SOLVED Missing LSI controller on my X10SL-7

[suhlhorn]

I'm rather dumbfounded by this one. I have a X10SL-7 mobo with the integrated LSI controller. I'm in the experimentation/development phase of my build and made some changes to my setup. I initially had 4x4TB discs setup in RAIDZ2 for my pool and 2 mirrored SSDs for my boot discs. All were connected to the 6 native intel SATA ports. No problem... everything "just worked".

After some playing/thinking/planning, I decided I wanted a 6x4TB RAIDZ2 pool. I picked up a couple more WD Reds and decided to connect the pool discs to the LSI ports and leave the boot SSDs on the intel controller. I am going to flash the controller into IT mode a la:
Flashing the LSI2308 firmware on a Supermicro X10SL7-F motherboard.

So I boot up the machine to get the SAS address for flashing, but... NO LSI config screen after the POST! The system boots normally and I can enter the BIOS setup by pressing DEL. If I do nothing, it falls back to the UEFI prompt (no discs connected). But, nowhere during the process am I presented with an LSI config screen for me to enter "ctrl-c" to get into the LSI config. When the mobo was virgin, ie- before I installed my first FreeNAS system, I did get the screen during boot, but now it is gone.

Did I accidentally disable it in the BIOS setup somehow? I went through all the BIOS settings and cannot figure out where or how I could have done this. Any direction will be *much* appreciated!

Thanks-
-stephen

 

[BigDave]

SSH into you box and see the results of
dmidecode -t (keyword)
In place of (keyword) type the following numbers;
-t 0 = BIOS Information

-t 1 = System Information

-t 2 = Base Board Information

-t 3 = Chassis Information

-t 4 = Processor Information

-t 7 = CPU Cache Information

-t 9 = System Expansion Slot/Slots Information

-t 16 = Physical Memory Array

-t 17 = Memory Device

-t 32 = System Boot Information

-t 38 = IPMI Device Information

-t 39 = System Power Supply

-t 41 = Onboard Devices

I would think number 41 should show your controller if it's alive and working.

 

[BigDave]

Also found this...
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...micro-x10sl7-f-motherboard.38884/#post-237524

 

[suhlhorn]

Looks like the controller is alive (output pruned):

[root@freenas ~]# dmidecode -t 41
# dmidecode 3.0
Scanning /dev/mem for entry point.
SMBIOS 2.7 present.

Handle 0x001B, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
Reference Designation: Onboard SAS
Type: SAS Controller
Status: Enabled
Type Instance: 1
Bus Address: 0000:02:00.0

 

[suhlhorn]

Also found this...
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...micro-x10sl7-f-motherboard.38884/#post-237524

I saw that too, but I'm a little flustered as to why I can't see the LSI controller firmware screen. I'll give the above a try to see if I can see anything.

Thanks!

 

[BigDave]

I'm not sure if this would have an effect (I don't own that mobo), but perhaps a UEFI/BIOS setting
that enables "fast boot" would need to be disabled to show the controller's boot sequence.
The above being a WAG.
Another WAG... maybe a drive needs to be attached to the controller...

 

[Jailer]

Just use the info from that thread to get the SAS address and write it down and then flash your controller. You don't need the boot ROM to flash your controller just the SAS Address.

 

[Jailer]

I'm not sure if this would have an effect (I don't own that mobo), but perhaps a UEFI/BIOS setting
that enables "fast boot" would need to be disabled to show the controller's boot sequence.
The above being a WAG.
Another WAG... maybe a drive needs to be attached to the controller...

It will show regardless of either.

Curious @suhlhorn did you purchase this board used or new?

 

[suhlhorn]

I'm not sure if this would have an effect (I don't own that mobo), but perhaps a UEFI/BIOS setting
that enables "fast boot" would need to be disabled to show the controller's boot sequence.

Already tried that... As Jailer said, no effect.

Curious @suhlhorn did you purchase this board used or new?

Brand-spanking new! Only 4 weeks old.

Is this grounds for an RMA? Even if I can reflash the controller, I'm a little concerned about the long-term health of the board.

Thanks-
-stephen

 

[Jailer]

That is odd. Me? I'd try flashing it and see what you come up with. But that's what I would do. You do what you're comfortable doing.

 

[Spearfoot]

Make sure you haven't inadvertently dorked up the SAS controller settings in the BIOS. Here's how mine looks under Advanced->Chipset Configuration->PCIe Configuration:



Advanced->PCIe/PCI/PnP Configuration:



You might look at Advanced->Boot Feature and see if you need to tweak the 'AddOn ROM Display Mode' to force the LSI setup screen to show up during boot.

Sorry I don't remember the details better; it's been a year since I set this server up.

 

[Ericloewe]

Is this grounds for an RMA?

Not in the slightest.

Your controller is almost certainly just missing the BIOS and/or UEFI extension ROM(s). Either that or your BIOS is not loading them. The extension ROMs are optional during flashing.

 

[suhlhorn]

Sounds like it's something I "dorked up" in the BIOS... figures.

I'll check the ROM settings. Thanks for the screenies Spearfoot!
-stephen

 

[suhlhorn]

Does anyone know if there's a quick trick to restore the BIOS setting to the factory default (jumpers, etc)?

Then, I could just start fresh w/o having to dig through every option.
Thanks-
-stephen

 

[BigDave]

As an aging overclocker, I'm in the habit of saving bios configurations.
The answer to your question is yes, you can re-set the cmos usually by jumper pins, BUT
the newer boards now tend to have solder points instead of physical pins.
Follow your mobo manual...

 

[suhlhorn]

That's what I thought... I saw the solder pad... not sure that I want to go there!

Thanks for everyone's help. Unfortunately, I'm heading out of town, so I'll have to table this one for now. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back.

Thanks-
-stephen

 

[suhlhorn]

I FOUND IT!!!

For whatever reason, I disabled the boot ROM/UEFI option under the SATA configuration page.

Thanks to everyone for pointing me in the right direction!
-stephen