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Error installing LSI 3WARE 9650SE-2LP on dell T105

I am trying to install ESXi V 4.1 on LSI 3WARE 9650SE-2LP.
Before buying the LSI 3WARE 9650SE-2LP, I confirmed with a 3Ware tech support that the controller card would be compatible with DELL T105 amd ESXi, But when I just installed it, at the start up, I get an error " the resource conflict pci mass storage controller in slot 4 ..."
The BIOS version on DELL T105 is 1.4.4.

Has anyone experienced the same and found the solution?

Thanks.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

Update the firmware and try a different pci slot.

By firmwares server bios and raid card.

David

The 3ware cards have to have matching BIOS, FIRMWARE, and Drivers. Note that there are two firmware updates for the card, and this has nothing to do with the BIOS of the PC. Release notes are your friend in this case. Read them to see what you need. The latest version is not necessarily the correct one also.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

this card is on the HCL, you will need these VMware ESXi drivers, when you get over the issue with the POST BIOS error message

ESXi 4.1
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/dt_amcc_3ware_9xxx_22608036vm40/dHdlYnRodypidGRkKg==

ESXi 5.0
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/dt_esxi50_sas_3w9xxx_22708036/dHRAYndlaGhiZHAlJQ==

sglee

ASKER

can anyone give me the exact steps to make a flash usb drive bootable?
I like to update the firware on the controller, but I need to make the system boot to the USB jump drive to flash the controller.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

can anyone give me the exact steps to make a flash usb drive bootable?

thats a new question.

sglee

ASKER

I finally created a bootable USB. I copied 3Ware 9650 flash batch file and image file on to the usb and booted to USB drive. When I ran fireware upgrade, it errors out:

Searching for 2ware controllers ... OK.
Total number of 3ware boards found: 1
--------- 3ware Escalade ATA raid controllers ----
board# model # (bus # Device # PCI base addr)

Timeout waiting for command response.

Error in executing command - execution terminated
Request ID = 0 x 34
error status = 0 x 1

Controller could not initialize -- execution terminated!

SOLUTION

David

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Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

try updating the firmware in a different computer.

sglee

ASKER

I am going to try this 3ware card on another computer to see if:
(1) it generates an error at the startup like it does on DELL T105.
(2) I can update the firmware on it.

sglee

ASKER

OK. I put 3WARE 9650SE into the Intel Desktop Board PC and saw no error message at the startup before the firware upgrade. Then I successfully upgraded firmware using USB flash drive.
I checked DELL website and confirmed that BIOS version on the T104 is current.
So my question is if DELL T105 does not LIKE any other RAID controller other than their own?
I read some articles in the past that DELL designs their servers so that you can't use 3rd party controllers.

David

Dell does not design their servers so you can't use 3rd party controllers. That would be an antitrust violation. I am referring the BIOS and the FIRMWARE on the 3ware card itself, not the motherboard BIOS also. 3ware has 2 software downloads for their cards plus drivers.

sglee

ASKER

I flashed firmware, but I can't find the BIOS upgrade file from LSI website.
http://www.lsi.com/support/products/Pages/3ware9650SE-2LP.aspx

Would you mind checking out the link above to see if I am missing something?
I see Binary / Complete Code Set, /Drivers / Firmware / Software sections, but I just can't find BIOS update section.

David

The complete code set will have it all.

sglee

ASKER

I downloaded the codeset in ISO and uncompressed it.
I ran autorun.bat, but it seemed to have upgrade firware only. It did not say that it was upgrading BIOS or anything else. I just went thru 4 stages of firware upgrade.
Anyway I will put this card into T105 this evening and keep you posted.

David

the 4 stages includes the BIOS. The distributions are inconsistent. Sometimes they label bios separately, but as long as all stages of the firmware has been done, it has been done. The release notes talk about this.

sglee

ASKER

Same error: Resource Conflict- PCI Mass Storage Controller in slot 04 (Bus:03 Device:00 Function:00).
I moved it to another PCI E slot, but the same error with different slot number: 01 instead of 04.

To summarize, when I put this card into a regular desktop PC, it worked fine at the boot up process and I even loaded XP driver for the card in WinXP OS. So the card is good.

It has to be a compatibility issue with with T105.
Anyone experienced this?

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

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sglee

ASKER

"Purchase a RAID controller from Dell." - That may be the only solution. I googled this error and found a few exact cases with no apparent answer posted.

Did anyone have same experience as mine?

sglee

ASKER

I found a couple articles who purchased non-DELL brand RAID card and ended up buying DELL raid cards.
(1) http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=327648
(2) http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/906/p/18858102/18981088.aspx#18981088

If no one has any more suggestions, let me close the case because I am going nowhere with this.

sglee

ASKER

I gave up on it and going to sell the card and T105 on Ebay.
Thanks for all of your suggestions.