IBM M1210 raid

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A

Al89

New Member
Feb 1, 2023
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Hi,

I purchased a IBM Lenovo ServeRAID M1210. It said it was flashed to IT mode. However, when I boot the system with the card in it I get:
AVAGO MegaRAID SAS FreeBSD mrsas driver version: 07.709.04.00-fbsd
mrsas0: <AVAGO Fury SAS Controller> irq 41 at device 0.0 numa-domain 0 on pci10
mrsas0: Waiting for FW to come to ready state
mrsas0: FW now in Ready state
mrsas0: Using MSI-X with 2 number of vectors
mrsas0: FW supports <96> MSIX vector,Online CPU 2 Current MSIX <2>
mrsas0: mrsas_init_adapter: sc->reply_q_depth 0x1e0,sc->request_alloc_sz 0x778, sc->reply_alloc_sz 0xf00,sc->io_frames_alloc_sz 0xf100
mrsas0: max sge: 0x46, max chain frame size: 0x400, max fw cmd: 0xef sc->chain_frames_alloc_sz: 0x3bc00
mrsas0: Issuing IOC INIT command to FW.
mrsas0: IOC Init failed, status = 0x3
mrsas0: Adapter initialize Fail.
device_attach: mrsas0 attach returned 6
mrsas0: <AVAGO Fury SAS Controller> mem 0xe0100000-0xe010ffff irq 41 at device 0.0 numa-domain 0 on pci10
mrsas0: Waiting for FW to come to ready state
mrsas0: FW is in FAULT state!!
device_attach: mrsas0 attach returned 6

Could someone provide some instructions on how to flash this card. I have looked all over Lenovo's website, but I have not been able to find any firmware updates for this card. Should I be use Firmware from the LSI/Broadcom website?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
nabsltd

nabsltd

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2022
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The card is equivalent to a 9341-4i. You can definitely use the LSI firmware for that and it will work. You should also be able to cross-flash to the 9300-4i IT mode. This is found in the Legacy HBA section of the Broadcom site.
 
Y

Yarik Dot

Active Member
Apr 13, 2015
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So I bought one from China ebay and ended up bricking the thing. Never, ever connect pins J6 on these. :)
 
A

Al89

New Member
Feb 1, 2023
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I have tried to flash this card for what feels like forever. This is the error I get: IMG_9447.JPG
No Avago SAS adapters found!

Is it documented somewhere how to flash this card?

How do I resolved this issue?

Thank you!
 
B

bryce527

New Member
Oct 1, 2023
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Any progress? I have the same card and need to flash to IT Mode

Edit: I was able to Flash mine to IT Mode.
 
Last edited:
R

Rauume

New Member
Oct 17, 2023
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bryce527 said:
Any progress? I have the same card and need to flash to IT Mode

Edit: I was able to Flash mine to IT Mode.
Click to expand...
Do you have any instructions/files on how you did it? I've been searching for the last month on this...
I have storcli and megarec communicating to the card, but sas3flash doesn't want anything to do with it
 
B

bryce527

New Member
Oct 1, 2023
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Rauume said:
Do you have any instructions/files on how you did it? I've been searching for the last month on this...
I have storcli and megarec communicating to the card, but sas3flash doesn't want anything to do with it
Click to expand...
I can look up the files I used but I followed mostly this page's instructions:
- https://www.servethehome.com/flash-lsi-sas-3008-hba-e-g-ibm-m1215-mode/
and also referenced these two pages as well:
- SOLVED - IBM M1015 Flash to LSI 92xx
- Detailed newcomers' guide to crossflashing LSI 9211/9300/9305/9311/9400/94xx HBA and variants

I attached the files that I used. You may or may not need to rename the sas3flash.efi to sas3flsh.efi. Not sure.

This is IT firmware version of : 9300_4i_Package_P13_IR_IT_FW_BIOS_for_MSDOS_Windows

I cannot remember If I had to anything special before following those instructions on that first link, I should have documented it as I couldn't find any reference on doing this.
 

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tinfoil3d

tinfoil3d

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May 11, 2020
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Chiming in with lenovo's pull of p/n 00JY196, aka ServeRAID M1210 or 1215.
There's no jumper other than UART(neat for debugging i guess).
I've spent 6 or so hours trying to erase it with megarec, megacli, sas2flash, sas3flash to no avail
The reason I was is very interesting, I use supermicro chassis with sas expander, 12LFF, 4 sas ports on the back. And this HBA. And I have r/w SATA drive with linux rootfs, on intel ssd and hpe firmware. That works.
And I have 4 8TB SAS HGST non-brand drives that only work in read-only. Any attempt to write returns io error, invalid sense, and upon pulling the hba event log from megacli from freedos i discovered it was reporting sense code of 5/24/00, which dell rep describes here:
www.dell.com

Unexpected sense. SCSI sense data: Sense key: 5 Sense code: 24 Sense qualifier: 0: Enclosure 0:0 Controller 0, Connector 0 | DELL Technologies

I keep seeing this message in my logs. I've tried searching and not found anything conclusive. Can anyone tell me what they're about? The best I could find is someone who had non-...
www.dell.com www.dell.com

Hi,
This Warning message appears mostly when encountering a non-Dell drive or an incompatible drive FW. If a non-certified drive is not used,
Click to expand...
So I may be owned by lenovo the same way, but no attempt to flash/erase it did detect the card, the only tool that can communicate to this card is megacli from dos. megarec also doesn't see it. sas2flash doesn't see it. i was hoping to be able to use these older tools to solve the problem but i'd say it's not worth it at this point.
If anyone actually worked on this single-port hba, please update the thread.

TLDR This HBA will work with non-lenovo SATA, but is read-only with non-lenovo SAS(i don't have lenovo branded drives to confirm)
 
Last edited:
tinfoil3d

tinfoil3d

QSFP28
May 11, 2020
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474
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Japan
Solved today in my final attempt, thanks to @bryce527 files and @fohdeesha classic DOS ISO for PERC.
megarec from fohdeesha's pack was the only and first tool that worked. i issued megarec -clearflash 0, then overwritten SBR, then rebooted into EFI and used sas3flash.efi from the pack above, then sas3flash -o -sasaddr and rebooted. I did install bios too since it's a server and takes a long time to boot in general. And it won't be rebooted that many times a year, who cares.
Immediately after first boot into linux, those SAS drives worked as r/w, no problems. So if you have IBM or lenovo's version of this HBA, you'll only have SATA r/w, but SAS drives that are non-lenovo branded will work in read-only transparent mode.
Thank you guys, I do have this pack of tools and valuable knowledge from now.
 
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R

randompersonx

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Oct 24, 2024
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tinfoil3d said:
Solved today in my final attempt, thanks to @bryce527 files and @fohdeesha classic DOS ISO for PERC.
megarec from fohdeesha's pack was the only and first tool that worked. i issued megarec -clearflash 0, then overwritten SBR, then rebooted into EFI and used sas3flash.efi from the pack above, then sas3flash -o -sasaddr and rebooted. I did install bios too since it's a server and takes a long time to boot in general. And it won't be rebooted that many times a year, who cares.
Immediately after first boot into linux, those SAS drives worked as r/w, no problems. So if you have IBM or lenovo's version of this HBA, you'll only have SATA r/w, but SAS drives that are non-lenovo branded will work in read-only transparent mode.
Thank you guys, I do have this pack of tools and valuable knowledge from now.
Click to expand...
Can you provide the necessary files to flash the card?

I just picked one up from eBay and need to get it working with TrueNAS.
 
A

AlexPi

New Member
Mar 1, 2025
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Step-by-Step Guide: Flashing IBM ServeRAID M1210 to LSI 9300-4i IT Mode

This guide explains how to cross-flash the IBM ServeRAID M1210 to an LSI 9300-4i IT Mode HBA, unlocking full SAS/SATA drive support and removing RAID restrictions.

️ Required Tools & Firmware

You will need a USB drive (at least 1GB).

For your convenience, I have packaged up all the required tools (except Rufus) and firmware files here (lsi-9300-tools.7z):

DOWNLOAD: Download lsi-9300-tools.7z

SHA256: 039b8ad01ec5598be2f6f875163dd6872089bd671158d4da3fe953b23794a031
VirusTotal: VirusTotal Report

Software & Utilities:
  • Rufus → To create a bootable MS-DOS USB drive.
  • MegaRec.exe (DOS version) → To erase the OEM firmware and SBR.
  • sas3flash.efi → To flash the new IT firmware.
Firmware Files:
  • SAS9300_4i_IT.bin → (Firmware v16.00.12.00 for IT mode)
  • SBR-empty.bin → (256-byte empty SBR to remove IBM locks)
  • mpt3x64.rom (Optional UEFI BIOS ROM)
  • mptsas3.rom (Optional Legacy BIOS ROM)
Backup Your SAS Address

Before proceeding, write down your existing SAS address from the card's label. You can also retrieve it (in Windows) via:

storcli64.exe /c0 show all

This is critical! You will need to restore this later.


Step 1: Prepare a Bootable USB
  1. Insert a USB drive, open Rufus, and select it under Device.
  2. Select "MS-DOS" as the bootable OS.
  3. Click "Start" and wait for the process to finish.
  4. Create a directory on the USB called LSI and copy all the tools and firmware files into it.

⚠ Step 2: Erase the IBM Firmware
  1. Boot into MS-DOS from the USB drive (Press F11 or your motherboard’s boot menu key).
  2. Verify the adapter is detected:

    MegaRec -adplist

    ✅ If the card is found, it will be listed as Adapter 0.

  3. Erase the existing SBR (IBM's vendor settings):

    MegaRec -writesbr 0 SBR-EM~1.BIN

    (you can confirm the exact file name of the empty SBR with "dir")

    This replaces the IBM-specific settings with a blank SBR, allowing LSI firmware to be written.

  4. Wipe the existing firmware:

    MegaRec -cleanflash 0

    This removes all traces of IBM firmware.

  5. Shut down the computer completely.

    Your card is now erased and ready for new firmware!

Step 3: Flash LSI IT Mode Firmware
  1. Boot into your UEFI shell (Press F11, select UEFI shell).
  2. Find your USB drive:

    fs0:

    (If fs0: doesn't work, try fs1: or fs2: )

  3. Navigate to the LSI folder:

    cd LSI

  4. Verify the card is detected (should be blank now):

    sas3flash.efi -list

    Expected output:
    • The adapter should be listed but show "No firmware present".
    • You may get a prompt to enter the firmware file. You can enter "SAS9300_4i_IT.bin" and skip step 5 if you do.
    • If the card is not found, try another PCIe slot.
  5. Flash the new firmware:

    sas3flash.efi -o -f SAS9300_4i_IT.bin

    This writes the IT mode firmware to the card.

  6. (Optional: Flash BIOS for booting from attached drives):

    sas3flash.efi -o -b mpt3x64.rom -b mptsas3.rom

    Note:     If you don’t plan to boot from the drives attached to the adapter, you can skip this step.

Step 4: Restore the SAS Address

  1. Reprogram the SAS address (from the label or backup):

    sas3flash.efi -o -sasadd 500605Bxxxxxxxxx

    (Replace 500605Bxxxxxxxxx with your actual SAS address.)

  2. Reboot the system.

Hope that helps!
 
Last edited:
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Xynon

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Dec 18, 2022
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For anyone using the instructions above, I'd just like to note you don't have to use windows and storcli to get the SAS address (my card did not have the SAS address on it). You can use megacli on DOS which can give you the SAS address, I used the info script from @fohdeesha 's image.
 
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zr0dfx

zr0dfx

Active Member
Jul 7, 2024
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AlexPi said:
Step-by-Step Guide: Flashing IBM ServeRAID M1210 to LSI 9300-4i IT Mode

This guide explains how to cross-flash the IBM ServeRAID M1210 to an LSI 9300-4i IT Mode HBA, unlocking full SAS/SATA drive support and removing RAID restrictions.

️ Required Tools & Firmware

You will need a USB drive (at least 1GB).

For your convenience, I have packaged up all the required tools (except Rufus) and firmware files here (lsi-9300-tools.7z):

DOWNLOAD: Download lsi-9300-tools.7z

SHA256: 039b8ad01ec5598be2f6f875163dd6872089bd671158d4da3fe953b23794a031
VirusTotal: VirusTotal Report

Software & Utilities:
  • Rufus → To create a bootable MS-DOS USB drive.
  • MegaRec.exe (DOS version) → To erase the OEM firmware and SBR.
  • sas3flash.efi → To flash the new IT firmware.
Firmware Files:
  • SAS9300_4i_IT.bin → (Firmware v16.00.12.00 for IT mode)
  • SBR-empty.bin → (256-byte empty SBR to remove IBM locks)
  • mpt3x64.rom (Optional UEFI BIOS ROM)
  • mptsas3.rom (Optional Legacy BIOS ROM)
Backup Your SAS Address

Before proceeding, write down your existing SAS address from the card's label. You can also retrieve it (in Windows) via:

storcli64.exe /c0 show all

This is critical! You will need to restore this later.


Step 1: Prepare a Bootable USB
  1. Insert a USB drive, open Rufus, and select it under Device.
  2. Select "MS-DOS" as the bootable OS.
  3. Click "Start" and wait for the process to finish.
  4. Create a directory on the USB called LSI and copy all the tools and firmware files into it.

⚠ Step 2: Erase the IBM Firmware
  1. Boot into MS-DOS from the USB drive (Press F11 or your motherboard’s boot menu key).
  2. Verify the adapter is detected:

    MegaRec -adplist

    ✅ If the card is found, it will be listed as Adapter 0.

  3. Erase the existing SBR (IBM's vendor settings):

    MegaRec -writesbr 0 SBR-EM~1.BIN

    (you can confirm the exact file name of the empty SBR with "dir")

    This replaces the IBM-specific settings with a blank SBR, allowing LSI firmware to be written.

  4. Wipe the existing firmware:

    MegaRec -cleanflash 0

    This removes all traces of IBM firmware.

  5. Shut down the computer completely.

    Your card is now erased and ready for new firmware!

Step 3: Flash LSI IT Mode Firmware
  1. Boot into your UEFI shell (Press F11, select UEFI shell).
  2. Find your USB drive:

    fs0:

    (If fs0: doesn't work, try fs1: or fs2: )

  3. Navigate to the LSI folder:

    cd LSI

  4. Verify the card is detected (should be blank now):

    sas3flash.efi -list

    Expected output:
    • The adapter should be listed but show "No firmware present".
    • You may get a prompt to enter the firmware file. You can enter "SAS9300_4i_IT.bin" and skip step 5 if you do.
    • If the card is not found, try another PCIe slot.
  5. Flash the new firmware:

    sas3flash.efi -o -f SAS9300_4i_IT.bin

    This writes the IT mode firmware to the card.

  6. (Optional: Flash BIOS for booting from attached drives):

    sas3flash.efi -o -b mpt3x64.rom -b mptsas3.rom

    Note:     If you don’t plan to boot from the drives attached to the adapter, you can skip this step.

Step 4: Restore the SAS Address

  1. Reprogram the SAS address (from the label or backup):

    sas3flash.efi -o -sasadd 500605Bxxxxxxxxx

    (Replace 500605Bxxxxxxxxx with your actual SAS address.)

  2. Reboot the system.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for putting all that togeather. I was pulling my hair out trying to gather all the files needed across the net. Then I thought to seach if someone else had done this exact thing and this thead popped up! Again, THANK YOU!
 
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T_Minus

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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Getting ready to do this and see someone upload a v13 and Firmware v16.00 (package w\more) above...

Is there a reason to use one version or another on these when flashing to IT mode?
My use-case if it matters which version is to connect to expander backplane, and ZFS.
 
hmartin

hmartin

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2017
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Can anyone comment on the approximate power consumption of these cards? Do they require active cooling?
 
J

jeffangelion

New Member
Jan 9, 2026
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github.com
hmartin said:
Do they require active cooling?
Click to expand...
Yes, they do, I burnt L2/L3 cache on my card even before I flashed it so consider using active cooling

Also, I have a question as well: is it just me or storcli always failing to detect this controller even though sas3flash seeing it just fine?
 
R

retech

New Member
Oct 1, 2026
2
0
1
tinfoil3d said:
Solved today in my final attempt, thanks to @bryce527 files and @fohdeesha classic DOS ISO for PERC.
megarec from fohdeesha's pack was the only and first tool that worked. i issued megarec -clearflash 0, then overwritten SBR, then rebooted into EFI and used sas3flash.efi from the pack above, then sas3flash -o -sasaddr and rebooted. I did install bios too since it's a server and takes a long time to boot in general. And it won't be rebooted that many times a year, who cares.
Immediately after first boot into linux, those SAS drives worked as r/w, no problems. So if you have IBM or lenovo's version of this HBA, you'll only have SATA r/w, but SAS drives that are non-lenovo branded will work in read-only transparent mode.
Thank you guys, I do have this pack of tools and valuable knowledge from now.
Click to expand...
Hi can you send me a copy of your bios from your card :)

I started flashing mine but it seems that after wiping the card with freeDOS and this command megarec -cleanflash, the card is detected but now sas3flash is not seeing the card.

If you have the time can you run this command megarec -m0flash 0 fullflash.bin and save a copy of your flash for me :)

My card is half alive but sasflash3.efi is telling me now card is detected but megarec finds it

megerac.jpg
 
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