Supermicro BIOS access

[Jihays9]

Recently received a supermicro X11SSF-F motherboard. Attempted to boot it with an e3-1245 v6, but it fails and gets stuck on "PEI -- CPU Initialization Error Code : 35". I suspect I'm running too old a BIOS for that CPU, and I must be on 2.0 or above for it to work.

I can't access the BIOS menu by pressing DEL or F2, I just get the black screen with a blue Supermicro characters, that gets stuck on the error code I mentioned above. Also tried removing the CPU, since I read I should be able to access the BIOS without a CPU or memory installed, and the board doesn't even boot without it.

Basically, is there any way I can access the bios with or without a cpu? Skipping the CPU initialization part to avoid getting stuck?

 

[RolloZ170]

BIOS update with out CPU works over BMC/IPMI WebGUI (ASPEED AST BMC chip)
don't know if that is supported on the X11SSF-F SSL SSD SSH ???
X11SSH-(LN4)F supports BIOS update from BMC/IPMI

 

[RolloZ170]

Basically, is there any way I can access the bios with or without a cpu? Skipping the CPU initialization part to avoid getting stuck?

no way. you need a supported CPU.

 

[RolloZ170]

a celeron G3900 or pentium will work

 

[Jihays9]

BIOS update with out CPU works over BMC/IPMI WebGUI (ASPEED AST BMC chip)
don't know if that is supported on the X11SSF-F SSL SSD SSH ???

The board has an IPMI port, that seems to be getting a random IP on startup despite being connected to a working switch. But it IPMI should be supported on this board according to Supermicro’s website.

 

[RolloZ170]

But it IPMI should be supported on this board according to Supermicro’s website.

i doubt this X11 supports BIOS update over WebGUI, the option is missing thought.
X11SSH-(LN4)F supports BIOS update from BMC/IPMI
if you don't get IP
better get a cheap celeron.

 

[RolloZ170]

my current problem is i do not find any X11SSF

 

[Jihays9]

i doubt this X11 supports BIOS update over WebGUI, the option is missing thought.
better get a cheap celeron.

X11SSH-F | Motherboards | Products | Supermicro

Other than a license requirement for OOB management, if it's got the chip and IPMI support, I'm not sure what else is missing to perform a BIOS update over IPMI.

In any case, I gather the move is to get a supported cpu, update the bios and then install the Xeon?

 

[RolloZ170]

Other than a license requirement for OOB management, if it's got the chip and IPMI support, I'm not sure what else is missing to perform a BIOS update over IPMI.

normaly you need a OOB license(you can do your own)
but many user tried and found the BIOS update option missing on LGA 1151 X11 series.
you can log in and check.
edit:
X11SSH-(LN4)F supports BIOS update from BMC/IPMI

In any case, I gather the move is to get a supported cpu, update the bios and then install the Xeon?

yes

 

[Jihays9]

you can log in and check.

where do I log in? I'm fairly new with all of this.

 

[RolloZ170]

where do I log in? I'm fairly new with all of this.

google "supermicro IPMI login howto"

https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/IPMI_Users_Guide.pdf

 

[Jihays9]

google "supermicro IPMI login howto"

https://www.supermicro.com/manuals/other/IPMI_Users_Guide.pdf

The board has an IPMI port, that seems to be getting a random IP on startup despite being connected to a working switch.

Is this normal? Since it didn't display any IP within the subnet (0.0.0.0) I didn't even bother to login. If it's normal though, I could try and get its IP from the dhcp leases in the router.

 

[RolloZ170]

Since it didn't display any IP within the subnet (0.0.0.0)

(0.0.0.0) can't work. subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0
if you see a IP served from a DHCP try to log in.
e.g.

https://192.168.10.100

 

[Jihays9]

(0.0.0.0) can't work. subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0
if you see a IP served from a DHCP try to log in.
e.g.

https://192.168.10.100

It didn’t, which concerns me, but I’ll wait until I can install a compatible cpu to draw any concluions

 

[Jihays9]

better get a cheap celeron.

should a celeron g3930 work? I got one used, installed it, and the board powers up but doesn't output anything on the VGA. I'm really confused at this point.

 

[nexox]

I think that G3930 would require the same minimum BIOS version as your e3 v6, try a hard CMOS reset and hopefully that will get IPMI running DHCP, or at least set to a default IP of some sort, if it doesn't just fix the VGA output directly.

 

[RolloZ170]

should a celeron g3930 work?

no this is Kaby Lake like your v6.
you need a Skylake part like g3900, pentium g4400

 

[lamune]

You need v2.x BIOS to support a E3-V6 Xeon, so that might be your problem. I would plug a network cable into the dedicated IPMI port. When you power it up, it might show you the IP that the BMC is set to or getting from DHCP. You can then use a web browser to talk to the BMC on that IP. There's a sticker on the board that should give the password. The login account is ADMIN. If that doesn't work, try ADMIN as the password also. From there you can see what version the BIOS is and the BMC firmware is running. There's a menu under maintenance that says BIOS Update - if the feature is enabled (with a key) you can flash the BIOS to the version you need from there. After that, it might work if that's the cause of the issue.

 

[RolloZ170]

I would plug a network cable into the dedicated IPMI port.

did you read the whole thread ?
he didn't get IP