Fireball3

When I was younger I also had less problems with those things No, just kidding Jeff, I can understand how you feel. The length and age of this thread is a real issue. If you have an LSI card, your task should be a bit easier. Here you go: Grab the latest toolset linked here. This, because it contains everything you need to prepare a bootable USB. It won't hurt if you read the READMEFIRST - to have an idea what should happen. Assuming your controller is in IR mode, you perform 1 - grab info of the card, keep it safe until everything works as expected (if you like, post it here for me, just for information) 2 (optional) - backup card software 3 - wipe IR sofware 4 - reboot 5 - flash P20 IT firmware (skip the other steps, they are necessary for rebranded cards only) 6 - flash SAS adress Maybe you run into the PAL error. Then you have to boot into EFI and run the .nsh files instead of the .bat Following madburg's _readme will probably also work (can't inspect it at the moment).

To flash the D2607 please follow this thread. But you definitely need an EFI capable machine, as the patched binary is available only for EFI. AFAIK there is no experiences with this card. You have to find the right chipset, then see what card is the equivalent LSI (Avago/Broadcom) and try the respective firmware.

LED should blink, no matter what firmware is on. Even with no firmware it should do. If it stopped blinking, try reseating or another machine. If it´s not coming back, then it´s dead.

It's probably the best you plug the card into a board and query MegaCli.exe -AdpAllInfo -aAll -ApplogFile mgcliad.txt or sas2flsh -o -listall -l sas2ad.txt The binaries you need are in one of these packages, for example.

If you have the PAL error, you need to boot into EFI shell and do it from there. See this post for futher info. If you have further questions feel free to ask! You can use the latest DELL toolset, just skip the DELL specific part!

Maybe you can go back to earlier versions of this X firmware and see if there is a difference? How could this help? For flashing the SAS2008 chipset there is a version of the sas2flsh utility (P7) that enables overriding of wrong vendor ID's. If there is an equivalent sasflash you may be able to pass that check? And use a plain DOS environment for those flashing tasks. Not a Windows console! This is all with Windows hardware recognition in between. Can't tell if it is true what you're seeing. If you had a schematic of your board you could perhaps verify. See this post There may be some new ideas for you. e.g. 'ignore vendor' option coming with the IBM utility... I have to check if I have the lsiutil binary somewhere.

Yes, I got you, but NO. The revision is right beneath the name - it is B1. (afaik, there is no C at all) Can you share the "help" of the megaRAID utility?

No, it's LSISAS1068 B1 I edited my comment above. Please reread and consider the DOS option. This is strange. Where did you get the HP firmware from? What did the MegaRAID utility do exactly? Can you elaborate on that? Did that possibly alter the cards name?

Have you seen this? https://hardforum.com/threads/how-to-flash-an-lsi1068e-to-it-mode.1573340/ and this? https://hardforum.com/threads/assistance-needed-ibm-br10i-1068e-flash-to-it-mode-c0-revision-error.1645862/#post-1038602393 Same error, although different goals!

I also found that info. Maybe here is a loose end where one could dig deeper to see what's the SAS8888ELP. The firmware for that card is flashed with megaCLI - at least it's in the zip. Not sure what MPT6.36 is necessary for. MegaRAID needs the firmware in a different format iirc. I think the MegaRAID is a dead end as long as you don't have the P21 in that specific format. What is the help of MegaRAID saying? Is it capable of wiping the cards ID or something like that? That could possibly be of use. Can you flash an older HP firmware with the sasflsh utility? Or even with another tool. Just to have another basis. Maybe in earlier versions the adapter reports with "106e b1"? The IBM BR10i and the Intel SASUC8I also use the same 1068E chip and can be flashed with LSI3081 firmware. Maybe a cross flash with one of those firmwares can help as an intermediate step on the way to the LSI P21? I propose you prepare a DOS bootable and avoid Windows. Note what the readme.txt says:

This is correct! Can you flash those firmwares? Just to prove it's working. There are some uncertainties as your chipset is on board. Maybe the error is justified and a cross-flash of this kind shouldn't be possible. It's also imaginable, that all LSI firmwares are labeled 106e and the OEMs have just tagged their cards slightly different to avoid LSI firmware being run on them. Oftentimes they cut the feature list of the OEM cards via firmware. You can work back through the old LSI firmwares and see if one of them possibly works. Once the controller is on LSI you can flash the most recent firmware. Next suggestions bear risk of bricking. You didn't erase the controller prior to flashing - may be a possible option? I have to check what options this sas2flsh utility brings to override things... Another way would be to disassemble the firmware file and see if you find the string that is checked for. Unfortunately I haven't had the time and the tools to try something like that. Did you try flashing from within Windows? Not sure if this can be a problem - I usually do firmware things from a DOS environment.

Go to Broadcom and grab the full P21 firmware package and give it a try. The sas2flsh utility is newer, maybe it makes a difference? Have you elder HP firmwares? Do they also flash with the sas2flsh utility? Maybe try that one with the P21 firmware?

No, the only thing you have to take care is that for use with unRAID we want to have IT mode firmware and all scripts and how-to's are tailored for that specific purpose. You have to use the IR firmware for your undertaking! There is a P21 firmware for that sort of controller. Why didn't you use that? With regard to the error, there might be some sort of vendor check to prevent cross-flashing? Is that a standalone card or onboard chip? Have you searched the HP sources for a newer firmware?

Yes

Yes, it does.

Yes, the card will show up during boot, checking for drives etc. But only if the card is in RAID mode with a BIOS installed, which is usually the case, as those are designated for use in RAID mode. There is a LED on the card that is usually flashing (lifesign), does it work on your card? Maybe you can try the card somewhere on another board?

Hi, welcome to the unRAID forums. When booting into efi shell you have can use the .nsh files, but sas2flash.efi -listall should work. Is your card detected at boot? If the card is in RAID mode you should notice it checking for drives at start-up.

If you have this card, it should already be in IT mode! That's what HBA refers to!

This case is discontinued? Aplus, as a manufacturer, is also not present on the net anymore? You could fit a third of those "build-in-cages" as far as I can see from pics?

If you have more than one controller you have to specify the desired one - same for the erase operation! Better make sure you have only the desired controller plugged. Also, the -list is usually somewhat lengthy so it won't fit into your screen buffer. The line with the BIOS info is at the beginning of the dump. You may have to pipe the output into a file. There is a log option "-l settings.log" also, but I found it doesn't always work for some reason. But you can also simply reboot and see that there is no BIOS anymore.

I'm not sure if "5" is the right option. Prepare yourself for a full re-flash in case it does not work.

With regard to the error 23 I wrote my experience here: I haven't used the plugin since then, so I can't say if those issues have been resolved yet.

Hi @stinger303, did you solve your issue? Is your card in RAID mode? The Dell website is a pain to search for, but on the Broadcom (LSI) site you can find the card. https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/host-bus-adapters/sas-9217-8i#downloads You can give that a try, although I'm not sure if there is a vendor check that could stop you from flashing. I will compare the content of that file, because it seems like the same firmware as used for the H200/H310 cards. If that's the case, chances are good that you can do it with the tools we have already. Edit: Looks like the files are not identical. A crossflash with the 9211 IT firmware is risky! The card uses another chip, so it is highly possible to brick it when trying the old firmware. Unfortunately, I'm also not able to find a Dell taylored firmware for IT mode. The most reasonable step would be to open a ticket with the Dell support and try to get the IT firmware for the card or at least a confirmation that there is none. But before doing so, give the LSI firmware a chance. Maybe there is no vendor check!?

Not sure if I fully understand your problem. The expander needs the PCIe slot for power. It won't work standalone - that's right. But you can connect it to your newly flashed HBA. I've seen a pic around here of an expander not plugged into the PCIe slot. Possibly powered by another source. Check the manual for details maybe. Edit: I found the pic.