ZX6000 down and out...ideas?

[rcyoung]

Was running OpenVMS 8.4 on this machine for 2 weeks w/ serial concole. Then a "non-system" disk started acting flaky...removed disk, but now system doesn't want to come up hardy at all. Any ideas?

Console gets this far, and stops

- - - - - - - - - - - - Live Console - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 0 0x000063 0x0000000000000000 starting boot
1 0 0x000081 0x0000000000000000 start I/O discovery
***********************************************************
* ROM Version : 01.82
* ROM Date : 02/07/2003
* BMC Version : 01.40
***********************************************************
1 0 0x0000A4 0x0000000000000000 start memory discovery
1 0 0x0000FB 0x0000000000000000 initialize memory only (don't test)
1 0 0x000014 0x0000000000000000 CPU0 starting cell relocation
1 0 0x000009 0x0000000000000000 CPU0 launch EFI
1 0 0x000207 0x00000000000E003C CPU0 starting EFI
VGA BIOS: 10de 0113 0001


Hangs here for as long as you like..........

System logs show this

Log Name Entries % Full Latest Timestamped Entry
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B - Current Boot 88 29 %


Event Log Navigation Help:

+ View next block (forward in time, e.g. from 3 to 4)
- View previous block (backward in time, e.g. from 3 to 2)
<CR> Continue to the next or previous block
D Dump the entire log
F First entry
L Last entry
J Jump to entry number
H View mode configuration - Hex
K View mode configuration - Keyword
T View mode configuration - Text
A Alert Level Filter options
U Alert Level Unfiltered
? Display this Help menu
Q Quit and return to the Event Log Viewer Menu
Ctrl-B Exit command, and return to the MP Main Menu


MP:SL (+,-,<CR>,D, F, L, J, H, K, T, A, U, ? for Help, Q or Ctrl-B to Quit) >


# Location|Alert| Encoded Field | Data Field | Keyword / Timestamp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
87 SFW 0 1 0x2000000900E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_LAUNCH_EFI
86 SFW 0 0 0x0000001100E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_RELOCATE_IVT
85 SFW 0 0 0x0000001000E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_RELOCATE_EFI
84 SFW 0 0 0x0000000700E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_BUILD_SYS_TABLES
83 SFW 0 0 0x0000000F00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_RELOCATE_ACPI
82 SFW 0 0 0x0000001300E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_RELOCATE_SAL
81 SFW 0 0 0x0000001200E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_RELOCATE_PAL
80 SFW 0 1 0x3600001400E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_RELOCATION_START
79 SFW 0 0 0x0000024E00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_FINAL_PLATFORM_CHECK
78 SFW 1 0 0x1600006101E00000 0000000000000001 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_STAGE_3
77 SFW 1 0 0x1600005E01E00000 0000000000000257 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_INT_RECE
IVED
76 SFW 1 0 0x1600006001E00000 0000000000000001 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_STAGE_2
75 SFW 1 0 0x1600005E01E00000 0000000000000918 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_INT_RECE
IVED
74 SFW 0 0 0x000000A500E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_CONFIG_EXIT
73 SFW 0 0 0x160000C500E00000 0000000000000064 MEM_INIT_BARGRAPH
72 SFW 0 0 0x160000C500E00000 0000000000000032 MEM_INIT_BARGRAPH
71 SFW 0 0 0x000000C400E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_INIT

MP:SL (+,-,<CR>,D, F, L, J, H, K, T, A, U, ? for Help, Q or Ctrl-B to Quit) >


# Location|Alert| Encoded Field | Data Field | Keyword / Timestamp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
70 SFW 0 0 0x360000FB00E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_WARN_INIT_ONLY
69 SFW 0 0 0x000000A800E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_DEST_TEST
68 SFW 0 0 0x000000C200E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_GENERATE_INTERLEAVING
67 SFW 0 0 0x000000C900E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_MAIN_MEM
66 SFW 0 0 0x000000B200E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_DISCOVERY_EXIT
65 SFW 0 0 0x0000020500E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_LOADING_ORDER
64 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF003BFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
63 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF003AFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
62 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF002BFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
61 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF002AFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
60 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF001BFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
59 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF001AFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
58 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF000BFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
57 SFW 0 0 0x040000E700E00000 FFFFFFFF000AFF74 MEM_SPD_512M_DIMM_FOUND
56 SFW 0 0 0x000000A600E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_CONFIG_FROM_NVM
55 SFW 0 0 0x000000EC00E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_SPD_START
54 SFW 0 1 0x200000FE00E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_WARN_REG_TEST_BYPASS
53 SFW 0 0 0x000000C600E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_INIT_SCR_TABLES
52 SFW 0 0 0x000000DF00E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_RESET

MP:SL (+,-,<CR>,D, F, L, J, H, K, T, A, U, ? for Help, Q or Ctrl-B to Quit) >


# Location|Alert| Encoded Field | Data Field | Keyword / Timestamp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
51 SFW 0 0 0x000000B100E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_DISCOVERY
50 SFW 0 1 0x200000A400E00000 0000000000000000 MEM_CONFIG
49 SFW 0 0 0x0000024D00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_PLATFORM_CHECK_POST_I
O
48 SFW 0 0 0x0000008000E00000 0000000000000000 IO_DISCOVERY_DONE
47 SFW 0 0 0x0400008700E00000 000000FFFF06FF83 IO_LBA_INIT
46 SFW 0 0 0x0400008700E00000 000000FFFF04FF83 IO_LBA_INIT
45 SFW 0 0 0x0400008700E00000 000000FFFF03FF83 IO_LBA_INIT
44 SFW 0 0 0x0400008700E00000 000000FFFF02FF83 IO_LBA_INIT
43 SFW 0 0 0x0400008700E00000 000000FFFF01FF83 IO_LBA_INIT
42 SFW 0 0 0x0400008700E00000 000000FFFF00FF83 IO_LBA_INIT
41 SFW 0 0 0x0400008600E00000 000000FFFF06FF83 IO_LBA_DISCOVERED
40 SFW 0 0 0x0400008600E00000 000000FFFF04FF83 IO_LBA_DISCOVERED
39 SFW 0 0 0x0400008600E00000 000000FFFF03FF83 IO_LBA_DISCOVERED
38 SFW 0 0 0x0400008600E00000 000000FFFF02FF83 IO_LBA_DISCOVERED
37 SFW 0 0 0x0400008600E00000 000000FFFF01FF83 IO_LBA_DISCOVERED
36 SFW 0 0 0x0400008600E00000 000000FFFF00FF83 IO_LBA_DISCOVERED
35 SFW 0 1 0x2000008100E00000 0000000000000000 IO_DISCOVERY_START
34 SFW 0 0 0x0000010B00E00000 0000000000000000 PDH_MISC_REG_TEST_START

MP:SL (+,-,<CR>,D, F, L, J, H, K, T, A, U, ? for Help, Q or Ctrl-B to Quit) >


# Location|Alert| Encoded Field | Data Field | Keyword / Timestamp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33 SFW 0 0 0x160002AF00E00000 000000000000001F SETTING_PROC_TIMEOUT
32 SFW 1 0 0x1600005F01E00000 0000000000000001 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_STAGE_1
31 SFW 1 0 0x1600001D01E00000 0000000000000001 BOOT_CPU_CONFIG
30 SFW 1 0 0x1600005E01E00000 00000000000000EF BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_INT_RECE
IVED
29 BMC 2 0x2057557F010200E0 FFFF0103FDC00300 Type-02 c00301 12583681
06 Jun 2016 13:47:45
28 SFW 0 0 0x1600001D00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_CONFIG
27 SFW 0 0 0x0000003E00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_LDB_INIT
26 SFW 0 0 0x0000024C00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_PLATFORM_CHECK
25 SFW 0 0 0x0000005600E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_SCR_TEST_START
24 SFW 0 0 0x0300000600E00000 02000000002C0400 BOOT_BUS_CONFIG_VALUE
23 SFW 0 0 0x0000024B00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_EARLY_PLATFORM_CHECK
22 SFW 0 0 0x0000000800E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_CONFIG_START
21 SFW 1 1 0x3600026101E00000 0000000000000001 BOOT_CPU_PRESENT
20 SFW 0 1 0x3600026100E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_PRESENT
19 SFW 0 1 0x3600000C00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_MONARCH
18 SFW 1 0 0x0300005D01E00000 0000000000000002 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_HANDLER_
START

MP:SL (+,-,<CR>,D, F, L, J, H, K, T, A, U, ? for Help, Q or Ctrl-B to Quit) >


# Location|Alert| Encoded Field | Data Field | Keyword / Timestamp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 SFW 1 0 0x1600000E01E00000 0001000000030000 BOOT_CELL_MONARCH_SEL_STAR
T
16 SFW 0 0 0x1600000E00E00000 0000000000030000 BOOT_CELL_MONARCH_SEL_STAR
T
15 SFW 1 0 0x0000002001E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_EARLY_CONFIG_STAR
T
14 SFW 0 0 0x0000002000E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_EARLY_CONFIG_STAR
T
13 BMC 2 0x2057557EFA0200D0 FFFF027000120300 Type-02 127002 1208322
06 Jun 2016 13:47:38
12 SFW 0 0 0x1600004400E00000 02000000002C0400 BOOT_NEW_BUS_CONFIG_VALUE
11 SFW 0 0 0x0300000600E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_BUS_CONFIG_VALUE
10 SFW 0 0 0x0000024B00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_EARLY_PLATFORM_CHECK
9 SFW 0 0 0x0000000800E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_CONFIG_START
8 SFW 1 1 0x3600026101E00000 0000000000000001 BOOT_CPU_PRESENT
7 SFW 0 1 0x3600026100E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_PRESENT
6 SFW 0 1 0x3600000C00E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CELL_MONARCH
5 SFW 1 0 0x0300005D01E00000 0000000000000002 BOOT_SLAVE_RENDEZ_HANDLER_
START

MP:SL (+,-,<CR>,D, F, L, J, H, K, T, A, U, ? for Help, Q or Ctrl-B to Quit) >


# Location|Alert| Encoded Field | Data Field | Keyword / Timestamp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 SFW 1 0 0x1600000E01E00000 0001000000030000 BOOT_CELL_MONARCH_SEL_STAR
T
3 SFW 0 0 0x1600000E00E00000 0000000000030000 BOOT_CELL_MONARCH_SEL_STAR
T
2 SFW 1 0 0x0000002001E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_EARLY_CONFIG_STAR
T
1 SFW 0 0 0x0000002000E00000 0000000000000000 BOOT_CPU_EARLY_CONFIG_STAR
T
0 SFW 0 1 0x5680006300E000B0 0000000000000000 BOOT_START

[abrsvc]

My first guess would be to look at the controller. With the disk removed and this rather odd behavior, I'd suspect a controller problem not a disk. Any chance you can use a different controller?

Dan

[rcyoung]

On Monday, June 6, 2016 at 3:39:55 PM UTC-4, abrsvc wrote:
> My first guess would be to look at the controller. With the disk removed and this rather odd behavior, I'd suspect a controller problem not a disk. Any chance you can use a different controller?
>
> Dan

I'll have to dig around and see what i can find.

[Steven Schweda]

I know nothing, but I thought that a zx6000 was very
similar to a zx2000 (AGP instead of PCI graphics?), and your
log looks significantly different from what I see from my
zx2000. How old is your firmware? Around here (zx2000, no
MP), I see stuff like:

[...]

1 0 0x0000A4 0x0000000000000000 start memory discovery

0 0 0x0000B1 0x0000000000000000 start memory DIMM scan
[...]
0 0 0x0000A5 0x0000000000000000 exit memory discovery

1 0 0x000081 0x0000000000000000 start I/O discovery

[...]
0 0 0x000080 0x0000000000000000 exit I/O discovery
VGA BIOS: 1002 5157 0708 <--- [Pause here for about 5s.]
0 0 0x00024D 0x0000000000000000 platform check post io
***********************************************************
CPU 0 present and active
Vendor = "GenuineIntel"
Serial# = 000321d0763c00dc
Version = 0x001f010504 (B1 Madison)
Serial# = 000321d0763c00dc
Version = 0x001f010504 (B1 Madison)
[...]
ROM revisions :verscode: 02.31.fwbtr_main_view
datecode: 4411
built with: makerom -V=2.31 -O -C on Thu Mar 11 16:13:03 MST 2004
ROM : Official Build
2.31 - rx2600/zx2000/zx6000 System Firmware
PAL_A Generic Version : 07.31 Family 31 Model 1
PAL_B Version : 05.65 Family 31 Model 1
PAL_B Version : 07.59 Family 31 Model 0
PAL_A Specific Version : 07.31 Family 31 Model 0
PAL_A Specific Version : 05.37 Family 31 Model 1
PAL_A Specific Active Version : 05.37
PAL_B Active Version : 05.65
SAL A Version : 02.00
SAL B Version : 02.31
SAL NVM Rev : 14.00
ACPI Version : 07.00
ACPI Tables : 2.0
ACPI Methods : 1.0b
EFI Version : 01.22
EFI Spec Rev : 01.10
EFI Intel Drop : 14.61
POSSE Rev : 00.10
EFI NVM Rev : 07.00
SMBIOS Version : 2.3.2a
IPMI Version : 01.00
BMC Rev : 01.52
MP Rev :


My memory and notes are ragged, but, as I recall, when I
had the original 900MHz CPU in this system, possibly with
older firmware, there was a significantly longer pause at the
"VGA BIOS" message (perhaps a minute or so?). After stealing
a 1.5GHz CPU from my spare rx2600, and installing it in the
zx2000, the pause at the "VGA BIOS" message dropped to the
"about 5s" reported above.

> Hangs here for as long as you like..........

And how long might that be? You have no idea how long I
might like. And I have no idea how long you waited. If less
than, say, two minutes, then I'd suggest waiting longer.

[Hans Vlems]

Steven, you mentioned swapping cpu's in an rx2600 right?
Did you encounter problems that the motherboard did not recognize the id's of the new cpu's and then fail to boot?
If so how did you fix that problem?

I replaced a motherboard with a used one, it came without cpu's. At power on the console logged an error message that the cpu id's found didn't match the ones it had stored. I had no clue how to fix this so I put the original motherboard back in and all was fine.
Hans

[Steven Schweda]

> Steven, you mentioned swapping cpu's in an rx2600 right?

> [...]

I removed one (1.5GHz) CPU from a dual-CPU rx2600, and
replaced the original (900MHz) CPU in the zx2000 with it. I
think that it's been about eight years since, so I make no
guarantees, but I don't remember having any trouble like
that. Only the zx2000 saw a new CPU. Perhaps it was too old
and stupid to care. I have not moved a new/different CPU
_into_ an rx2600.

I did find some evidence in my notes that that rx2600
still worked with only one of its original two CPUs.

Note that my rx2600 systems (unlike the zx2000) do have
the MP, which may explain why my notes for them say things
like:

- - - - - - - - - - - - Live Console - - - - - - - - - - - -

***********************************************************
* ROM Version : 02.31
* ROM Date : 03/11/2004
* BMC Version : 01.53
***********************************************************

which I don't see from the zx2000. But, again, to me, this
looks newer than the corresponding data in the original
complaint/inquiry. Whether it's significant is another
question, of course, but I have a general preference for
newer firmware. (I haven't checked lately, but, so far as I
know, I have the latest for these "zx6000/rx2600/zx2000"
systems.)

[Steven Schweda]

> I know nothing, but I thought that a zx6000 was very

> similar to a zx2000 (AGP instead of PCI graphics?), [...]

Or perhaps the zx6000 is more similar to the rx2600 than
it is to the zx2000. In any case, with an older/slower CPU,
I've seen a much longer delay at the "VGA BIOS" message than
the roughly five seconds which I see with a newer/faster CPU
(in a zx2000). Lacking a useful problem report, it's tough
to say whether this is relevant to the original
complaint/inquiry/situation.

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2016-06-07 06:58:32 +0000, Hans Vlems said:

> ...swapping cpu's in an rx2600...

So long as your box is at the required minimum firmware revisions, no
additional steps or changes are required beyond the hardware changes,
per:

http://www.istoragenetworks.com/servermanuals/zx6000_cpuupgrade.pdf


--
Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC

[MG]

Op 7-jun-2016 om 13:44 schreef Steven Schweda:

> Or perhaps the zx6000 is more similar to the rx2600 than
> it is to the zx2000. In any case, with an older/slower CPU,
> I've seen a much longer delay at the "VGA BIOS" message than
> the roughly five seconds which I see with a newer/faster CPU
> (in a zx2000). Lacking a useful problem report, it's tough
> to say whether this is relevant to the original
> complaint/inquiry/situation.

That's right and the zx6000 originally came factory shipped
with the mixed AGP+PCI-X cage backplane riser board. It's
essentially of zero use to VMS, however, only if one intends
to run earlier versions of HP-UX, 'ancient' versions of Linux
IA-64 or any Windows for IA-64.

I had one of those riser boards in one of my rx2600's card
cages, thereby more or less turning it into a superficial
'zx6000'. But as I was mostly interested in VMS, I removed
it rather quickly and sold it at some point.

I think I even managed to get that riser board to work in
an rx2620 with dual-core "Montecito" processors to some
degree, but it eventually caused problems (not all too
surprisingly, I guess, since it was wholly unsupported...
I think specifically due to the lack of support of certain
bridging logic, I think because later IA-64 architectures
lacked the hardware x86 emulation layer).

- MG

[MG]

Op 7-jun-2016 om 08:58 schreef Hans Vlems:

> Did you encounter problems that the motherboard did
> not recognize the id's of the new cpu's and then fail
> to boot?

I have upgraded a number of rx2600s and rx2620s over the
years, back when I still owned and ran IA-64 hardware, and
I never had any problems with it. (The processors in question
were "Madison", "Madison-9M" and "Montecito" [so-called 9000-
series] types, to be specific.)

The bulk of them even came from non-HP IA-64 systems, no
lock-ins, cross-platform incompatibilities, etc., fortunately,
interestingly, I guess, and above all... conveniently.

The only time I ran into such a problem was with an attempted
rx2600 System Board swap (I ran into and experienced roughly
what you described). I found one cheaply once and I was
curious if perhaps my System Board was faulty, due to strange
and erratic behavior. Later I, like you, swapped the
'original' back and used the remainder system board to part
together a whole new rx2600 from 'scrap'. Apart from UUID
mismatches, I was still able to 'handcrank' that rx2600 up
and running. I do not remember the details, but it was
possible, interestingly. (It wasn't an ideal solution,
needless to say.)

- MG

[fhs...@gmail.com]

System Event Log looks perfectly normal. Can you provide the Forward Progress Log too?

It looks like EFI is not starting. The last entry (31 0 0x000207 0x00000000000E003C CPU0 starting EFI") should be followed by some informationals about the POSSE library version and EFI version. After that the system starts to identify devices and to load drivers.

Bad SCSI controller is possible. Unfortunately it resides on the main board. Does it make any difference when you put your system disk on the other SCSI controller (disk slots 0 and 1 are on controller A, slot 2 is on controller B). Maybe you can try to disconnect the internal SCSI cables (two black cables from the SCSI riser board of the disk cage to their connectors on the main board, close to the P/S inlet) to rule out a possible bad SCSI riser board.

[fhs...@gmail.com]

It should be noted that the zx6000 and the rx2600 are essentially the same system. The zx2000 is different kind of system.

This does not mean everything is incompatible. CPUs can sometimes be swapped indeed. It is also possible to use the Management Processor of an rx1620 in the zx6000/rx2600. And so on.

I assume the "VGA BIOS" entry in the log is irrelevant to the problem of rcyoung. It only says that rcyoung has an NVIDIA Quadro2 graphics card and Steven Schweda has a AMD ATI Radeon graphics card. A zx6000 system with a more recent firmware does no longer give the "VGA BIOS" entry.

It is not entirely correct that the zx6000 "mixed AGP+PCI-X cage backplane riser board" is "essentially of zero use to VMS". When a PCI Radeon graphics card is present in slot 2 or 3 then an AGP Radeon graphics card in slot 1 (the AGP slot) will work correctly with VMS. On the other hand, when a Management Processor (which has the es1000, a basic kind of Radeon) is present, the AGP Radeon card will be disabled automacitally.

[MG]

Op 8-jun-2016 om 11:34 schreef fhs...@gmail.com:

> It should be noted that the zx6000 and the rx2600 are
> essentially the same system.

There are some differences, at least in so far I remember from
reading both of the systems' the manuals, but highly likely none
to (the typical) 'end-user'. I think one of the differences was
in the 'memory cell' design, but it's been years since I read
these manuals, so I don't know for sure.

> It is not entirely correct that the zx6000 "mixed AGP+PCI-X cage
> backplane riser board" is "essentially of zero use to VMS". When
> a PCI Radeon graphics card is present in slot 2 or 3 then an AGP
> Radeon graphics card in slot 1 (the AGP slot) will work correctly
> with VMS.

I should have spoken for myself. For me it was of zero use and
I never got that combination to work, now you remind me because
I think I did try this combination once (when I may have obtained
an AGP Radeon card, by accident likely, and I also remember
reading on Hoffman's site that it's a minefield, anything
involving AGP and as far as solid support by VMS goes).

I also saw no reason to have a 'dual-head' setup in combination
with DECwindows, since I mostly used the excellent CLI anyway.


> On the other hand, when a Management Processor (whichhas the

> es1000, a basic kind of Radeon) is present, the AGP Radeon
> card will be disabled automacitally.

I remember that if there was another graphics card present, the
on-board MP/iLO graphics adapter was disabled. I was also not
aware that there were MP/iLO cards with anything other than the
Radeon 7000 for rx2600s, rx2620s or even the rx4640 (the only
IA-64 hardware I personally ever dealt with).

- MG

[fhs...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 12:26:26 PM UTC+2, MG wrote:
> Op 8-jun-2016 fhsjvl:

Error in my previous post indeed: when AGP and MP are present, the MP graphics is disabled (not the AGP).

Other error in my previous post: es1000 is the graphics adapter in the MP of the rx3600/rx6600/rx2660/rx2800 i2 and i4. The MP of the zx6000/rx2600 has Radeon 7000 as graphics adapter.

[Steven Schweda]

> [...] A zx6000 system with a more recent firmware does no

> longer give the "VGA BIOS" entry.

Is there more recent firmware (than what I have) for an
rx2600? What? Where?

[Kerry Main]

Latest on HP site:

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?sp4ts.oid=82068&swItemId=wk_24622_1&swEnvOid=54
"This package is an EFI application to update hp workstation zx2000 and
zx6000 system firmware to version 2.31 & BMC firmware to version 1.52."

http://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?sp4ts.oid=88838&swItemId=ux_67850_1&swEnvOid=54
rx2600 System, BMC and iLO MP Firmware
System FW : 02.31
BMC FW : 01.53
iLO MP FW : E.03.32


Regards,

Kerry Main
Kerry dot main at starkgaming dot com

[RobertsonEricW]

For the RX2600, the latest (and final) firmware release is version 2.31C. When the firmware executes, the firmware version displayed is just 2.31 (i.e. omitting the suffix character 'C').

Eric

[Steven Schweda]

> Latest on HP site:
> [...]

Thanks. That's what I thought. Around here:

[rex-m] MP:CM> sysrev

SYSREV

Current firmware revisions

MP FW : E.03.32
BMC FW : 01.53
EFI FW : 01.22
System FW : 02.31

> I assume the "VGA BIOS" entry in the log is irrelevant to

> the problem of rcyoung. [...]

As I suggested, with an old CPU, the system might pause
for more than a few seconds at that point. (My zx2000 did.)
With a less useless problem report (than "as long as you
like"), we might not need to assume anything.

[Stephen Hoffman]

2.31C from 23-Jan-2009 is "current" for that "Longs Peak" box, per HPE.
The image is a ~12 MB file named PF_CPEAKSYS0231C.zip and is available
from HPE for download without any entitlements.

System FW : 02.31
BMC FW : 01.53
iLO MP FW : E.03.32

If you have very old firmware, you'll have to upgrade through one or
two intermediate versions of the firmware.

For the /rx2600 firmware download/ search, DDG finds:
http://h20564.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/swd/public/readIndex?sp4ts.oid=88838&swLangOid=8&swEnvOid=54

[Steven Schweda]

> [...] 2.31C. [...]

So, is that only a new package, or is the new 2.31
actually different from the old 2.31? (I'd like to think
not.)

[Stephen Hoffman]

No sé.

With some of the more infamous software "re-releases" that have been
encountered over the years (and ignoring the possibilities of HTTP
MITM), I wouldn't be entirely certain that "2.31C" downloaded last week
and "2.31C" downloaded this week were entirely the same. Not without a
SHA-2.

Read the release notes?

[Steven Schweda]

> Read the release notes?

Oh, fine. Apparently, the new part of the "02.31C" kit is
the "iLO MP FW E.03.32" part. After a little digging, I
found the CD-R which I must have made from this kit in 2009,
which is consistent with the SYSREV results which I posted
earlier. So, I wouldn't expect to find any "more recent
firmware" which would 'no longer give the "VGA BIOS" entry.'

All of which, although of some possible interest, still
leaves the mystery of how long a pause "as long as you like"
really was.