AMD system may not respond after changing memory frequency in BIOS
Summary: When the memory frequency is modified in the BIOS, a 17G server may fail to boot. This problem occurs only on AMD platforms.
Symptoms
This is a cross-platform issue on 17G servers using the AMD architecture.
Within the BIOS menu, under System Profile Settings, there is a Memory Frequency option. When this setting is changed, the server may stop responding during the subsequent reboot. The server displays the message "Please wait while the system is initializing," as shown below.
Since this issue occurs during the reboot process, there is no data loss or functional impact to the system.
Figure 1: The server stops responding and displays this message.
Cause
This issue is due to a conflict between Dell’s memory-speed adjustment feature (BIOS core) and the AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA) firmware behavior. The conflict prevents proper memory initialization during reboot, resulting in the system detecting no usable memory.
Resolution
This issue occurs only during the first reboot after the Memory Frequency setting is changed in the BIOS. A single additional reboot (which can be warm, cold, or a full AC power cycle) typically resolves the problem and allows the system to initialize successfully.
The engineering team is aware of the issue, and a fix is scheduled to be included in the BIOS December block.