Idrac initialization error

iDRAC initialization || iDRAC initialization error!

I have a very complicated problem and I wanted to appeal to your experience and help, if someone has already gone through this.
I have a Dell T620 server, it has ESXi 6.5 installed.
One day the iDRAC just didn’t work, it stays in the message
«iDRAC initialization» I only have 2 options F1 = run ESXI (fans are loud) F2 = Bios options.
The server received it with already installed with ESXi, I don’t know which is the iDRAC ip, I have made several discards but nothing, someone if I could have more information, very grateful.

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Which on Dell iDRAC is it? The issue the most likely leads to replacing the system board

That sounds all too familiar.

I’d be willing to bet that it started after you tried to update the server’s firmware. The XX20 servers are kinda notorious for it.

My experience follows:

Solution depends on use case: If it’s a production server and nothing in the list of things on the linked threads works, you’ll be replacing the motherboard. If it’s a home lab scenario and you can put up with having to hit F1 every boot cycle (and not having a working IDRAC) the cheap fix is get one of these: Noctua NA-FC1, set the fan speed manually to something that provides a balance between noise and adequate cooling, and carry on. Mine was a home lab, so I opted for the $20 answer but I wouldn’t do it for a production machine/budget.

I have tried installing OSMA and iSM to ESXi but I can’t get iDRAC ip or anything related to it.
when trying to do a hard reset from the ESXi I can’t get this

Has anyone been able to use firming.d7 from SD?

or by updating something like the bios it can be restored.
If indeed by pressing F1 I can enter the ESXi but the noise is deafening, my server is a home laboratory, it is not in production, now if it continues to work like this, could the whole server crash?
I have removed the fans and that is how I have been working but I am afraid everything will go wrong.
Where can I adjust the speed of the fans? I enter the BIOS through F2 and I don’t see where to configure that
Any other suggestions thanks

Your best bet is to use bootable media that will update all of the firmware on your server, see the link below for instructions. It is quite common for these servers to have issues if all of the various systems have differing firmware revisions that are not compatible with each other, iDrac, Lifecycle Controller, RAID Controller, Power Supplies, etc. This method updates them all at once. Note, that when running this you are going to see all kinds of error messages. Don’t be alarmed by this, it is normal. Just let it finish, it will take about an hour or so. If this does not fix it, you more than likely have a hardware issue.

Edit: Put the fans back in, the server will not survive for very long without them.

On a T series being used for a home lab, put the fan back in and get the Noctua unit.

Seriously, it’s 20 bucks, two plugs, and dial in a fan speed that balances cooling and not going deaf.

You’ll spend more than 20 bucks worth of time trying to get the Idrac back and most likely will not succeed.

If the bootable iso mentioned above does not clear the error, it’s the Noctua or a motherboard .

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Alert! iDRAC not responding, rebooting

After installing VMWare OpenManage_Integration 5.1.0, on VMWare 7.0, I tried to update iDRAC firmware. After the console stuck for more than an hour, I restarted my R720.
Since this time, the iDRAC do not seems to respond. I have many error message at boot.

On POST, I can see on top right «Lifecycle Controller Disabled» also having this error message :»Alert! idrac not responding rebooting»

At this reboot, After memory check, the server reboot and continue tells me iDRAC have a problem, but, at least boot.

After BIOS and RAID check, I have an error «Warning! iDRAC initialisation error»
But I can strike F1 to continue or F2 to run system setup program
— If I hit F2, in BIOS option, under iDRAC Setting, I have: «SWC0700: iDRAC is not ready. The configuration values cannot be accessed.»
— If I hit F1, the boot sequence continue and complain again about iDRAC «SWC0700: iDRAC is not ready. The configuration values cannot be accessed.»
but if I press F1, the real boot continue.

VMWare is able to boot.
But iDRAC is unacessible, (even no MAC address from switch) and fans never stop, running at . medium level.

Seems to be iDRAC issue. How can I reinitialise/repair this iDRAC problem ?

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Dell IDRac Error?

Dell PE R720 Win 2008r2 No dell warranty active

Power outage took system down abruptly restarted came up with this error:

Warning ! Idrac initialization error. Continuing to boot may yield unexpected power loss due to unknown Power inventory and various features lost such as Remote access, active Power management, Thermal Management, Inventory, LCD, or System Error Reporting

I chose F1 to continue it booted up but the fan and everything is loud

How do I fix this ??

Is the motherboard bad?

Would a power outage cause this all of a sudden?

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In my case I went through all the steps and in the end it was the motherboard :(.

At a minimum I would suggest doing a parasitic drain on the server and rebooting to see if the iDRAC comes on smoothly.

Parasitic Drain? You mean a total disconnect of power source hold power button in for 15 to 20 seconds and drain power then plug everything back in power up?

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Exactly. Especially when power events happen, this can save a whole lot of heartache. And it’s one of the first things Dell would ask you to do if the machine was under a support contract as well.

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Did draining the power help? Are you able to access the iDRAC web interface?

In my case I went through all the steps and in the end it was the motherboard :(.

Did draining the power help? Are you able to access the iDRAC web interface?

No sir it did not the drac is disabled its saying when i go into lifecycle it wont let me turn it on?

What else do you suggest ? Trying the steps the other person posted about

In my case I went through all the steps and in the end it was the motherboard :(.

Thank you for this I am going to try these steps.

The server is up and running but is very loud how long can I run it like this ?

The power drain did not work it took longer booting back up this time.

Also there is a hdd that is flashing amber and says predictive failure this was happening before this power shot happened should I try to change that first then try the IDrac troubleshooting steps?

In my case I went through all the steps and in the end it was the motherboard :(.

Thank you for this I am going to try these steps.

The server is up and running but is very loud how long can I run it like this ?

The power drain did not work it took longer booting back up this time.

Also there is a hdd that is flashing amber and says predictive failure this was happening before this power shot happened should I try to change that first then try the IDrac troubleshooting steps?

Take care of the Hard Drive and replace it now. Then figure out the DRAC as it is a minor issue.

In my case I went through all the steps and in the end it was the motherboard :(.

Thank you for this I am going to try these steps.

The server is up and running but is very loud how long can I run it like this ?

The power drain did not work it took longer booting back up this time.

Also there is a hdd that is flashing amber and says predictive failure this was happening before this power shot happened should I try to change that first then try the IDrac troubleshooting steps?

Take care of the Hard Drive and replace it now. Then figure out the DRAC as it is a minor issue.

Thank you I am doing a full backup should I wait until that is finished or can I hot swap drive with out issue to the backup and production and let the drive rebuild its Raid 5

In my case I went through all the steps and in the end it was the motherboard :(.

Thank you for this I am going to try these steps.

The server is up and running but is very loud how long can I run it like this ?

The power drain did not work it took longer booting back up this time.

Also there is a hdd that is flashing amber and says predictive failure this was happening before this power shot happened should I try to change that first then try the IDrac troubleshooting steps?

Take care of the Hard Drive and replace it now. Then figure out the DRAC as it is a minor issue.

Thank you I am doing a full backup should I wait until that is finished or can I hot swap drive with out issue to the backup and production and let the drive rebuild its Raid 5

Wait for full backup to finish, hot swap and let it rebuild.

We have same issue with you. i talked to Dell and gen12 servers has these chronical problems. idrac fail even with a simple power fail. if its under support open ticket and they will replace motherboard. You can also try to reflash idrac.

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Dell server boot stuck initializing iDRAC

A dental client of ours had their server down. On the boot screen it stuck at: initializing iDRAC. We were unable get into BIOS or diagnostics and the iDRAC was not responding over the network.

We ran through the following troubleshooting options to try and get them back up and running quickly.

• Power down, unplug power, hold power button down for 30 seconds, then power back up
• Make sure to disconnect any USB devices, just in case
• Disconnect the iDRAC (if it’s on a dedicated port)

None of these resolved the issue. Luckily, we found the fix.

The Fix

Reset the iDRAC by manually holding ”i” button down for 30 seconds. It soft resets the idrac yet keeps the config. After that, we updated the BIOS and the iDRAC to fix it the issue permanently.

You’ll know it’s working when the light shuts off and fans go crazy. (Must be done turned on)

Title

• #1

The History:
This week I had a Dell PowerEdge R510’s iDrac completely die on me; I attempted repairs with several utilities that Dell gives out on their site and all of them ended with failure. I thought it might have been because I upgrade the iDrac from an old version to the latest, without components like the BIOS or NIC, that the iDrac communicates with, being upgraded as well. After upgrading everything, iDrac still was not working, after a few days of messing with it, I found out through piecing together several sites how to force the iDrac in recovery mode to do a TFTP repair, writing a new image to it.

The symptoms:
The system used the Windows iDrac Updater, which stated the update had competed successfully. I then, remotely, told the system to reboot; it shut down and never came back up. When I physically went to the server, it was at the BIOS start screen stating “Error Communicating with iDrac. Press F1 to continue, or F2 for System Setup.” In restarting the server I found that “System Services” were disabled. Then the system would go through normal boot sequence, but when it tried to communicate with the iDrac it would fail then restart the server. After restarting, it would allow a full boot, but would give that same “Press F1 to continue, or F2 for System Setup” message. Thus the server would not boot without physical intervention at the machine.

This is a Dell PowerEdge R510, I attempted to upgrade the iDrac from 1.3.* to 1.6.5.

The Fix:
We need to get to the iDrac’s serial recovery mode, and then we can recover the system.

1. Reboot the system, and after the system resets itself for not being able to reach iDrac go into “System Setup”, the F2 key
2. Hit down until you select “Serial Communication”, enter that menu
3. Set the following settings:
   • 
   • Serial Communication : On With Console Redirection via COM2
   • Serial Port Address : Serial Device 1=COM1, Serial Device2=COM2
   • External Serial Connector : Serial Device 1
     • This could be Remote Access Device, but that gave me problems (I may have had a bad serial cable)
   • Failsafe Baud Rate : 115200
     • For the 11G servers this is the default baud rate
   • Remote Terminal Type : VT100/VT220
   • Redirect After Boot : Enable
4. Then rebooted the system. I got Windows to start by manually hitting F1
5. At this point you need to go to support.dell.com, lookup downloads for your system, then under “Embedded Server Management” there is “iDRAC6 Monolithic Release 1.97” (or whatever version is newest)
6. There are several versions, for my system I got “iDRAC6_1.97_A00_FW_IMG.exe (50 MB)”
7. After downloading, running this file will extract “firmimg.d6” and a readme file.
   • The readme has no useful information in it, it just tells you to search for the user guide
8. The “firmimg.d6” file needs to be placed on a TFTP server that the iDrac can hit
9. Using Putty in Windows I connected the COM2 at 115200 Baud, this is the iDrac being redirected. Connect to your systems Com2 however you can
   • Note all this is being done on the server and nothing is done on a other machine, I had TFTP running on this Windows system
10. Hitting enter should show a recovery menu
    • Unfortunately I did not save pictures of the recovery screen, some of the next menu options may not be the exact wording
11. I had DHCP on the network my iDrac was sitting on so I hit 9 to get a IP address, this can also be set manually
12. Hit 7 to change the TFTP server IP address
13. Now hit the option that says “Firmware Upgrade”, this will go to the TFTP server specified, download the firmware, and reinstall all pieces of the iDrac from that file. It takes about 5 minutes.
14. Keep in mind you are in your OS, for me Windows, while the iDrac and its system upgrades and reboots
15. After it reboots successfully the recovery console stops getting data, I was next to the server, when the iDrac reboots the fans go to full speed then calm back down. That’s how I was able to tell it restarted
16. Now you can use the RACADM commands if open manage/iDrac tools are installed, or reboot and you should see “System Services” back online, then you can change the IP of the iDrac like normal

Everything should work now and the world is happy!

Update (September 2020): I wanted to signal boost some of the comments below, if you have a 12th gen system with a SD card slot then the following may be the best path forward. Thanks Simon!

Just want to add to this for anyone who comes across similar issues on a PowerEdge R720/R720XD – if the amber light on the rear of the server is flashing then put the firmimg.d7 file on a FAT formatted SD card and put the SD card in the slot at the back. The flashing light should turn solid and 5 or so minutes later iDRAC should be back up and running.