Precision T3620, 5820, 7820 and 7920 Workstations with Aquantia NIC Cards May Not Load All Option ROMs

Summary: This article describes a Legacy BIOS mode limitation affecting Option ROMs loading in Precision Workstations with Aquantia NIC cards.

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.
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Symptoms

Workstations using Aquantia NIC cards, in specific cases, may not load all the Option ROMs while in Legacy Boot mode. Version A02 of Aquantia 2.5G/5G NIC cards (DPN#s: PPT48, 8YMW6) have its Legacy Option ROM size increased from 6 KB to 42 KB.

This issue is specific to version 1.5.89 of Aquantia and affects the following systems:

  • Precision T3620
  • Precision 5820
  • Tower Precision 7820
  • Tower Precision 7920

Cause

Legacy BIOS mode has a limited amount of memory to load the Option ROMs. When the sum of the Option ROMs to be loaded exceeds the Legacy BIOS's memory limit, additional Option ROMs cannot load. Because of this, when Aquantia NIC cards are used, some of the Option ROMs may not get loaded in Legacy Boot Mode.

Resolution

Workarounds:
  • Use UEFI boot mode instead of Legacy mode.
  • If legacy boot is required, disable other boot options that are not important for your configuration. Keep only the necessary boot options enabled to maximize available memory space.

Affected Products

Precision 5820 Tower, Precision 7820 Tower, Precision 7920 Tower, Precision 7920 Rack, Dell Precision Tower 3620
Article Properties
Article Number: 000143948
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 16 Apr 2025
Version:  6
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