Netserver LC 2000 U3 Noise reduction Fan Kit

[DHoward]

I just recently purchased a noise reduction fan kit for my Netserver LC 2000, Dual PIII 1GHz. Now the fan warning LED is blinking yellow. I tried looking for a firmware update, but found nothing newer than what is running on the computer now.
Bios v 4.06.06 RM / 7/6/2001
MMC v H.10.45
I also downloaded and ran what I thought was the latest bios update v.4.06 dated 10/18/2002,but saw no difference when the machine rebooted.
Is there still some software or firnware updates in HP land for this type of Netserver?

[Richard Whitnable]

I have the same problem. Looks like you are also missing the CD (with the new firm ware) that was supposed to come in the kit.

The base of the problem is that the three original stock 12cm fans ran at about 2700rpm, and the one original stock 9cm fan ran at about 3700rpm. The 12cm fans in the â Noise Reduction Kitâ run at about 1700rpm and the 9cm runs at about 2000rpm. I strongly suspect that one (or all) of the new fan speeds falls below what the MMC considers â normal,â and thus thinks that one (or more) fans are in the â failedâ state. To let the human operators know vital bit of insight, the MMC sets the â Fan Fail LEDâ from solid green to blinking yellow. (It looks more red to me, though.)

The lower speed fans seem to be doing their job. The two CPU temperatures and the system board temperature are within a degree or two of what they were before the upgrade. The noise is for surely reduced, just as advertised. It used to be a high roar, now it is low rumble.

We both seem to have the latest and greatest firmware. See the HP Support document titled â HP Netservers - system bios matrix,â â Last Update: JANUARY 2002". See: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=lpn12873

Look at the HP Support document titled â HP Netserver LC 2000 - Reduced Noise Cooling Kit P7686Aâ This has a â Solution IDâ of IS15003. This document is the ONLY place in the whole HP web site that addresses the noise reduction kit. Believe me, I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying all the possible search permutations on the HP web site. This is the only page that you can hang any hope on.

The heart of the â solutionâ (the word used here in the literary sense) says:

â Always use the correct MMC FW v F.70.46 or later when updating the system system's MMC FW to ensure proper operating conditions. The P7686A HP Netserver LC 2000 Reduced Noise Cooling Kit comes with a CD that has this unique MMC FW update utility. Click here to download the latest version of the MMC FW.

â CAUTION: Do NOT use the HP Netserver Navigator CD to update the MMC FW on the HP Netserver LC 2000 equipped with the customized cooling components in this kit. This will set the system fans to incorrect speed settings.â

The â Click hereâ gets you to the general download page. A general search for â MMC FW v F.70.46" comes up null. Again, I have spent a lot of time trying to find this upgrade. I always came up empty handed.

This is all probably not much help on the technical end of the problem. But at least we can damp down the frustration level by typing in what we have found. Anyone else that has this problem please add a note here. There is strength in numbers. Maybe HP will take note and reveal some hidden fix. Or maybe FSM (see http://www.venganza.org/) will have mercy on us.

[Richard Whitnable · Accepted solution]

I found it!!

The MMC firmware F.70.46 was hiding in Europe.

To get the download, go to the HP website, get into the NetServer section. Go to the â Download drivers and softwareâ section, get into the â HP Netserver L Server seriesâ section. There should be a whole screen list of all the HP NetServers, starting with â LCâ and ending with â LXr Pro8". Select the LC 2000 (or LC 2000r). On the next screen select the last choice, â Cross operating systemâ . This will come up with a screen with the latest (last) BIOS, utilities, firmware, etc. The trick is to select a language other than default English. I used Spanish.

And there it is, right under the second red bar, â hp netserver lc 2000l low noise MMC Firmware updateâ . It says it is â F.70.45 30 Oct 2002", but it really is F.70.46. The file name is: lc2000l_sdr27_mmc46_es.exe

Down load the file and execute it. It will ask for a floppy disk to write to.

Put the floppy disk it creates in your LC 2000 and reboot it. After the POST the floppy will do its work. It takes a couple of minutes to load, backup, and reload some settings and files. The only Spanish is the first line telling you that it has started MS DOS. All the following messages are English.

All that I can see that has changed is that the front panel fan LED is now solid green again. And in the POST BIOS display the MMC firmware version is now F.70.46.

I guess the standards for noise in Europe are lower than in the US, so this noise reduction kit was used there much more than here.

Richard Whitnable

[DHoward]

Thanks for the help.
Have you noticed any issues with your Netserver since you ran the firmware update for the fans?
I'm kind of wary since this was so hard to find, and the firmware upgrade "Caution" notice HP in the documentation.

[Richard Whitnable]

I am not the best of people to ask if I have noticed any issues with my LC2000 after the MMC upgrade to F.70.46. The LC2000 I have is not being used in a production environment, I am currently just experimenting (read fooling around and playing) with it. But to answer your question, no, I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary after the upgrade to F.70.46.

I did reload the Bios v 4.06.06 RM back into the machine, and sure enough the Fan Fail LED is again blinking yellow (red??). I then reloaded F.70.46 and the Fan Fail LED went back to solid green.

My take on the Caution notice in the HP documentation is that they want you to be aware that the Bios v 4.06.06 RM (from the Navigator CD) is NOT the version to use IF you have the noise reduction kit installed. From what I can see, F.70.46 ONLY addressed the noise reduction kit. It does not address (for example) the ethernet error rate due to sun spots or the clock speed variable associated with the phase of the moon. (The later variable is used in locales around the world that use a lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar. It compensates for the perception that time flows slower in these locales.) I suspect that only difference between two versions of the BIOS/MMC is the lower threshold value for the speed of the fans.