Firmware CD crashed on Dual Core DL-585

[MattG_1]

When trying to boot from the 7.4 Firmware CD on a dual-core DL-585 I get the following error and the boot process halts:
Kernel Panic: IO-APIC + timer doesn't work! Pester mingo@redhat.com
In Idle task - not synching
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I am assuming this has something to do with the AMD DC chips? Is there a fix for this besides individually trying to apply fw on a part by part basis?

Also, this server will be running VMWare ESX, so I won't be able to try and manage the updates with the Windows OS.

Thanks,
MattG

[Michael Garner_1]

Matt,
You are correct in your assumption that this is related to the AMD DC chips. When you have more than two AMD DC chips in the DL585, the Firmware CD will fail to boot with the message you displayed above.

There are two ways to resolve this issue:
1) Use the online firmware upgrade components. All the Linux FW components should work in the VMWare ESX environment, but they have not been tested in a VMWare environment.
2) Remove the AMD processors until you only have two or fewer in the DL585. The firmware CD will then boot and allow firmware installation.

The HP support escalation team brought this issue to my attention yesterday. We've already verified that our next release of the firmware CD resolves this issue. I know that's much comfort right now, but I'm working with the support escalation team to document this failure and determine the appropriate actions to take to resolve it.

Regards,
Michael Garner
HP PSP/Firmware CD Development Lead

[MattG_1]

Any update on a fix for this?

Thanks.

[Michael Garner_1]

Matt,
A new Firmware CD v7.40b has been posted to the HP website that resolves this problem. The link to the web page with the CD in a zip format is:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/24048.html

Thanks,
Michael