C210 M2 standalone server beeps during post

[Johnny B]

Good evening, everyone. UCS newbie here. I have a standalone C210 M2 that emits the following beeps right after the "Configuring and testing platform hardware" portion of the POST sequence. Said beeps are all short, lasting about a second; high, low, high, high, high.

Can anyone please help me understand what they mean?

Also, despite the beep codes, the server continues to boot. However, it will only boot to the EFI shell. When I attempt to change the order in the BIOS, I'm only given four options.

1) Internal EFI shell

2) IBA GE Slot 0F00 v1335

3) P5- (I'm not sure what the trailing "-" symbol is for)

4) Disabled.

In short, I'm not sure which one to pick! Stranger still, when I attempt to manually select a boot device during POST, the options are different.

1) Internal EFI Shell

2) P5-HS-TK-;T@ODIAM(G$DI!8P>@ {Yes, that's exactly as it appears}

3) IBA GE Slot 0F00 v1335

4) IBA GE Slot 0F01 v1335

Ultimately, I'd like the machine to a USB key on which ESXi will be installed. That said, where do I go from here?

[Kirk J]

Greetings.

In your BIOS setup, I would choose the F9, BIOS defaults.

I seems like your CMOS/BIOS settings are corrupted.

I would also configure the CIMC (F8 key during post), and assign IP info. 

The CIMC will be helpful when reviewing/setting boot order, and updating firmware.

I would download the latest firmware available at https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=283862069&softwareid=283850974&release=1.4(3z)&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

Updating the firmware, will give you more USB boot options.

Thanks,

Kirk...

[Johnny B]

Thanks Kirk. It's funny you mention updating the firmware. That's exactly what I was trying to do when this issue came up.

I'll give it another whirl tonight.

[Kirk J]

If you can't get the boot options cleared up, there is a way to extract the CIMC portion of the update out of the HUU ISO, and update the CIMC firmware.  You can also do the same with the BIOS, both of which are under Admin, utilities, firmware mgmt.

I would only resort to that, if you can't get the HUU ISO to boot via KVM, or via burned DVD/CD.

Kirk...

[Johnny B]

Hi Kirk. Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it.

Well, I tried setting the BIOS back to factory defaults to no avail. The DVD drive simply doesn't appear in the BIOS or the one time boot option menu, per the attached photos.

Are there any type of diagnostics I can run on this box? Neither the "Press <Esc> to view diagnostic messages" option during POST, nor the "POST error pause" option in the BIOS yielded any results.

I guess I'll need to go the CIMC route if there's any hope of me getting this box up and running. Do I configure the CIMC in the BIOS? Also, is it possible to update the CIMC via the CIMC?

Finally, when you say "extract the CIMC portion of the update out of the HUU ISO," is that also done using the CIMC?

[Kirk J]

Greetings.

There server does have a SCU iso that has some tests.

When the server is 1st going through post, you should see a prompt to hit F8 key to enter CIMC setup.  That is where you will setup IP info, and indicate if  you are using the dedicated mgmt port, set password, etc.

Once you can get into the CIMC web interface, it is under the 'admin' tab, you have the option to upload the cimc and bios components via web method.

Let me know which HUU firmware iso you are using, and I'll send you the path inside the ISO to pull the bios and CIMC files from.  

Thanks,

Kirk...

[Johnny B]

Thanks Kirk! I'll be using the 1.4.3z HUU ISO. I'm not sure how far I'll get, given the fact the DVD drive seems to be out of whack. I'll give it a shot, nonetheless.

[Johnny B]

Thanks again, Kirk! I'll keep you posted.

BTW, can you think of a reason why a hard drive whose amber alert light was lit when installed in the server I'm attempting to work on, but wasn't lit in a known good C210 M2?

[Kirk J]

I don't recall if a drive with a 'foreign config' will stay lit until the foreign config is imported or cleared.  During post, when the lsi megaraid option rom loaded, did you get a message about a foreign config?

Thanks,

Kirk...

[Johnny B]

I'm not sure. I'll have to look for it tonight.

[Johnny B]

Good morning, Kirk and Wesley. I didn't get a chance to update the BIOS and CIMC last night, but I was able to set them both to factory defaults. Once that was complete, the DVD drive was at least visible in the BIOS. Unfortunately, I still couldn't boot to it. It lights up and spins when you put a disc in it, but it just won't boot.

So, per your suggestions, I tried to mount an ISO of the HUU disc via the CIMC. The latter worked flawlessly, save one key function. I can't configure/mount virtual media! Per the attached picture, the settings simply aren't there.

Perhaps someone could shed some light on this?

[Kirk J]

Actually mounting the virtual media occurs once you have the KVM open, and click on the 'vm' tab.

Please confirm if your KVM console window, has a VM tab at top.  Click on the keyboard looking icon at the top to launch that, and after dealing with a bunch of java security prompts, it should open.  If this has an older CIMC firmware, then it may require java 6 or earlier versions of java 7 to work.

Thanks,

Kirk...

[Johnny B]

Hi Kirk. I should have included more information.

The KVM console works like a dream. However, when I click on the VM tab, it's blank. I'll snap a picture of it tonight.

[Kirk J · Accepted solution]

Let's try getting your CIMC manually upgraded then.

Open ucs-c200-huu-1.4.3z.iso\C200M1_1.4.3Z.ZIP\1.4.3z\cimc\c200-m1-cimc.1.4.3z.zip\c200-m1-cimc.1.4.3z\

and copy the upd-pkg-c200-m1-cimc.full.1.4.3z.bin to temp location.

Point to this file after going to Admin tab, utilities, and firmware MGT, and use 'web' method to update the CIMC firmware.

Once this is complete, the CIMC will reboot, and you will have to wait a few minutes to log back into the CIMC web interface.

I suspect the virtual media functionality will be there with the CIMC is upgraded, and you will then want to let the HUU run, with upgrade all option.

Thanks,

Kirk...

[Johnny B]

Good morning, guys. It's finally working!

To make a long story short, I popped the top of the server and re-seated the SATA cable between the DVD drive and the motherboard. That seems to have done the trick. Unbelievable!

So, after updating the firmware and BIOS using a physical disc, I then tried the CIMC console and, you were right Kirk, the ability to mount virtual media was finally available. Though, populating the VM tab itself took several seconds after first selecting it.

Thank you to everyone who chimed in on this. I really, REALLY appreciate it!