Bricked C6100 - No Video

[Gromph]

I bought a C6100 on ebay and decided to update the bios before deploying. I downloaded BIOS_P8GRR_LN32_1.70.BIN and tried to install from CentOS. I got the message:
This Update Package is not compatible with your system
Your system: XS23-TY3
System(s) supported by this package: Cloud Products C6100

So after googling that message I found these forums and ran across the post to boot to a dos usb drive, and then run AFUDOS 6100v170.ROM /X to force the upgrade.

After I did that and rebooted it is completely bricked, absolutely no video. After several minutes the power light will start alternating blinking green and orange. I've tried booting with the clear cmos jumper, and System Reset jumper. No improvement.

I've read a few more threads like Dell C6100 - anyone brick a board yet? But didn't see any tips on how to recover from a total brick with no video.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[TangoWhiskey9]

Where did you get the board from? With the boards so cheap I'd just buy a new one. $75 versus the time to troubleshoot. Beauty of these things is that they are so cheap to replace components in.

 

[dba]

Don't give up without trying to fix it, but you do have a cheap way out if you can't. I'm selling a few spare motherboards on eBay for $49 plus shipping right now.

Where did you get the board from? With the boards so cheap I'd just buy a new one. $75 versus the time to troubleshoot. Beauty of these things is that they are so cheap to replace components in.

 

[Gromph]

Don't give up without trying to fix it, but you do have a cheap way out if you can't. I'm selling a few spare motherboards on eBay for $49 plus shipping right now.

I might have to do that. I've been messing with it all day with very little progress. I had set an IP address in BIOS for BMC before bricking it. And I can successfully connect to it both with a web browser and ipmitool. I hadn't used BMC or ipmi before, so I've been learning it and trying to use it to restore the original BIOS.

Can the system bios be updated via the web interface maintenance mode firmware upload? When I try to upload the backup of the bios I made before bricking I get the message:
Image Verification did not succeed. Please check if you uploaded the correct Image.
In order to try upgrading again you need to reset the device. Press OK to reset the device now.

I'm assuming the firmware upload is just for the BMC firmware, I haven't attempted to update it yet.

I download the BMC firmware from Dell and noticed in the Install&Verify.txt file there was instructions for: Remote Update BIOS image through TFTP
I attempted to follow these instructions, but the last command:
ipmitool -H 192.168.1.221 -U root -P root raw 0x08 0x01 0x01 0x01 0x00
gave me the message:
Unable to send RAW command (channel=0x0 netfn=0x8 lun=0x0 cmd=0x1 rsp=0xd5): Command not supported in present state

I tried it both normally, and after entering maintenance mode with the web interface.

I also tried connecting to the Console via the web interface, as well as configuring serial over lan via ipmitool. Both successfully connect, but I never get any console output.


I think I'm ready to give up and buy a new board unless anyone has any other ideas.

 

[idea]

I have the same problem. No POST or Video after a BIOS update. Updated using DOS utility and /B /C /X switch. I still have access to BMC web management.

Things I have tried:
Disconnecting CMOS battery with sled pulled out
Resetting CMOS using jumper
Power cycling entire C6100 unit

 

[idea]

Now I'm scared to touch the BIOS, BMC, and FCB of the other 3 nodes

 

[browser]

I also have a bricked board after attempting to update the BMC, it worked on 3 nodes, but one of them will no longer respond to power-on requests. The BMC still works on it though.

 

[slact]

I've bricked a couple of these boards with a bad BIOS update. I bought an appropriate USB EEPROM flasher (about $10 bucks, I will find a model if you want) off of ebay, desoldered the bricked BIOS chip as well as a good one. Read in and saved the good ROM, then wrote it onto the bricked one. Problem solved.

If you've never held a soldering iron, you'll need to read up on how to desolder small components. It's not difficult, just takes a bit of patience.
You can also probably just download a ROM and flash it onto your bricked BIOS chip without reading in a good one.