Network operating system fails to load on systems with the LSI 1064e SAS controller - IBM BladeCenter HS21

Resolving The Problem

RETAIN tip: H191936

The network operating system was installed, but after rebooting the system, the POST screen displays "OS is not installed".

This symptom applies to any system that has the LSI 1064E SAS Controller.

This tip is not hardware specific.

This tip is not option specific.

The system is configured with at least one of the following:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server 64 Bit Limited Edition, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, Datacenter Edition, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, EE x64, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, x64 Edition, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows XP 32 Bit Professional, any service pack
• Microsoft Windows XP 64 Bit Professional, any service pack

Note: This does not imply that the network operating system will work under all combinations of hardware and software.

Please see the compatibility page for more information:

http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/

First sequence of steps:

1. Boot the machine and wait for POST.
2. Wait for the LSI device initialization and press CTRL -C to enter the LSI configuration screen.
3. When LSI utility comes up, press CTRL -N.
4. Select RESTORE DEFAULTS.
5. Press the ESC key.
6. Exit Utility and reboot the system.

Next sequence of steps:

1. After reboot, press F1 when prompted to move into BIOS setup.
2. Select Start -Up options.
3. Press Enter for Start -Up (boot) sequence.
4. Set all Start -up devices to (none) by using the + or - key.
5. Set Start -up device 1 to CDROM.
6. Set Start -up device 2 to PCI hard disk drive XXXXX which will be notated by an ID and a LUN number. The default is hard disk drive 0 this is incorrect for this option.
7. Press the ESC key to go back to the Main Menu.
8. Press ESC once again, select SAVE SETTINGS.
9. Exit set up and reboot.
10. Reinstall the network operating system.

This issue is caused by the system using the system BIOS to determine what device it should boot from rather than using the LSI controller. By setting the proper boot sequence, the BIOS will defer to the SAS controller to determine the boot device.