MegaRAID MR10M controller: The system does not boot to the operation system when storage is attached - IBM System x3650 M5 (4199, 7947)

Resolving The Problem

Source

RETAIN tip: H214118

Symptom

Two MegaRAID (MR) adapters are installed in the system.

• One MegaRAID MR10i adapter is installed for an internal hard disk drive with the operating system installed.
• The second adapter, a MegaRAID MR10M controller, is connected to external storage.

The systems tries to boot to the MegaRAID MR10M controller (second one), with the result that no operating system is found.

Affected configurations

The system can be any of the following IBM servers:

• System x3650 M2, type 4199, any model
• System x3650 M2, type 7947, any model

The system is configured with one or more of the following IBM option part numbers:

• ServeRAID MR10M SAS/SATA Controller, option part number 43W4339, any replacement part number
• ServeRAID MR10i SAS/SATA Controller, option part number 43W4296, any replacement part number

This tip is not software specific.

Solution

On the Controller Properties Menu Options located in the UEFI F1 Setup menu, there is an option to enable or disable the BIOS for the selected controller.

The default is Enabled. If the boot device is on the selected controller, the BIOS must be enabled. Otherwise, the BIOS should be disabled, or it might not be possible to use a different boot device.

Therefore, on the MegaRAID MR10M, disabling the BIOS and making sure that the MegaRAID MR10i has the BIOS enabled should ensure that the MegaRAID MR10i is selected as the boot device.

Additional information

The default BIOS is Enabled on both controllers. If the boot device is on the selected controller, the BIOS must be enabled. Otherwise, the BIOS should be disabled or it might not be possible to use a different boot device.