Boot issue with LSI 9201-16i

[txenakis]

Hi everyone

I just finished building a server and I have an issue with my HBA card.

I am using an LSI 9201-16i with an Asrock Fatal1ty X399 mobo and 1950x CPU. When I boot the computer the HBA card boot screen shows up first and then stays stuck on "Initializing". I can't use "Ctrl-C" to check which mode it is on.

I tried to flash it through a DOS prompt and couldnt get it to work. I then booted in UEFI and tried again and the EFI SAS utility tells me it cant find the card.

I tried two different cards and got the same result. The second I even made sure to buy from someone who had flashed it to IT mode and had been using it in a Freenas server.

And when I do mange to boot into Windows the card is seen in the device manager.

So I dont think its something to do with the card but probable with my config (bios options maybe?)

If anyone has ideas or suggestions that would be great.

Thanks!

 

[i386]

If you want to boot from the hba you need to flash a boot rom.

 

[txenakis]

Thanks. I dont want to boot from it I just want to find a way to skip their boot page so i can boot normally. Two times out of three it just hangs at the HBA boot screen and I have to reset the computer.

 

[nthu9280]

Can you turnoff PCIe option rom for the slot the card is in and try booting? That should disable "initializing". But your boot drive should be on regular MB SATA port.
If you are using cmd/dos prompt within windows, you have to use the proper version of the LSI tools x32 or x64.
Perplexing why EFI version of the utilities can't see the card but windows can.

 

[mobilenvidia]

You may need to cleanflash the card then just flash the IT Firmware, and possibly the EFI rom if booting UEFI
You have the Option ROM (BIOS) installed and this is doing the initializing
IT only FW won't do any of that mucking about at boot time

 

[txenakis]

Thanks I'll try. I want to flash to IT so I dont have to deal with boot etc but so far no luck. I'll try in DOS with x64 tools.

 

[fohdeesha]

follow this guide: https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...-not-seeing-drives-in-r620.21143/#post-196724

except substitute the firmware zip with this one (the latest for your card) and skip the bootrom flashing step: https://docs.broadcom.com/docs/9201_16i_Package_P20_IT_Firmware_BIOS_for_MSDOS_Windows.zip

 

[txenakis]

I'm not making any progress. I tried the DOS boot and I get a "Failed to initialize PAL" error (apparently this is common on motherboards that have a UEFI mode). In UEFI mode it says the SAS adapter is not found. And in regular boot it just stays stuck on "initializing" like before.

The weirdest thing is that I tried two different LSI cards, one of which is guaranteed to be already flashed in IT mode and I get the same result.

Wonder if there's something wrong with my motherboard o my Bios config.

 

[fohdeesha]

That's really strange it doesn't even show up in the efi shell version of sasflash - I'd imagine this is a bug in your mobo. And note that just because a card is flashed in IT mode doesn't mean it's missing the bootrom, in fact most cards that come with IT firmware (and most flashing guides) have you install the bootrom.

Your best bet is to put them in a different PC/server just to flash/erase the bootrom, then put them back in this one

 

[mobilenvidia]

Try to do the flash in Windows or Linux with appropriate Command line Utilities for that OS
or
Get hold of a P55 or earlier (pre UEFI BIOS) Intel mobo, then use Megarec
I keep one just for this, Mobo, PSU, keyboard, Video card and a monitor
I prefer to do things old school DOS way, megarec is my best friend to bring things back to life

 

[ViRtUaLheretic]

So believe it or not but I too just bought an Asrock fatal1ty x399, 1950x, and lsi 9201-16i... what are the chances of THAT?!
I was also having issues trying to get the hba card to work for UNraid and I have been googling all night trying to get this sorted. After reading this thread it got me thinking of the BIOS options (I have been over the BIOS a million times) and a lightbulb went off in my head.
If you go to the BOOT section >> CSM >> Launch Storage OpROM Policy and then set to UEFI that should work!

Make sure you are booting from UEFI as well though.
Also check to make sure you have good cables and they are seated all the way in.

 

[txenakis]

hey everyone,

I finally managed to solve the issue and thought I would share so others who have this problem can benefit. I tried every solution outlined here and nothing worked so i searched for others who had the same problem and I found a thread by someone who changed from an Asrock board to an Asus one and got it working.

So I did the same (got an ROG Zenith Extreme on sale which was same price as the Asrock Fatal1ty) and the LSI HBA was immediately recognized and is now working as it should.

So, for those who have issues with an LSI HBA in an Asrock board, seems like the only solution is to switch motherboards.

Thanks again for all the suggestions you guys gave me.

Cheers!

 

[ViRtUaLheretic]

I do want to point out that my sytem is working with the ASROCK x339 Fatality board and 1950x. I set everything in CSM to be UEFI only, set my boot device to be UEFI via a USB3 header on the mobo, and updated the firmware and bios of the 9201-16i to P20

 

[ViRtUaLheretic]

Unfortunately I kept experiencing issues and have fallen into the same boat and have gone ahead and ordered a new motherboard as well.
Hopefully I will be able to finally get the server stable and up and running.

 

[ari2asem]

Unfortunately I kept experiencing issues and have fallen into the same boat and have gone ahead and ordered a new motherboard as well.
Hopefully I will be able to finally get the server stable and up and running.

any update or progres with your issue or solution?

 

[txenakis]

any update or progres with your issue or solution?

Yes I had to change the motherboard to an Asus (Zenith Extreme) and the card showed up instantly.

 

[ari2asem]

Yes I had to change the motherboard to an Asus (Zenith Extreme) and the card showed up instantly.

plz, clearify for me...your issues with asrock-motherboard was only under Linux. or also under windows 10?

 

[txenakis]

plz, clearify for me...your issues with asrock-motherboard was only under Linux. or also under windows 10?

Neither. I couldnt get the card to post at boot, before i got in Windows or Linux. With the new mobo card works on both.

 

[ari2asem]

Neither. I couldnt get the card to post at boot, before i got in Windows or Linux. With the new mobo card works on both.

thanks for your answers. in 2-3 weeks i am going to pick up a asrock x399 phantom gaming 6 mainboard (and threadripper 1950x as cpu). and i have LSI 9400-16i, LSI 9280-16i4e, Dell H200 in LSI-9211-8i IT-mode, Adaptec 71805 . i will be testing one of these cards with my asrock x399 phantom gaming 6 motherboard....i will keep this topic informed

 

[ViRtUaLheretic]

any update or progres with your issue or solution?

I did the exact same and switched to an Asus Zenith mobo and the problems went away immediately.
I am using UNraid (linux based) and havent had any issues since switching mobos.
My system has been up and running solid for several months now with 10 hdds (currently) and two NVME drives.