System will not complete POST, Unable to configure and communcate to the IMM - IBM System

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H197832

Symptom

The user can access F1 Setup, but is unable to configure the Integrated Management Module (IMM) Settings. The system will not complete Power On Self Test (POST)

Affected configurations

The system may be any of the following IBM servers:

• System x3650 M2, type 4199, any model
• System x3650 M2, type 7947, any model
• System x3650 M3, type 4255, any model
• System x3650 M3, type 7945, any model

This tip is not software specific.
This tip is not option specific.
The system has the symptom described above.

Workaround

Ensure that the system is taken down to the minimum configuration to include unplugging the DASD I2C, Power, and Signal Cable.

Additional Information

After the IMM is rebooted, it can take up to ten (10) minutes to become available. The length of time is dependent on installed options and features added to the server. During this time, Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is not able to communicate with the IMM and configuration changes should not be attempted.

In rare incidences, the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) backplane or I2C backplane configuration cable may affect the ability to configure the IMM Internet Protocol (IP) settings and may prevent the system from completing POST.

The following parts are affected:

• Backplane, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), HDD (Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) 43V7070) or Backplane, SAS, 8 hard disk drives (FRU 69Y0650) backplanes
• I2C backplane configuration cable for four (4) drives (FRU 69Y4233) or I2C backplane configuration cable for eight (8) drives (FRU 69Y0648)