Hey guys I was hoping to get a clear answer on the commands to issue in order to flash my new LSI 9211-8i to the latest firmware in IT mode. I'm going to use an older Dell that should be a BIOS and not UEFI, so we can avoid issues with trying to accomplish this on a newer motherboard.

 

I'm following this guide:

https://nguvu.org/freenas/Convert-LSI-HBA-card-to-IT-mode/

 

After reading posts from this and other forums, I feel like it's not necessary to flash the mtpsas2.rom BIOS for use with my unRAID server with the 9211-8i being used to host 8 SATA HDDs. Now, I don't want to brick my LSI my first time flashing, so I wanted to nail down the commands from the guide I linked, but to not include the BIOS portion. Apparently if I clear the LSI controller and power off it will be useless.

 

Would this be the correct order of commands:

• sas2flsh -o -e 6
• sas2flsh -o -f 2118it.bin (the guide says to use this command: sas2flsh -o -f 2118it.bin -b mptsas2.rom)
• sas2flsh -listall

 

If the commands are correct, then after the sas2flsh -listall I assume my controller will be listed look like this below, with zeros or nothing under x86-BIOS:

C:\SAS2FLSH.EXE -listall 
	Adapter Selected is a LSI SAS: SAS2008(B2)   

Num   Ctlr            FW Ver        NVDATA        x86-BIOS         PCI Addr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

0  SAS2008(B2)     20.00.04.00    14.01.00.08    07.39.00.00     00:01:00:00

	Finished Processing Commands Successfully.
	Exiting SAS2Flash.

If all this holds true can I shutdown, move the controller to my unRAID server, attach my SAS to SATA breakout cables, connect my HDDs and boot unRAID OS?

 

Thanks in advance for any confirmations, corrections or advice.

 

Edited September 27, 20187 yr by KR1SeS

8 minutes ago, KR1SeS said:

Would this be the correct order of commands:

Looks OK to me.

 

8 minutes ago, KR1SeS said:

If the commands are correct, then after the sas2flsh -listall I assume my controller will be listed look like this below, with zeros or nothing under x86-BIOS:

It will look like this:

 

LSI Corporation SAS2 Flash Utility
Version 16.00.00.00 (2013.03.01)
Copyright (c) 2008-2013 LSI Corporation. All rights reserved

        Adapter Selected is a LSI SAS: SAS2008(B2)

Num   Ctlr            FW Ver        NVDATA        x86-BIOS         PCI Addr
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

0  SAS2008(B2)     20.00.07.00    14.01.00.08      No Image      00:02:00:00

        Finished Processing Commands Successfully.
        Exiting SAS2Flash.

 

@johnnie.black thanks, so having No Image for the x86-BIOS won't be an issue or cause the SAS2008 controller to brick when I restart/power off? I assume it will be just fine and it would brick if there was no firmware.

Is there a large performance difference having a BIOS image flashed vs not?

5 minutes ago, KR1SeS said:

so having No Image for the x86-BIOS won't be an issue or cause the SAS2008 controller to brick when I restart/power off?

No problem, you only need the bios if you want to boot from a device connected to the HBA, if not needed not having one just speeds up the booting process.

28 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

No problem, you only need the bios if you want to boot from a device connected to the HBA, if not needed not having one just speeds up the booting process.

Thanks for the help. I successfully flashed using the commands in my OP. Using '-listall' shows just like your reply, FW Ver: 20.00.07.00 and x86-BIOS: No Image.

 

No I just need to wait to get home from work to test this beauty out! I'll be replacing a Marvel 4 port SATA controller that has been giving me issues.

Hello KR1Ses, I hope this isn't too old of a post but this is the most recent thing I could find to help me with my unraid of the LSI 9211-8i HBA card to IT mode. 
So following this guide https://nguvu.org/freenas/Convert-LSI-HBA-card-to-IT-mode/ that was mentioned in a older post here I ran into a issue when creating the bootable USB. Not sure if it makes a difference or not but when creating it it didn't contain the files auotexec.bat, command.com, or kernel.sys. 
I would attach a screenshot of my drive if I could, but I used the rufus tool and followed the guide but not sure if I missed something. 

Thank you for any help you could provide. 

Edited January 17, 20215 yr by Stroe217

On 1/17/2021 at 4:56 PM, Stroe217 said:

Hello KR1Ses, I hope this isn't too old of a post but this is the most recent thing I could find to help me with my unraid of the LSI 9211-8i HBA card to IT mode. 
So following this guide https://nguvu.org/freenas/Convert-LSI-HBA-card-to-IT-mode/ that was mentioned in a older post here I ran into a issue when creating the bootable USB. Not sure if it makes a difference or not but when creating it it didn't contain the files auotexec.bat, command.com, or kernel.sys. 
I would attach a screenshot of my drive if I could, but I used the rufus tool and followed the guide but not sure if I missed something. 

Thank you for any help you could provide. 

 

Hopefully you got is figured out by now but I just ran through the same tutorial. Rufus did not add any of those files (autoexec.bat, etc) and it worked just fine. Here's how my flash drive looked:

Hi guys i know its an old post but how can i put the x86 bios on the card ? if i got the no image message ? thx

Edited April 25, 20224 yr by francrouge