PowerEdge: 14G Intel - BIOS downgrade from 2.4.8 to older version halting in POST

Summary: Dell guidance for resolving an issue with downgrading BIOS 2.4.8 that encountered a server stop during POST at "Loading BIOS Drivers" on certain 14th Generation PowerEdge Servers with Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Skylake) or second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Cascade Lake) processors. This step-by-step guide provides instructions to recover the BIOS to resolve this issue. ...

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Check out other resources

Symptoms

Affected products:
PowerEdge servers with BIOS version 2.4.8 and Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Skylake) or second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Cascade Lake)

Summary:
PowerEdge servers with BIOS version 2.4.8 and Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Skylake) or second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Cascade Lake) installed, may encounter a server stop during POST at "Loading BIOS Drivers" when attempting to downgrade BIOS to an older 2.x.x BIOS version.

Details:
PowerEdge servers with BIOS version 2.4.8 and Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Skylake) or second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Cascade Lake) installed, may encounter a server stop during POST at "Loading BIOS Drivers" when attempting to downgrade BIOS to an older 2.x.x BIOS version. In the iDRAC job queue, the BIOS downgrade process shows at ~10% complete.

This issue does not occur in every configuration thus not every server experiences it.
 

Note: BIOS version 2.1.x or newer is required for PowerEdge servers with second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Cascade Lake). BIOS versions 1.x.x only supports Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Skylake).

Once a server is in this state, a warm or cold reset does not recover the server.

Cause

PowerEdge servers with BIOS version 2.4.8 and Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Skylake) or second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Cascade Lake) installed, may encounter a server stop during POST at "Loading BIOS Drivers" when attempting to downgrade BIOS to an older 2.x.x BIOS version.

Resolution

Resolution:
Dell engineering is aware of the issue and has fixed this downgrade issue in BIOS release version 2.5.4 (or higher). A BIOS downgrade from 2.5.4 (or higher) to older 2.x.x BIOS versions do not encounter this issue.

To recover a server that is already in this state as the result of attempting to downgrade BIOS, perform the following steps:

  1. ssh to the server iDRAC, and log in
  2. Run racadm command and subcommands as shown below:
For example:
If run remotely (with the correct IP, user and passwords):
racadm -r 192.168.1.1 -u root -p abc123 recover BIOS.Setup.1-1
 
If run in iDRAC serial console:
racadm  recover BIOS.Setup.1-1

Affected Products

Storage Spaces Direct R440 Ready Node, Storage Spaces Direct R640 Ready Node, Storage Spaces Direct R740xd Ready Node, Storage Spaces Direct R740xd2 Ready node, OEMR R240, OEMR R340, OEMR R440, PowerEdge XR2, OEMR R540, OEMR R640, OEMR XL R640 , OEMR R740, OEMR XL R740, OEMR R740xd, OEMR XL R740xd, OEMR R740xd2, OEMR R840, OEMR R940, OEMR R940xa, OEMR T140, OEMR T340, OEMR T440, OEMR XL R240, OEMR XL R340, Poweredge C4140, PowerEdge C6420, PowerEdge FC640, PowerEdge M640, PowerEdge M640 (for PE VRTX), PowerEdge MX740C, PowerEdge MX840C, PowerEdge R240, PowerEdge R340, PowerEdge R440, PowerEdge R540, PowerEdge R640, PowerEdge R740, PowerEdge R740XD, PowerEdge R740XD2, PowerEdge R840, PowerEdge R940, PowerEdge R940xa, PowerEdge T140, PowerEdge T340, PowerEdge T440, PowerEdge T640, VxFlex Ready Node R640, VxFlex Ready Node R740xd, Dell EMC vSAN C6420 Ready Node, Dell EMC vSAN MX740c Ready Node, Dell EMC vSAN R440 Ready Node, Dell EMC vSAN R640 Ready Node, Dell EMC vSAN R740 Ready Node, Dell EMC vSAN R740xd Ready Node, Dell EMC vSAN R840 Ready Node, VxFlex Ready Node R840 ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000135434
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 30 Apr 2026
Version:  7
Find answers to your questions from other Dell users
Support Services
Check if your device is covered by Support Services.