PowerEdge: Drives connected to a PERC are NOT detected in Windows or VMware Installations if Firmware Device Order (FDO) is enabled

Summary: Information about how drives behind a PERC are NOT detected in Windows/VMware ESXi Installation if Firmware Device Order (FDO) is enabled.

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Symptoms

Drives behind a PERC10 or PERC11 controller are not detected during Windows or VMware ESXi installation when Firmware Device Order (FDO) is enabled in the PERC Controller HII menu.

The following screenshot shows FDO set to Enabled under Advanced Controller Properties:

PERC Controller HII menu Advanced Controller Properties page showing Firmware Device Order set to Enabled

Cause

Firmware Device Order (FDO) is a Linux-only feature. Windows and VMware ESXi do not support FDO.

When FDO is enabled and the server boots an unsupported operating system, the PERC controller blocks storage devices from being presented to the OS. This prevents drives from being detected during OS installation.

Resolution

This is expected behavior. To resolve the issue, disable Firmware Device Order (FDO) in the PERC Controller HII menu.

Disable Firmware Device Order

  1. During server POST, press Ctrl+R or F2 to enter the PERC Controller HII Configuration Utility.
  2. Navigate to Dashboard View > Main Menu > Advanced Controller Properties.
  3. Set Firmware Device Order to Disabled.
  4. Select Apply Changes.
  5. Reboot the server and proceed with the Windows or VMware ESXi installation.

POST warning message when FDO is enabled with an unsupported OS

If FDO is enabled and the server boots with Windows or VMware ESXi, the following warning message appears during POST:

UEFI POST message seen during boot when FDO is enabled with unsupported OS

This message indicates that the current driver is not compatible with the running firmware and that FDO is blocking devices from being exposed to the host. Disable FDO from the HII menu as described above to resolve this message.

Unsupported operating systems

The following operating systems do not support Firmware Device Order:

  • Microsoft Windows (all versions)
  • VMware ESXi (all versions)

FDO is supported only on Linux operating systems. For details, refer to the documentation screenshot below and the Dell Direct from Development (DfD) document.

Unsupported OS messaging in PERC documentation showing that Windows and VMware ESXi do not support Firmware Device Order

Additional Resources

Affected Products

Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Windows Server 2022, PowerEdge RAID Controller H350 Adapter SAS, PowerEdge RAID Controller H355 Front SAS, PowerEdge RAID Controller H355 Adapter SAS , PowerEdge RAID Controller H365i Adapter, PowerEdge RAID Controller H365i Front DC-MHS, PowerEdge RAID Controller H750 Adapter SAS, PowerEdge RAID Controller H755 Adapter, PowerEdge RAID Controller H755 MX Adapter, PowerEdge RAID Controller H755N Front NVMe, PowerEdge RAID Controller H755 Front SAS, PowerEdge C6520, PowerEdge C6525, PowerEdge C6615, PowerEdge C6620, PowerEdge HS5610, PowerEdge HS5620, PowerEdge MX750c, PowerEdge R250, PowerEdge R260, PowerEdge R350, PowerEdge R360, PowerEdge R450, PowerEdge R550, PowerEdge R650, PowerEdge R650xs, PowerEdge R6515, PowerEdge R6525, PowerEdge R660, PowerEdge R660xs, PowerEdge R6615, PowerEdge R6625, PowerEdge R750, PowerEdge R750XA, PowerEdge R750xs, PowerEdge R7515, PowerEdge R7525, PowerEdge R760, PowerEdge R760XA, PowerEdge R760xd2, PowerEdge R760xs, PowerEdge R7615, PowerEdge R7625, PowerEdge R860, PowerEdge R960, PowerEdge T150, PowerEdge T160, PowerEdge T350, PowerEdge T360, PowerEdge T550, PowerEdge T560, PowerEdge XR11, PowerEdge XR12, PowerEdge XR4510c, PowerEdge XR4520c, PowerEdge XR5610, PowerEdge XR7620, PowerEdge XR8610t, PowerEdge XR8620t, VMware ESXi 7.x, VMware ESXi 8.x ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000200300
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 30 صفر 1448
Version:  4
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