Problems upon first boot with Supermicro X11SSM-F

[Jon Smark]

I've just performed the first boot on a system with a Supermicro X11SSM-F board and a Pentium G4560 CPU. I ran into a few problems, however:

• I connected an old VGA monitor to see the POST output, but it stops at "PEI - CPU Initialization", with error 35. I googled the problem, and it seems related to the graphics mode. But how do I fix it?
• I plugged the IPMI port to my home router, and well enough, it was given an IP address. I then connected to port 80 of that IP and got a login screen (default username and password seem to be both ADMIN). The page complains immediately about the Java version. Which version of Java should i Install on my system? (I'm running Ubuntu 16.10)
• On the IPMI main page I noticed that the BIOS version is older than the one available on Supermicro's website. However, if I go to "Maintenance -> BIOS update", I get a message stating that the "License is not activated yet". But I can't find anything about the license on the box. (The seller sent me a X11SSM-F-B version. I hope that makes no difference.)

Anyway, I'm anxiously waiting for a chance to install FreeNAS, and I hope you can help me get past these first hurdles!

 

[diedrichg]

http://m.wikihow.com/Install-Java-on-Linux

 

[Jon Smark]

http://m.wikihow.com/Install-Java-on-Linux

Thanks for the reply. Note, however, that I didn't ask how to install Java on Linux, but instead which version of Java is required for Supermicro's IPMI. (Versions 8 and 9 are available on Ubuntu's repos.)

 

[diedrichg]

BIOS updates are not recommended unless there is a specific feature you need.

Getting Java going on your Ubuntu will get you full access to your motherboard as though you had a monitor attached.

Anyways, through the IPMI connection you can manipulate the BIOS as needed. You shouldn't have to disable or enable any features on the motherboard. Just connect your FN boot drives (to be used in mirror), connect your FN installation USB and then boot to the install USB. It should be self-explanatory from there.

 

[diedrichg]

Thanks for the reply. Note, however, that I didn't ask how to install Java on Linux, but instead which version of Java is required for Supermicro's IPMI. (Versions 8 and 9 are available on Ubuntu's repos.)

9

 

[Jon Smark]

BIOS updates are not recommended unless there is a specific feature you need.

I think that proper support for Kaby Lake CPUs are one of the features needed by the new 2.0 BIOS (the board came with 1.0b). Could this be the reason why I get the error 35 on boot?

Anyway, how do I update the BIOS if the "Management -> BIOS update" option keeps asking me about an activation code? Do I need to contact Supermicro to get the activation code? And why doesn't it come in the box? (Sorry if this last question is naive, but once one has shelled major $$$ for a board, one kind of expects the basic stuff to be included...)

 

[Spearfoot]

I think that proper support for Kaby Lake CPUs are one of the features needed by the new 2.0 BIOS (the board came with 1.0b). Could this be the reason why I get the error 35 on boot?

Anyway, how do I update the BIOS if the "Management -> BIOS update" option keeps asking me about an activation code? Do I need to contact Supermicro to get the activation code? And why doesn't it come in the box? (Sorry if this last question is naive, but once one has shelled major $$$ for a board, one kind of expects the basic stuff to be included...)

Supermicro wants to charge a fee for the capability of updating the motherboard BIOS via IPMI, but half the people you talk to at Supermicro won't know what you're talking about if ask about this...

Nevertheless, you can flash the BIOS update without paying a fee or using the Java-based IPMI tools:

1. Browse to Supermicro's support page for the X11SSM-F
2. Open the 'Update Your BIOS' link there and download the BIOS zip archive X11SSMF7_106.zip
   
3. Extract the zip files to a bootable USB stick
   
4. Boot the USB stick and follow the instructions in the Readme for UP X11 AMI BIOS.txt file. In this case, you'd run: flash.bat X11SSMF7.106

 

[Jon Smark]

Nevertheless, you can flash the BIOS update without paying a fee or using the Java-based IPMI tools:

Perhaps I'm being thick, but how can I boot into DOS if the system won't boot? (It fails with error 35 on boot, as I mentioned above.)

 

[Spearfoot]

Perhaps I'm being thick, but how can I boot into DOS if the system won't boot? (It fails with error 35 on boot, as I mentioned above.)

Doooooh!

Try unplugging the VGA monitor and booting from the USB stick using IPMI instead of plugging it directly into the motherboard.

 

[Jon Smark]

Try unplugging the VGA monitor and booting from the USB stick using IPMI instead of plugging it directly into the motherboard.

Thanks for your reply! I'm afraid, though, that there's some crucial step I'm missing. Here's what I've done:

• Created a bootable Freedos ISO containing the updated BIOS.
• Started IPMI View 2.12.
• Opened a KVM console.
• Plugged in the ISO in "Virtual Media -> Virtual Storage".
• Powered on the computer.

However, the system still hangs on the "PEI--CPU initialization 35" step. It never gets to the point where it actually boots my ISO. What am I missing?

 

[USAMarkD]

I've just performed the first boot on a system with a Supermicro X11SSM-F board and a Pentium G4560 CPU. I ran into a few problems, however:

• I connected an old VGA monitor to see the POST output, but it stops at "PEI - CPU Initialization", with error 35. I googled the problem, and it seems related to the graphics mode. But how do I fix it?
• I plugged the IPMI port to my home router, and well enough, it was given an IP address. I then connected to port 80 of that IP and got a login screen (default username and password seem to be both ADMIN). The page complains immediately about the Java version. Which version of Java should i Install on my system? (I'm running Ubuntu 16.10)
• On the IPMI main page I noticed that the BIOS version is older than the one available on Supermicro's website. However, if I go to "Maintenance -> BIOS update", I get a message stating that the "License is not activated yet". But I can't find anything about the license on the box. (The seller sent me a X11SSM-F-B version. I hope that makes no difference.)

Anyway, I'm anxiously waiting for a chance to install FreeNAS, and I hope you can help me get past these first hurdles!

Hi Jon,
I have the same board and am trying to get my FreeNAS up and running. I had the similar error and mine was because I had RDIMM instead of UDIMMs installed. So, double-check your RAM and ensure it's the proper type. This board is only compatible with "unbuffered" RAM. Also, you don't need to use IPMI to update the BIOS. Just create a bootable USB using Rufus and select either "FreeDOS" or "MS-DOS" in the field where it states "Create a bootable disk using". Once you make your USB key bootable, then just copy over the BIOS files extracted from the ZIP. Make sure you use the proper BIOS update for X11SSM and NOT X11SSL! (uh-hmm...not that I've been through any of this....) ;)

 

[Jon Smark]

I have the same board and am trying to get my FreeNAS up and running. I had the similar error and mine was because I had RDIMM instead of UDIMMs installed. So, double-check your RAM and ensure it's the proper type. This board is only compatible with "unbuffered" RAM. Also, you don't need to use IPMI to update the BIOS. Just create a bootable USB using Rufus and select either "FreeDOS" or "MS-DOS" in the field where it states "Create a bootable disk using". Once you make your USB key bootable, then just copy over the BIOS files extracted from the ZIP. Make sure you use the proper BIOS update for X11SSM and NOT X11SSL! (uh-hmm...not that I've been through any of this....) ;)

Thanks for your reply. I doubt the problem is the RAM, since these are ECC DDR4 2133Mhz UDIMMs which the manufacturer explicitly lists as having been tested with the X11SSM-F...

As for your suggestion, I still feel like I'm missing a crucial step which may be obvious to you guys but not to me. Suppose I do have a bootable USB pendrive. How can I use it if the board won't boot? It always gets stuck at the "PEI-CPU initilization 35" boot step, which is most likely because the CPU is a Kaby Lake Pentium, and the factory BIOS does not support Kaby Lake. Is there some magic key combination that allows me to skip this step?

 

[Spearfoot]

Thanks for your reply. I doubt the problem is the RAM, since these are ECC DDR4 2133Mhz UDIMMs which the manufacturer explicitly lists as having been tested with the X11SSM-F...

As for your suggestion, I still feel like I'm missing a crucial step which may be obvious to you guys but not to me. Suppose I do have a bootable USB pendrive. How can I use it if the board won't boot? It always gets stuck at the "PEI-CPU initilization 35" boot step, which is most likely because the CPU is a Kaby Lake Pentium, and the factory BIOS does not support Kaby Lake. Is there some magic key combination that allows me to skip this step?

Please post your full system specs, per the forum rules.

Are you able to get into the system BIOS? How many sticks of memory do you have? If less than four, are you sure they're installed in the correct slots? You can always try booting with a single stick of memory to see if any of the modules are bad.

 

[Jon Smark]

Please post your full system specs, per the forum rules.

Motherboard: Supermicro X11SSM-F
CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 (Kaby Lake)
RAM: 2x8GB Kingston DDR4 UDIMM ECC 2133Mhz

Are you able to get into the system BIOS? How many sticks of memory do you have? If less than four, are you sure they're installed in the correct slots? You can always try booting with a single stick of memory to see if any of the modules are bad.

I don't think I ever got a chance to get into the BIOS. As I mentioned, the boot gets stuck at the "PEI-CPU initilization 35" step. Is there a special key combination I can try to get past this step?

I've installed the RAM as per the manual (slots A2 and B2).

Couldn't the problem be just the CPU? After all, Supermicro does offer the 2.0 BIOS update because older versions do not support Kaby Lake CPUs, as I mentioned before.

 

[Spearfoot]

Motherboard: Supermicro X11SSM-F
CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 (Kaby Lake)
RAM: 2x8GB Kingston DDR4 UDIMM ECC 2133Mhz



I don't think I ever got a chance to get into the BIOS. As I mentioned, the boot gets stuck at the "PEI-CPU initilization 35" step. Is there a special key combination I can try to get past this step?

I've installed the RAM as per the manual (slots A2 and B2).

Couldn't the problem be just the CPU? After all, Supermicro does offer the 2.0 BIOS update because older versions do not support Kaby Lake CPUs, as I mentioned before.

I suspect your problem is the CPU... but was trying to eliminate the more obvious problems people run into with memory... because these would be easy to fix. If it's the CPU, you're either going to have to borrow an older CPU to install long enough to update the BIOS, or return the mobo to Supermicro and let them do it. Or something like that.

EDIT: No, there is no key combination I'm aware of that will get you past the BIOS boot error.

EDIT: And it would still be worth a try to boot from a single memory stick...

 

[Jon Smark]

I suspect your problem is the CPU... but was trying to eliminate the more obvious problems people run into with memory... because these would be easy to fix. If it's the CPU, you're either going to have to borrow an older CPU to install long enough to update the BIOS, or return the mobo to Supermicro and let them do it. Or something like that.

There's always the possibility of BIOS update via IPMI, which I hope would work. However, it requires an activation license which I don't have and which I'm not sure I could even get if I wanted (I'm outside the US and there's no Supermicro representative in my country). I sent an email to Supermicro support, but haven't received any reply yet...

 

[Spearfoot]

There's always the possibility of BIOS update via IPMI, which I hope would work. However, it requires an activation license which I don't have and which I'm not sure I could even get if I wanted (I'm outside the US and there's no Supermicro representative in my country). I sent an email to Supermicro support, but haven't received any reply yet...

I don't think this will work; whether directly or remotely via IPMI, the system has to boot up before you can flash it -- and your system doesn't seem able to do so.

 

[Jon Smark]

I don't think this will work; whether directly or remotely via IPMI, the system has to boot up before you can flash it -- and your system doesn't seem able to do so.

Is there any way I can know for sure? I've looked in Supermicro's site for this information but couldn't find it. My Google-fu is also failing me...

 

[USAMarkD]

I emailed Supermicro support (support at supermicro.com) and had a nearly instant response that solved my problem. I'd recommend checking with Supermicro. They seem to be very responsive. Couldn't hurt....just give the hardware specs and all the info up front so as to eliminate the back/forth as much as possible.

 

[USAMarkD]

Hi Jon,
Any luck? Just checking in to see how you made out...

Mark