IBM M1015 Firmware - What to flash with

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mobilenvidia

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Sep 25, 2011
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Try:

megarec -cleanflash 0
reboot
megarec -m0flash 0 imr_fw.rom (make sure you have the IBM Firmware)
The SBR should be fixed once the FW starts to update.

If this don't work then you are going to have some difficulties
'APP' is the actual FW of the M1015 that is having issues.

Mine has a manufacture date of 2011-08-25 so I doubt its a revision problem.
2nd sticker for me says: LSISAS-9240-8i(B) so we have the same card, I had no issues doing what you started to do

SAS2flash and SAS2flsh are not available while the card is still a M1015
These become available once the FW is erased, but your's is stuck doing this.
 
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The Lost

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Dec 1, 2011
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Mine has a mfg date of 6-24-11 so your probably correct in assuming its not newer versions of this card unless these cards were produced at different facilities and the facility my card was made at was using a newer die set or something. I highly doubt that, the more likely thing is i just got a bad card that finally showed when i attempted to flash it.

yes, the first time i attempted to clean flash, that exact error message i posted in my previous post happened on the first time. It still allows me to successfully writesbr and everything else to it before that command, it just errors out with error 64 when i attempt to erase the flash.

You say the sbr should be fixed once it starts to update, like i said, it allows me to writesbr and what not and i even write the original sbr i backed up when starting this process.

The closest thing to a rev # is on a sticker that also has, 9220-8i H3-25097-02D
the sticker is labeled board name/assembly/rev.

I anonymously discussed my issue directly with LSI and he told me to never use megarec and didn't know where i would get that information from i didnt mention i was reading a guide on a forum, then stated that i should only ever use megacli or sas2flash to firmware update this card. I didn't take him for one of those not-so-knowledgeable guys that was just blowing smoke, he seemed quite knowledgeable to me. He however wasn't able to help me figure out the issue because he felt it was because of the use of the wrong program and that i bricked the card. I really hope not. I realize there is always a risk, and i accept that responsibility but it doesn't mean i have to like it.

Anyway here a bit further information although i don't think its entirely helpful.

if i cleanflash with megarec when i reboot the card displays cyan text that says the flash didn't pass validation and the card must be flashed again. When i attempt to flash it and it fails, the card displays an LSI megaRAID bios type page which attempts to F/W Initialize Adapters but hangs at 0% for a long time until it finally goes past it with no success and on to boot. I will literally pay someone to get me outta this situation with a working IT mode card =D

Just let me know if you need any more information or what to try next, i'm computer savvy but i know little to nothing about these cards or their firmware. I've just been struggling to figure out megaCLI and other tools. perhaps megarec doesn't like to clear my firmware, is there another tool that will wipe the bios so i can stick a new bios in? that seems to be my hanging point at the moment.
 

mobilenvidia

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The closest thing to a rev # is on a sticker that also has, 9220-8i H3-25097-02D
the sticker is labeled board name/assembly/rev.
Mine is the same.

When you Cleanflash 0 it erases everything or is supposed to.
So when you reboot the card (BIOS) should not come up at all (as if it wasn't there)
Then you can flash it to a 9211/9210 in IT or IR mode with sas2flsh (As I did)

The LSI man is a schmuck, I use Megarec when ever I can.
I've flashed the M5015 dozens of times with it.

Not flashed the m1015 many times (yet)

I'll put my thinking cap on and see what I can come up with
 

mobilenvidia

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Digging out my not working at all M1015 this has a version number '9220-8i H3-25097-02C' and the other sticker has LSISAS-9240-8i (not a B revision) also dated 2011-05-28
 

The Lost

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i'd cry but im too tired. I've tried pushing firmware to the card from every direction and every time it tries to erase first i get the same message, its like the firmware just cant be erased fully but enough to brick the card on me =/
 

mobilenvidia

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MegaCLi and SAS2flsh simply won't work with OEM versions of LSI cards
The M1015 when cleanflash 0 will then allow MegaCLi and SAS2flsh to work, but this does not work on the M5015

Megarec is LSI's Firmware recovery app, meant to recover from bad flashes or corrupt SBR info.
MegaOEM is another version of MegaCLi I think but I cannot get this to work keeps complaining not enough extended memory

As a thought, can you boot into windows and try the MSM application ? (can be downloaded from LSI, grab the LSI 9240-8i version)
Will it allow you to log in ?
You can update the firmware from this application also.

It also allows IR/IT FW updates of the seperate FW files for each.
But just try the IBM M1015 FW (should be 20.10.1.0052) first.
[UPDATE]
Just run the IBM M1015 FW (should be 20.10.1.0052) download, it has an installer build in
 
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The Lost

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i'll have to move the card to a machine with windows on it. not a problem though. I was using the dos version on a usb stick on a computer that normally runs linux. swapping it now rq however if i recall correctly i attempted to use the ibm firmware updater tool that is for windows 32_64 and it just fizzled, i actually was able to extract that package and look inside and all it uses is a megacli and a special 50kb program called lsiMRupdate.exe which i think just pushes the firmware through to megacli, it has a simple bat which has the operator,

Code:
@echo off

call lsiMRupdate.exe M1015 m1015fw.rom

SET iRC=%ERRORLEVEL%

IF %iRC% == 0 GOTO :MESSAGE

exit %iRC%

:MESSAGE

ECHO You must reboot your system to complete the firmware update process.
ECHO You do not need to reboot your system immediately.

exit %iRC%
thats straight from install.bat which is inside the wrapper program for ibm's 32_64 windows firmware updater. be back in ten, swapping that card out again.
 

mobilenvidia

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MSM comes in Linux version as well if your using that

Yes I did notice the lsimrupdate, I assume that it can check the device parameter (m1015) and allow it to use megacli to flash the rom to bypass the LSI only
 

The Lost

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well i managed to get the original bios back onto it which is atleast a sign of life... i did nothing different other than having it in a new system, maybe the motherboard in the other pc was interfering with the bios erase process. I dont know for sure, but all i did was write the original sbr to the adapter then use megarec to put the original fw.rom on there, went right on without a fuss, this was however in dos, the windows utilities kept saying no card present. MSM also said no card present.
 

The Lost

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Well ok, heres the total scoop from all my endless hours of testing and nervously scratching.

This card simply is not flashable in my intended system (Asus p5w-dh deluxe) which is ok because it did finally flash 100% ok and tested working fine in my asus maximus extreme. The problem is that the megarec software and any other software for that matter just cant wipe the flash clean when its in the p5w-dh deluxe. Once i put it into the maximus extreme i was able to not only reset the firmware back to oem but also program it to IT mode. It seems that the glitchy-ness of the cards in certain motherboards goes beyond PAL errors and out of memory errors.

So kids, the moral of this story is.... if you have trouble flashing these cards AT ALL.... dont worry, you just need to try it in half a dozen other motherboards, chances are you will find one that works and all will be right in the world.

Putting in back in the p5w-dh deluxe after i got all working was a bit of a headache too. It seems that board is extremely sensitive to this card and its optionROM as well, It would post bios, post my optionROMs and then after displaying all option roms hang at a black screen indefinitly and never load the OS. (waited half an hour). After disabling all the optionROMs but the HBA it would finally boot.
 
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CrimsonKnight13

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P11 to P12 Update

What is the best method to update the firmware from P11 to P12 for the M1015 in IT mode? Will I have to clear EEPROM data before I update it or is this only required when changing modes (IR <-> IT)?

What are the benefits to IR mode vs. IT mode?

Thanks for any insight.
 
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Patrick

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Easy way to remember IR v. IT modes:
IR = RAID (0, 1, 10)
IT = Target/ HBA mode
 

mobilenvidia

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You can use MSM to update the firmware.
MSM is aware if you have a LSI9211 based adaptor and it will allow the Firmware and BIOS files to be uploaded separately.

2118it.bin = Firmware
mptsas2.rom = BIOS
 

martinnorgaard

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I'm unable to get the m1015 to work with its native firmware. esxi 4.1 and 5.0 both hang on loading megaraid_sas. 2008 R2 shows a code 10, device cannot start error message.

Do I need to flash them with the 9240-8i firmware to get it to work in a non-IBM system? =/
I have the same problem. I'am trying to passthrough my LSI 9240-8i to a Windows 2008R2 but the device keep saying Error 10, Device cannot start.
I have bin trying whit allot of drivers, but no luck. I have flashed the IBM firmware and then it worked (for a bought a week). I hope someone in here can help me..
 

unclerunkle

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I have the same problem. I'am trying to passthrough my LSI 9240-8i to a Windows 2008R2 but the device keep saying Error 10, Device cannot start.
I have bin trying whit allot of drivers, but no luck. I have flashed the IBM firmware and then it worked (for a bought a week). I hope someone in here can help me..
If you have a supermicro board, my post here may be of some use...http://forums.servethehome.com/show...signed-for-storage&p=1264&viewfull=1#post1264
 

BigBadJohnnyB

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This might be a dumb question.... feel free to flame as you wish...

Let's say I wanted to build a ZFS server using OpenSolaris or Nexenta. I see quite a few of you are heading down this path, also - so that's good.

However, where I am confused is what the end goal is. What are we trying to emulate? If I simply wanted to buy an HBA (as in, have an IT firmware, as I understand it) and I didn't want to go through the hassle of buying something I intend to modify in order to get what I want, what is it I ultimately want?

I'd like to purchase a few 8-port cards, possibly a single 16-port for internal use (no extenders needed) and run a simple ZFS server as a backup repository. I see lots of LSI, IBM, MegaRAID references and all have a distinct starting point - what was purchased - and then there's various attempts and versions to flash with firmware not *exactly* intended for that card, but seems to give a specific desired result.

Seems we're all after a "dumb" HBA without any RAID brains in it. But what would I purchase to just get that, out of the box, with OOB compatibility for Nexenta not having to mess with firmware?

I realize there are HCL's that could answer my question, but really what that tells me is what works "yes or no". What I think we're after is the best, and most seem to be converging on some sort of LSI 9211-type adapter, but how each of you go about getting that seems very different.

If I wanted to let ZFS do it's "thang" (i.e. no managed RAID), given a requirement of up to 16 ports and a modest budget and desire for manufacturer support in the event of failure, what would I buy?
 

Metaluna

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You hit the nail on the head. The LSI 9211-8i is what you would be looking for if you wanted the most trouble-free plug-and-play experience. A fully LSI-supported, retail-boxed 9211-8i is over $300, however, so that's why there has been such a strong incentive to look for deals on rebadged surplus cards and reflash them.

Another way to go would be to get one of the cards based on LSI's older-gen HBA chip (the 1068e, I think?). If I remember correctly, SuperMicro sells these new for somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 each, but IIRC they use a funky form factor that requires you to remove the PCIe bracket to get it to fit in the slot. Plus the older gen chip doesn't support 6Gbps SATA/SAS, which might be an issue if using expanders or SSDs, but isn't a big deal for direct-connected mechanical drives. So really, the 9211-8i is still the better way to go, at least until cheap cards based on their latest third-gen chipset start showing up in the surplus channel.
 

PigLover

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Really it comes down to cost. What most people want is a 9211 in IT mode. This card generally costs $250-350/each depending on your source, while the more popular IBM M1015 is available for ~$85 when bought as B-stock or pulled from a brand new server (unused but not technically "new"). The M1015 is an LSI-9240-8i wearing IBM brand markings and a firmware patch to cripple the Raid-5 without a key. When flashed with LSIs IT mode software it is fully and completely equivalent to the 9211 in IT mode.

Even if you get the "real" 9211, you still have to flash it to get IT mode. It comes stock from the factory running Raid-mode (IR) software and the flash process to get it into IT mode is pretty much the same whether it is a "real" 9211 or a 9240 in IBM M1015 clothing. So there is no way to get "what you really want" without going through the flash process. You might as well save 60-80%. The prices are good enough that even warranty worries can be reasonably covered - just buy a spare (or two) and you are still money ahead.

For SSDs and truly high performance applications there are other boards built on newer LSI chipsets. For your basic ZFS server running spinny disks these are not really necessary and the performance difference is minimal.
 
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