I added an additional note to the OP with the "Failed to initialize PAL" message.

Hope the new file share provider I moved the source to is working out better for all.

 

P.S. jkm9000, dont through the card out the window, until I am standing outside the window to catch it.

If you have no luck, PM me and ship me the card and return shipping and I will do it for you. Hope you find another MB, try at work, friend, etc...

Yes that PAL error is a b*tch.  Out of four motherboards I use to test UNRAID, only one works for upgrading firmware

 

MSI 790FX-GD70 (fail)

Intel 975XBX2 (fail)

Supermicro C2SEE (fail)

MSI H55M-ED55 (success)

 

Good luck

Thanks all, I was almost ready to pull the trigger on this AMD board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283 but I noticed abq-pete had problems with the MSI 790FX-GD70, which is also an AMD board. So it seems that this problem is not only for intel chipsets. If there is a pattern to what works vs not, I'm not seeing it.

Hello, first of all thx for yout package madburg, it was great.

 

I got a "IBM ServeRAID M1015" card and wanted it to work in an AMD e35m1-m pro with that IT FW.

Step 1 to 4 were no problem then i encountered the "failed to initialize PAL" error so i placed the card in my PC and flashed it with IT FW and it worked out fine.(steps 5 to 6) ( i took the P10 package)

 

After that i placed the card in my so to be NAS...with the result of a black screen. So i took out the card placed it in my PC -> worked(and the NAS booted again). After a bios upgrade

i looked around in the options and found some GFX options. Here i could choose between PCIE GFX or Internal GFX so i took IGFX -> system booted again BUT LED of controller was off. (before that change it was flashing green)

 

i tried both IR and IT FW none of them worked... I am kinda confused since the official IBM FW worked (i saw the card bios msges comming up)...

 

any hints? Help? maybe reflashing the official FW?

 

Thx in advance!

 

- extrator

 

 

EDIT: never mind - this was a BIOS issue with the mainboard. I managed to get an update if anyone has the same problems with that special board just drop a line.

OK - took the card into work - to try there. and yes, i can get into the Bios.

 

I am going to flash it in a few; just 1 point that i dont' seem to understand on my BR10i...

 

Am I safe running the 3Gb/6Gb support? I don't plan on having ANYthing 1.5Gb anymore... If i understand, it'll just run the 6Gb at 3Gb speed?

 

thanks again to everyone, esp Madburg for your work on this.

OK - took the card into work - to try there. and yes, i can get into the Bios.

 

I am going to flash it in a few; just 1 point that i dont' seem to understand on my BR10i...

 

Am I safe running the 3Gb/6Gb support? I don't plan on having ANYthing 1.5Gb anymore... If i understand, it'll just run the 6Gb at 3Gb speed?

 

thanks again to everyone, esp Madburg for your work on this.

 

It should work with any HD that has a 3Gb or 6Gb intereface. I have no access at the moment, but when you get into the cards bios (ctrl-C) go to the screen were you see the actual drive(s) attached, cursor over (with the arrow keys) to the right you will the current connection speed to the drive(s) (which should show either 3Gb or 6Gb) and if you scroll over to the right once more it will show you Max. Speeds the controller is capable of, which should be 6Gb.

thanks! all my hds are currently sata ii, and i don't even think you can buy a sata i hd anymore aanyhow :-)

 

okay - so what could i be doing wrong?

'sas2flash_x64.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

 

same error for _x86.

 

 

tried on a win7x64; and a win7x86 ... both with admin privs, and both using "run as admin"

 

If i try to run the sas2flash_x86 with the parameters in the first .bat file, it says no adapters found.

thanks! all my hds are currently sata ii, and i don't even think you can buy a sata i hd anymore aanyhow :-)

 

okay - so what could i be doing wrong?

'sas2flash_x64.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

 

same error for _x86.

 

 

tried on a win7x64; and a win7x86 ... both with admin privs, and both using "run as admin"

 

If i try to run the sas2flash_x86 with the parameters in the first .bat file, it says no adapters found.

 

 

So you saw the controller cards bios post on these devices and once you logged into the W7 OS, do you see the controller in the device manager?

 

Open a command prompt as an administrator. Dir over to the directory of the source you downloaded (usb stick or folder you copied it to locally). Then try.

So you saw the controller cards bios post on these devices and once you logged into the W7 OS, do you see the controller in the device manager?

 

Open a command prompt as an administrator. Dir over to the directory of the source you downloaded (usb stick or folder you copied it to locally). Then try.

 

exactly - there are no drives attached to the card... yes, device manager reports it properly... 1 thing i noticed, is that the batch calls sas2flash.exe but the actual file in the directory is sasflash.exe... 

 

i created a directory called p20 and renamed 3Gs_6Gs_SATA_Support_Firmware to 6G.

 

I opened CMD and selected Run as Administrator. CD to P20 then CD to 6G.

 

if i run this:

sas2flash_x86.exe -l AdaptersCurrentFW-Bios.txt -listall

 

my output is this:

 

 

****************************************************************************

    LSI Corporation SAS FLASH Utility.

 

    SASFlash Version 1.28.00.00 (2010.12.08)

 

    Copyright © 2006-2010 LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.

****************************************************************************

 

No LSI SAS adapters found! Limited Command Set Available!

ERROR: Command Not allowed without an adapter!

ERROR: Couldn't Create Command -l

Exiting Program.

So you saw the controller cards bios post on these devices and once you logged into the W7 OS, do you see the controller in the device manager?

 

Open a command prompt as an administrator. Dir over to the directory of the source you downloaded (usb stick or folder you copied it to locally). Then try.

 

exactly - there are no drives attached to the card... yes, device manager reports it properly... 1 thing i noticed, is that the batch calls sas2flash.exe but the actual file in the directory is sasflash.exe... 

 

i created a directory called p20 and renamed 3Gs_6Gs_SATA_Support_Firmware to 6G.

 

I opened CMD and selected Run as Administrator. CD to P20 then CD to 6G.

 

if i run this:

sas2flash_x86.exe -l AdaptersCurrentFW-Bios.txt -listall

 

my output is this:

 

 

****************************************************************************

    LSI Corporation SAS FLASH Utility.

 

    SASFlash Version 1.28.00.00 (2010.12.08)

 

    Copyright © 2006-2010 LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.

****************************************************************************

 

No LSI SAS adapters found! Limited Command Set Available!

ERROR: Command Not allowed without an adapter!

ERROR: Couldn't Create Command -l

Exiting Program.

 

One second let me check the source....

Hmm, I had typo's in some of the batch files and remember this earlier on when I saw them myself, I fixed them, but maybe with the transition to another media share site, I some how posted the wrong one? Anyway, I update the source please re-download with the new link in the OP. Sorry about that.

no need to apologize! thanks. I can change the filename or even udpate the .bat files. I'm hoping that you did grab the wrong files or something that makes this new upload work :-)

 

thanks for your hard work.

no need to apologize! thanks. I can change the filename or even udpate the .bat files. I'm hoping that you did grab the wrong files or something that makes this new upload work :-)

 

thanks for your hard work.

 

I will be leaving work soon, so let me know how you make out or any questions that arise. I know the feeling of wanting to get something done  

I will be leaving work soon, so let me know how you make out or any questions that arise. I know the feeling of wanting to get something done  

 

thanks - me too.. and got nothing - still get that no LSI adapters found bit.

 

leaving work in 45 minutes. have friends coming over tonight; but can toy w. it at home.. the only problem is, on my machine at home, i CAN'T get into the card's bios. that's why i figured it should flash "better" at work.

 

 

Ok....

 

so I saw someone on page 3/4 mentioned it (i thought it was Linux specific, so glossed over it).

 

however, for anyone else that has the issue... someone else on the ServeTheHome link had the same issue; the solution was to get a different version of sasflash.exe from here: ftp://ftp.supermicro.com/driver/SAS/LSI/1064_1068/IT/Firmware/B3/L8i/1.30.00/

 

now it worked - but still can't verify/get into the card's bios. I'll have to wait till I can check it  at work next week.

 

Thanks again madburg!

I fixed the same typo's I had in the 1.5/3 Gs firmware folder now for the SAS1068E package. And added the sasflash version 1.24 per Axeman's link above (yes it 1.24 version, actually older than the one I had in my package which is 1.28 in both x86 and x64) just updated the OP link and added the LSI konledgeBase article on 3TB drive support "16399, Using drives >2TB in capacity with LSI SAS HBAs".

 

So if you are having issues, you can rename the "sasflash-1.24.exe" to either sasflash_x86.exe or sasflash_x64.exe. Really cant tell why the 1.28 version does not work for some...

 

Original SAS FLASH in my package:

****************************************************************************

    LSI Corporation SAS FLASH Utility.

 

    SASFlash Version 1.28.00.00 (2010.12.08)

 

    Copyright © 2006-2010 LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.

****************************************************************************

 

The additional SAS FLASH from the supermicro site:

 

****************************************************************************

    LSI Corporation SAS FLASH Utility.

 

    SASFlash Version 1.24.00.00 (2009.11.13)

 

    Copyright © 2006-2007 LSI Corporation. All rights reserved.

****************************************************************************

I have just managed to flash 2 M1015 controllers with the IT firmware.  It was a bit of a challenge  .

 

Here are some results which I hope may help others going down the same route...

 

Both M1015 controllers were new build pulls with a manufacturing date of 16th Jan 2011.

 

Motherboards flashing tried on;

MSI P45-C51 = Failed.  'Cannot initialize PAL' issue.

Asus P8H67 = Failed. as above.

ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 = Failed. See peculiar observations below.

MSI ??? = Success.  I will checkout the board model when I get home tonight.  It is an old red PCB board with a 775 socket and built in VGA video (just in case someone can guess the model).

 

Peculiar observations with the ASRock board:

Megaraid Card not detected in 16x or 8x PCIe 2.0 slots

Megaraid Card was detected in 4x PCIe 2.0 slot.

Megaraid Bios backed up and erased but after reboot, came up with the same 'Cannot Initialize Pal' again.

 

Luckily the board that does work has internal video, a couple of ram sticks in it and so just need to hook up a PSU and put the flash drive in and it is up and running to flash the cards.  Ha, maybe I should offer a flashing service  .

 

Another interesting point is that the links to LSI provided here concerning the 'PAL' issue state that the machine should not be rebooted after clearing the ROM or it will brick the controller.  This is clearly not the case from my own experience.

 

RB

I have a Dell PERC 6/i raid controller card. Will this work on the card? And can it be reversed if wished on this card?

I was thinking of buying a Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 until I came across this topic.

RimBlock, yes they meantion that to protect themself, should you brick it. I also stated to do any of this at your own risk   but clear many have done it and successfully. Many consumer board have weird configurations, some slot are only meant for video cards, etc.. this is not only with LSI cards.

 

X1pheR, I dont have any account of anyone here flashing the Dell Perc 6/i, seems it has a LSI 1068 controller, so it may be possible. If you do try let us know how it works out. As to reverting you should obtain that from Dell site first before proceeding.

 

 

X1pheR, I dont have any account of anyone here flashing the Dell Perc 6/i, seems it has a LSI 1068 controller, so it may be possible. If you do try let us know how it works out. As to reverting you should obtain that from Dell site first before proceeding.

That's what I though. I just wanted to be sure. I've searched but indeed couldn't find anyone who already tried. I really want to try but the only thing holding me back is the chance that if I flash it I cannot reverse it. Only thing that is on Dell' site is the fact on how to flash the BIOS.

 

Indeed the Perc 6/i is based on LSI 1068. In fact it seems to be the same as the LSI MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP controller. I've flashed the card 4 times before with updated firmwares which all went well. Two of the times it was a firmware from the LSI website and I could even revert the firmware update with one from Dell. Does that mean I could use the firmwares from the OP with the same results? Also, if I were to try, which of the firmwares on the OP are candidate(s)? Thanks.

X1pheR, I dont have any account of anyone here flashing the Dell Perc 6/i, seems it has a LSI 1068 controller, so it may be possible. If you do try let us know how it works out. As to reverting you should obtain that from Dell site first before proceeding.

That's what I though. I just wanted to be sure. I've searched but indeed couldn't find anyone who already tried. I really want to try but the only thing holding me back is the chance that if I flash it I cannot reverse it. Only thing that is on Dell' site is the fact on how to flash the BIOS.

 

Indeed the Perc 6/i is based on LSI 1068. In fact it seems to be the same as the LSI MegaRAID SAS 8888ELP controller. I've flashed the card 4 times before with updated firmwares which all went well. Two of the times it was a firmware from the LSI website and I could even revert the firmware update with one from Dell. Does that mean I could use the firmwares from the OP with the same results? Also, if I were to try, which of the firmwares on the OP are candidate(s)? Thanks.

 

Only one would be the 1068E package.

Only one would be the 1068E package.

Thanks. I checked it out and was going to flash it. But I though about it being silly to flash a very good hardware raid controller to let it be a normal sata controller. Though the 8 ports are handy for use in unraid. But then I checked out what the card would sell for. And it appears that I can sell the card here for more then the price of a new MV8 with SATA2 support. So I can better do that I guess. But if that doesn't turn out this is definitely a possible solution.

Only one would be the 1068E package.

Thanks. I checked it out and was going to flash it. But I though about it being silly to flash a very good hardware raid controller to let it be a normal sata controller. Though the 8 ports are handy for use in unraid. But then I checked out what the card would sell for. And it appears that I can sell the card here for more then the price of a new MV8 with SATA2 support. So I can better do that I guess. But if that doesn't turn out this is definitely a possible solution.

Yeap! I meantioned it before, unless you got a card for very little to free, some of them are worth selling and picking up cheaper cards. Good luck, let us know how you make out!

So I picked up a megaraid card (http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160638242230) which was showing up during boot as:

 

LSI MegaRAID SAS-MFI BIOS

Version 4.24.00 (Build March 03, 2011)

...

FW package: 20.10.1-0036

 

I then grabbed madburg's zip - LSI MegaRAID to SAS2008(P10).zip - 6.38 MB (DOS, via bootable usb key) and things went well until step 5.

 

When I run either 5it or 5ir I get a message like PeterB reported: Failed to initialze PAL.

 

Not really sure what to do at this point. I'm running on an Asus P8P67 PRO (Rev 3.1) if that matters.

 

Since the previous step was to wipe the SBR and clear BIOS I'm sort of stuck.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks!

 

 

EDIT - It runs this command sas2flsh.exe -l Flashlog.txt -o -f 2118it.bin -b mptsas2.rom

but there is no Flashlog.txt written to the usb stick...

 

A bit late on this.. It has been noted on some of the overclocker forums that LSI raid cards do not run correctly on the Asus X67 series of motherboards.

I believe the problem stemmed from Asus not putting the correct electrical connectors on those mobos for the LSI cards to work correctly.

 

Finally got around to trying this with a different motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283

 

I no longer get the PAL error, so that's something, instead when I run 5it.bat or 5ir.bat or even sas2flsh I get the error that no LSI Adapters can be found.

 

I grabbed version 1.24 that was referenced here, same problem.

I grabbed 4 versions of sas2flash for linux, and all 4 give me the same problem.

 

Following the procedure kkm posted (page 2) I was able to restore the card, and tried all steps again. Same problem that no LSI Adapters can be found.

 

I also noticed that 3.bat refers to empty.bin which is not in the zipfile, not sure if this is related at all, just thought I would mention it.

 

Am I at least close? Any ideas?

 

Thanks much to all