Using the BIOS Recovery Header (J38, Pins 11 - 12)
Depending on which stage the BIOS becomes corrupted, you might see different behavior.
• If the BIOS BootBlock is corrupted, you might see the system get stuck on the following message:
Initializing and configuring memory/hardware
• If it is a non-BootBlock corruption, a message similar to the following is displayed:
****BIOS FLASH IMAGE CORRUPTED****
Flash a valid BIOS capsule file using Cisco IMC WebGUI or CLI interface.
IF Cisco IMC INTERFACE IS NOT AVAILABLE, FOLLOW THE STEPS MENTIONED BELOW.
1. Connect the USB stick with bios.cap file in root folder.
2. Reset the host.
IF THESE STEPS DO NOT RECOVER THE BIOS
1. Power off the system.
2. Mount recovery jumper.
3. Connect the USB stick with bios.cap file in root folder.
4. Power on the system.
Wait for a few seconds if already plugged in the USB stick.
REFER TO SYSTEM MANUAL FOR ANY ISSUES.
As indicated by the message shown above, there are two procedures for recovering the BIOS. Try procedure
1 first. If that procedure does not recover the BIOS, use procedure 2.
Note
Procedure 1: Reboot With recovery.cap File
Step 1
Download the BIOS update package and extract it to a temporary location.
Step 2
Copy the contents of the extracted recovery folder to the root directory of a USB drive. The recovery folder contains the
bios.cap file that is required in this procedure.
The bios.cap file must be in the root directory of the USB drive. Do not rename this file. The USB drive must
be formatted with either the FAT16 or FAT32 file system.
Note
Step 3
Insert the USB drive into a USB port on the server.
Step 4
Reboot the server.
Step 5
Return the server to main power mode by pressing the Power button on the front panel.
The server boots with the updated BIOS boot block. When the BIOS detects a valid bios.cap file on the USB drive, it
displays this message:
Found a valid recovery file...Transferring to Cisco IMC
System would flash the BIOS image now...
System would restart with recovered image after a few seconds...
Step 6
Wait for server to complete the BIOS update, and then remove the USB drive from the server.
During the BIOS update, Cisco IMC shuts down the server and the screen goes blank for about 10 minutes.
Do not unplug the power cords during this update. Cisco IMC powers on the server after the update is complete.
Note
Cisco Application Services Engine Hardware Installation Guide
80
Maintaining the Server
Using the BIOS Recovery Header (J38, Pins 11 - 12)