System hangs while booting Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 - IBM eServer xSeries 450, 455

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H183872

Symptom

When performing a new install of Microsoft Windows 2003 Server for IA64 (Intel Architecture 64 bit), Service Pack 1 (Enterprise or DataCenter), the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) operating system (OS) loader will hang, preventing further progress of the installation. The system will also hang when rebooting after updating an active operating system installation. There are no messages in either the System Error Log or the Windows Event Log.

Affected configurations

The system may be any of the following IBM eServer xSeries servers:

• IBM eServer xSeries 455, type 8855, any model

• IBM eServer xSeries 450, type 8688, any model

The following operating systems are affected:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, for 64-Bit Itanium-based systems

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, for 64-Bit Itanium-based systems
  

Note: This does not imply that the network operating system will work under all combinations of hardware and software. Please see the IBM ServerProven compatibility page for more information .

Solution

This behavior has been corrected in release of system firmware (x455 version 1.04 and x450 version 1.02). It is available from the IBM eServer xSeries support Web site .

Workaround

None. Do not install Windows 2003 Server, Service Pack 1, until after the system firmware to support this operating system is released and installed.
 
However, if SP1 is installed before the system firmware has been installed, the recovery procedure below should be followed:  

1. Boot to EFI menu, exit to EFI shell.
   
2. Go to the filesystem where Windows is loaded (fs3: , fs4: , etc) typically the scsi drive.  
   
3. Change directories to follow the EFI path through the subdirectories until a "boot000x" file (x = any number) is seen. Under the Microsoft directory, there may be many WinNT50 subdirectories. Select the newest/latest directory.  
   
4. Write down the complete directory path including the boot000x filename.  
   
5. From the root directory, go under MSutils. Run the "nvrboot" command and select "import". Enter the complete path and filename of the boot000x file.
   
6. When finished, go back to the EFI main menu and select "Boot Maintenance".
   
7. Select change boot order and make sure the newly imported Windows entry is there. Move up or down using the "U" or "D" keys. Save to NVRAM and exit to the EFI main menu.
   
8. Select your newly imported Windows entry and confirm that Windows loads.
   

Additional information

The EFI OS loader shipped with Windows 2003 Server, Service Pack 1, uses a speculative code sequence which causes a mis-aligned storage exception. The exception handler should discard the instruction and flag a deferred exception, but it incorrectly attempts to fix the problem, resulting in a repeating occurrence of the exception. A fix has been identified and included in the next maintenance release of the system firmware, currently scheduled for third quarter, 2005. Customers with a critical need to install the service pack can contact IBM Product Engineering via the IBM Support Center to obtain a beta copy of the updated firmware after 15th April 2005.