system is loading and working fine
theflash1932
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April 26th, 2015 10:00
What do you mean it "boots"? At some point, it will fail, usually with an "unsupported CPU" message. If it "boots" with 5400-series processors in an "older" board, then that older board is still a version III.