G3 always boots to floppy despite boot order

[Terri Harris]

Steve:
I have a ML370 G4 3.4 GHz model. BIOS is P50 (7/22/2004). I am unable to re-create the problem described. The boot order is default (CD-ROM, then floppy). It I put in a bootable CD & floppy, it boots from the CD. If there is no CD and a bootable floppy, it boots from the floppy.
I will do further searching here on the ITRC to see if any other users are reporting the same issue.

[steve drake]

Try it with a diskette that is NOT bootable. No matter what the Standard Boot Order is set to in the RBSU, the server boot will fail with:
602-Diskette Boot Record Error

The reason I have a non-bootable diskette in the server while it is booting is that this is normal for the Unattended Installation of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 using a Autoyast diskette. While CD #4 is inserted, the server is rebooted to continue the installation process - but fails. This diskette contains installation preferences and settings in the file autoinst.xml.

Disabling diskette boot via RBSU seems extreme but at the moment is my only choice other than instructing users to remove the diskette (and then reinsert it) at the proper point in the installation. For some reason, which I have yet to determine, this usually results in a failure of the post.sh script (within autoinst.xml) to run and the installation is incomplete.

My test server is ML370-G4 (P50) 12/02/2004

[Terri Harris]

Steve - update to the latest System BIOS for the ML370g4 (Jan 05, 2005) and let me know if you have the same issue:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/22312.html

terri.harris@Hp.com

[steve drake]

12/02/2004 is the latest:
Systems ROMPaq Firmware Upgrade Diskette for HP ProLiant ML370 G4 (P50) Servers
version 4.02 P50-12/02/2004 (12 Jan 05)

Jan 12 is the day HP posted it. The server displays 12/02/2004 wkhen booted.

I thought you mentioned your server with bios dated 7/??/2004 works fine? Shouldn't I be trying an old bios?

[Terri Harris]

Steve: The test ML370G4 server I have is now running the same BIOS version you are (I should have reported it as 12/02/04 and not the posted dated). And I cannot get this server to duplicate the problems you are having.
What happens if you have the SmartStart 7.10 CD inserted & a non-boot diskette? If you do not have the SS7.10, you can burn a CD from the image here:

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/subscription/PSM_subscription.html

terri.harris@hp.com

[steve drake]

Same problem using 'my' diskette and SmartStart 7.10. It turns out that this problem only occurs with 'my' diskette which is not a 'DOS' formatted diskette. 'My' diskette contains a Linux ext2 filesystem. Apparently the System BIOS only recognizes dos formatted diskettes.
To duplicate this you would have use a linux machine to create the diskette.
The 602-Diskette Boot Record Error occurs immediately after the diskette drive is accessed the first time - right after the server displays "Redunant ROM Detected - This system contains a valid backup system ROM" - within 30 seconds of turning on power.

[Terri Harris]

Thanks for the clarification, I'm checking into this. I know the first question will be if this occurs with any other server (different Proliant or non-HP server). Have you used this unattended install script on a different system?

terri.harris@hp.com

[steve drake]

I have two ML370-G3's and 1 ML370-G4 that do this. I have a Dell Optiplex GX270 on my desktop which does not. The boot order on the Dell is set to CD, diskette, hard disk. When I insert my ext2 diskette and boot, the diskette is seen but ignored and the PC boots from the hard disk (grub boot of SLES9). Granted this in only a PC (at least a year old) and I only tested one other PC by only 1 vendor...

[steve drake]

See Flash Bios revision 1.27 for IBM eServer325. This version provides the following fix:
While boot from non-bootable floppy need to show error 602 and keep try other boot device.
This would prevent the trouble I am having.
This can be found at the following URL.
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=1201&uid=psg1MIGR-53061&loc=en_US

[Terri Harris]

602 - Diskette Boot Record Error
Audible beeps: none
Possible cause: boot sector on the boot disk is corrupt.
Action: remove, replace or reformat diskette.

Note: The above information is available in the Proliant Servers Troubleshooting Guide:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00257512/c00257512.pdf

Steve - please email me directly with full address & server serial number so I can create a case for this issue. Any further detail on how unattended install was created would be helpful. Thanks!

terri.harris@hp.com