[CentOS] Boot failure after install on IBM x3550 M3

Wed Nov 17 08:14:22 UTC 2010
Toralf Lund <toralf.lund at pgs.com>

>
>>>>>>> I'm trying to install CentOS 5.5 on a couple of servers of type IBM
>>>>>>> System x3550 M3, but it's not going too well. Actually, the install
>>>>>>> setup phase runs as expected, and the actual installation also appears
>>>>>>> to be successful, but the system will not boot [ ... ]
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>             
>>>>>>>               
>>>>>> Make sure all the firmware is up to date. I've had an IBM x3550 M3 and it couldn't even boot a Windows 2008 R2 64 bit CD with the firmware it shipped with.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>           
>>>>>>             
>>>>> That seems like a useful tip, but do you know what exactly I need to
>>>>> install and where to find it? I'm looking at an IBM download page right
>>>>> now, but it's a little confusing - I can't seem to find anything that
>>>>> it's obviously the *system* firmware, only entries like "Firmware for
>>>>> Rack&   Tower LCD UPS" and " Firmware for Local Console Manager".
>>>>>
>>>>> - Toralf
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>> What's the model and type? It should be xxxx-yyy where x can be 0-9 and y can be 0-9&  A-z.  You can find it on the front of the chassis.
>>>>
>>>>   [ ... ]
>> Search for UEFI firmware. Those IBM servers don't have a classic BIOS anymore, they are EFI based. I looked it up following your model/type and found the updates.
>>
>>
>> http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/systemx/quickorder?parent=ibm/Systemx3550M3&product=ibm/systemx/7944&&platform=All&function=fixId&fixids=ibm_fw_uefi_d6e149a_linux_32-64&source=fc
>>   
>>     
> Ah. Thanks.
>
> I believe I missed that file because I searched for operating system 
> independent components (because firmware doesn't use the OS, right?), 
> but apparently I should have chosen some Linux variant instead.
>   
I should perhaps mention that I found a solution, sort of: It seems like 
the problem is that the system simply won't boot from a single hard disk 
set up as just that - a single, separate drive. I suspect this has 
something to do with the disk/RAID controller firmware, but updating it 
did not help. If, on the other hand, I define (from within the 
controller setup screen) a "RAID" containing only one drive, everything 
works just fine...

- Toralf

This e-mail, including any attachments and response string, may contain proprietary information which is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is for the intended recipient only. If you are not the intended recipient or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail, please notify the author by return e-mail and delete this message and any attachment immediately. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute, forward, copy, print or rely on this e-mail in any way except as permitted by the author.