PowerEdge Hardware General

[pjwelsh]

Question: Is there any additional or other way to restore or set the branding to show a Model of R640?

Background: I have a Dell R640 that came to me with "Dell IDPA" branding. When I looked up the Service Tag, the system *did not* show as an OEM/OEMR/OEM-R. Since it had to be an OEM for Dell DP4400's(the IDPA server hardware), I tried to "fix" branding based on information like:

https://www.dell.com/community/PowerEdge-Hardware-General/Missing-Model-Name-and-Manufacturer-in-iDR...

https://www.dell.com/community/PowerEdge-Hardware-General/Missing-Model-Name-and-Manufacturer-in-iDR...

That information lead me the "Dell PowerEdge OEMR 14G ID Module" from https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=9GFXR via the EOM page of https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/oth-r640/drivers. 

Following the directions *removed* the the "R640 IDPA" "Model" from iDRAC and BIOS and has left it blank. This is actually a little worse that having the IDPA left behind!

My preference would be to restore, but I'm open to direction on how to *set* that information (which I can't seem to find much information on how).

Additionally, the directions from the "Dell PowerEdge OEMR 14G ID Module" have a very confusing direction of,

"16. Custom Branding is now complete. You may now validate all of the custom branding options you have selected including Logos, BIOS Settings, iDRAC Settings, and Lifecycle Controller settings."

This leads me to believe that the "Dell PowerEdge OEMR 14G ID Module" is actually trying to *set* OEM pieces and not restore. Is there an easy way to set the information? 

Also, what is the purpose of the "9GFXR_Cust_5_00.pm" versus the "9GFXR_CustBSU_5_00.pm"? I can't figure that information out at this time.

[pjwelsh]

I should also note that the hardware/BIOS/iDRAC are updated to the latest firmware versions as part of a dsu update.

[DELL-Young E]

Hello, thanks for choosing Dell. A PM file isn't something you can just download from a website, could you please call in to see if you can get this from tech support? https://dell.to/3juLHGy (you can set the country on the top right)

[pjwelsh]

DELL-Young E: Sadly, I've not been able to get to tech support to ask for the correct .pm file. So far each attempt gets me to the "out-of-service-contract" department.

All I want is the get the Dell branding back.

[pjwelsh · Accepted solution]

I'm not sure if I did not properly follow the instructions or what, but using the Identity Module from the "4XHVW_14G_DBE_CustBSU_3_00.exe" (https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-vc/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=4xhvw) worked this most recent time.

Since I run Linux servers, the only note I have is that the you do not need a windows system to extract the *.exe file. Just use 7z instead:

(to list the contents)

7z l 4XHVW_14G_DBE_CustBSU_3_00.exe

(to extract the contents)

7z x 4XHVW_14G_DBE_CustBSU_3_00.exe

Then upload to the iDRAC as the instructions from the page above states.

So, I must have done something wrong the first couple of times.

Thanks for looking.

[jrodvball8]

Hi, I read from Dell's instructions and a Reddit post that the BSU module is only for replacement motherboards. I have not tried that way because of that concern of bricking the server. I have two R730xd servers that are branded from a popular search engine. Your post makes me wonder if I should try the BSU anyway?

Using an Ubuntu Live USB I installed the racadm tools and was able to erase the BIOS and iDRAC settings to default, getting rid of the system setup password. Now I can edit everything in BIOS and iDRAC settings myself. I can install Proxmox no problem.

The thing I cannot do is install an iDRAC Enterprise license; for some reason that menu option is hidden in the iDRAC web interface. I am not sure if the BSU would bring that back to life. So I am torn: do I continue as-is with iDRAC Express and I can do everything else or risk bricking the server with BSU to see if I can get iDRAC Enterprise? I miss the Virtual Console capability as the server is in a basement.

[pjwelsh]

YMMV, but the BSU .pm file does not seem to be able to brick a system based on my attempts (don't put the wrong system on of course). My original attempt removed *all* branding - no non-Dell logos and no Dell logos. However, it did bring back most of the original BIOS menu structure as opposed to the limited <Profanity removed. TOS73> one that the IDPA BIOS version had.

So, I'd try it if it were me... Just make sure to use the correct BSU file for the R730 and not the one I linked for the R640.

BTW, I have one of those bright yellow R730xd's you are talking about. I just recently decommissioned it; how funny.

[jrodvball8]

Thanks for the quick reply! That is good to know! I have two of the bright yellow servers so I could try it on one, worst-case, they did not cost me anything except my time in figuring out the process. The warranties expired last year so these boxes may soon come to the secondary market if not already. Your warning is good to consider; I have the correct non-BSU and BSU files for my system as Dell does a good job telling you what will work for your system.

In my case I am not sure the BIOS menu looks restricted; at least I do not need anything at the moment I cannot adjust. As I said the big one for me is not seeing how to import an iDRAC Enterprise license. If applying the BSU gets me that capability then I consider it a home run Do you have experience with getting iDRAC Enterprise on the bright yellow servers or the one you are working on now?

Thanks!

[pjwelsh]

I don't recall having any issue with that yellow server. I know for sure that it had the iDRAC Enterprise! I always put that on the servers.

As fate has it, I also just noticed an old test server that is an R630 with no Model listed (a likely rebrand that got reset to blank). It has no model, but does have iDrac Enterprise. I'm going to find the BSU file for this and attempt to apply. I've got to get it fully BIOS/Firmware updated via dsu first.

[pjwelsh]

Since I had an R630 in the same "blank model" boat, I did try that server, also... and succeeded. This system, however, did show as an OEMR type when I looked up the Service Tag (unlike the R640 that showed Dell IDPA).

For the R630, the Dell support page had a version "C4M46_CustBSU_1_00.exe" from https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=c4m46&oscode=naa&productcode... I attempted twice to apply based on the directions provided, but still the Model was blank. As this was a basically a forgotten test server, I went ahead and applied the DBE Identity Module instead. That file was "R4K3T_PowerEdge R630, _CustBSU_1_00.exe" from https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=r4k3t&oscode=naa&productcode... and that *did* return the model to showing "PowerEdge R630" (no longer blank).

Here is before from the "inxi" utility:

[root@XXYYZZ ~]# inxi -M
Machine:
Type: Server Mobo: N/A model: 086D43 v: A04 serial: .ABC12345.CN7475153L0462.
UEFI: N/A v: 2.16.0 date: 07/20/2022

To:

[root@XXYYZZ ~]# inxi -M
Machine:
Type: Server System: Dell product: PowerEdge R630 v: N/A serial: ABC12345
Mobo: Dell model: 086D43 v: A04 serial: .ABC12345.CN7475153L0462. UEFI: Dell
v: 2.16.0 date: 07/20/2022

Yes, "dmidecode" does show the DBE, but I only search for the Model and not the SKU:

[root@XXYYZZ ~]# dmidecode |grep PowerEdge
Product Name: PowerEdge R630
SKU Number: SKU=NotProvided;ModelName=PowerEdge R630, DBE
String 6: 9[PowerEdge R630, DBE]