Problems upon first boot with Supermicro X11SSM-F

[Jon Smark]

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

Thanks for the concern! Well, it turns out that there is indeed a Supermicro representative in my country, and I contacted them. They told me it is indeed possible to perform a BIOS update via IPMI, as long as you have a OOB license. In the meantime I also got a reply from Supermicro Support, and they said the same thing.

I still haven't performed the update, though. I applied for an evaluation license with Supermicro, and I've also asked my local representative for a quote on how much a license would cost me in my local currency (I can get it online from CDW for $19, but for tax purposes it's simpler if I get it locally, which I will if the price difference is not too great). I'm now waiting for their replies...

But anyway, I'll post here the conclusion to this drama once it's over... But I'm optimistic: the worst that can happen is that I'll have to spend $19 for an OOB license.

 

[Spearfoot]

Thanks for the concern! Well, it turns out that there is indeed a Supermicro representative in my country, and I contacted them. They told me it is indeed possible to perform a BIOS update via IPMI, as long as you have a OOB license. In the meantime I also got a reply from Supermicro Support, and they said the same thing.

I still haven't performed the update, though. I applied for an evaluation license with Supermicro, and I've also asked my local representative for a quote on how much a license would cost me in my local currency (I can get it online from CDW for $19, but for tax purposes it's simpler if I get it locally, which I will if the price difference is not too great). I'm now waiting for their replies...

But anyway, I'll post here the conclusion to this drama once it's over... But I'm optimistic: the worst that can happen is that I'll have to spend $19 for an OOB license.

Glad things look like they're going to work out for you!

I learned something new: that you can flash these motherboards w/ IPMI, even if they can't boot up! Whodathunkit?!

 

[avi]

Thanks for the concern! Well, it turns out that there is indeed a Supermicro representative in my country, and I contacted them. They told me it is indeed possible to perform a BIOS update via IPMI, as long as you have a OOB license. In the meantime I also got a reply from Supermicro Support, and they said the same thing.

I still haven't performed the update, though. I applied for an evaluation license with Supermicro, and I've also asked my local representative for a quote on how much a license would cost me in my local currency (I can get it online from CDW for $19, but for tax purposes it's simpler if I get it locally, which I will if the price difference is not too great). I'm now waiting for their replies...

But anyway, I'll post here the conclusion to this drama once it's over... But I'm optimistic: the worst that can happen is that I'll have to spend $19 for an OOB license.

Have you already received an OOB license? I'm curious since I'm having the exact same problem and was wondering if the BIOS update via IPMI does the trick...

 

[Jon Smark]

Have you already received an OOB license? I'm curious since I'm having the exact same problem and was wondering if the BIOS update via IPMI does the trick...

Not yet. I'll update this thread once there's white smoke.

 

[avi]

In the meantime, I've sent an email to the Supermicro support and asked if they could provide me with an evaluation license for the Supermicro Update Manager (SUM), but they just pointed me to this FAQ, which says that the user needs to purchase the OOB license himself...
Nevertheless, I've also requested an evaluation license for the SUM via this form - let's see if this is more successful.

 

[avi]

Update from my side:
I purchased an OOB license and performed the BIOS update via IPMI. Now, everything runs smoothly.

Why Supermicro support is not able to issue an evaluation license to solve such a problem is a different story...

 

[Jon Smark]

To conclude this long odyssey: I finally received the OOB license via the local Supermicro representative, and was able to successfully update the BIOS via IPMI.

TL;DR: it is indeed possible to update the BIOS even if the system won't boot due to a CPU incompatibility...

 

[norbs]

I know I'm a bit late to this but I've had some experience with a bad flash on this board there are a few options outside of the OOB license to fix the bios. I'm not sure this method would have worked with an not-yet supported CPU. However maybe this will help someone else.

This from the readme file included with supermicro firmware packages.

================================================
Super.ROM (see user's manual for details)
================================================
Recovery Bios from a USB Device/Drive

If the BIOS file is corrupted and the system is not able to boot up, this feature will
allow you to recover the BIOS image using a USB-attached device. A USB Flash
Drive or a USB CD/DVD ROM/RW drive may be used for this purpose. Please note
that a USB Hard Disk drive is NOT supported at this time. Follow the procedures
below recover the BIOS.


1. Using a different system, copy the standard BIOS binary image file

into a bootable USB flash device or a writable CD/DVD disc's Root "\" Directory, Rename the BIOS binary file as "Super.ROM"

2. While the system is turned off, Insert the USB device that contains the new BIOS binary image (°ßsuper.rom°®).

3. Right after the system is turned on, press and hold <Ctrl> and <Home> keys together until the System Enter Recovery Mode which is showing on the button of the screen

This will take a few seconds or up to one minute.

4. The system will enter the BIOS Recovery menu. Select "Proceed with flash update" to start the BIOS recovery process. DO NOT INTERRUPT THIS PROCESS UNTIL IT IS FINISHED!

5. After the Boot Sector Recovery Process is complete, press any key to reboot the system.

6. Boot into USB drive again. When the DOS prompt appears, please type FLASH.BAT BIOSname#.### to start BIOS update, just like in standard BIOS update procedure.

7. Do not interrupt the process until the flashing is complete.

8. After you see the message of BIOS has completed the update, do the A/C power cycle & restore the BIOS setting.

NOtes:

* Restore the BIOS setting: press Delete to go to the BIOS setup screen, press F3 to load the default and press F4 to save and exit.

* If the system can not boot up due to the BIOS file is corrupted, please change JBR1 jumper setting to pin 2-3 for BIOS recovery.
This is the last step you should do before contact RMA.

* If the BIOS flash failed, you can contact our RMA dept. to have the bios chip reprogrammed. This will require shipping the board to our RMA dept.
The RMA dept's email address is rma@supermicro.com

 

[Ericloewe]

I wish they'd use socketed serial flash chips for the system firmware. Makes everyone's lives easier.

 

[norbs]

I wish they'd use socketed serial flash chips for the system firmware. Makes everyone's lives easier.

Yeah, that would be convenient.

I remember I had one board with a bad flash and another board that had the same type of bios socket (but was different make and model).
I booted up the good board into dos, pulled out the good firmware chip while it was still on, put in the bad firmware from other board (also while on), flashed it and saved the bad board in 5-10 minutes. I'm sure it's easier if I had a purpose built writer but this worked.

 

[Ericloewe]

Yeah, that would be convenient.

I remember I had one board with a bad flash and another board that had the same type of bios socket (but was different make and model).
I booted up the good board into dos, pulled out the good firmware chip while it was still on, put in the bad firmware from other board (also while on), flashed it and saved the bad board in 5-10 minutes. I'm sure it's easier if I had a purpose built writer but this worked.

That's a bit too hardcore for me (and I replace disks in my servers without shutting them down - after validating it during burn-in...), but I'd wire up an Arduino as a makeshift serial programmer.

 

[norbs]

That's a bit too hardcore for me (and I replace disks in my servers without shutting them down - after validating it during burn-in...), but I'd wire up an Arduino as a makeshift serial programmer.

Ya, was just a kid with a broken motherboard. Your way is the way to go.