Tag Archives: troubleshooting

Supermicro BMC firmware

Posted by xaminmo

Setting up the new replica server, I kept running into problems during the initial firmware update.  All IPMI settings and hardware data were inaccessible after BMC firmware update. System otherwise works as expected.  This condition persisted no matter if I went to DEL setup or F11 boot menu.  I could hang out in the UEFI shell, or etc.

It was not that the sensor data was “not present”.  It was that the list of sensors was missing.  Also, System MAC address, and BIOS version info was missing.  The FRU data was empty, as well as the Hardware Information.  All of the IPMI settings were blank, and could not be set.  The diagnostic data page gave “File not found”.  The iKVM was inaccessible, and the system could not be put into maintenance mode, powered off, powered on, or reset from the IPMI interface.  All of the system logs were blank and inaccessible.  Support was not super helpful, but they were responsive.  Supermicro is one of the top tier system makers.  They OEM for IBM, but that equipment is not quite as touchy.

The solution is to be very finicky about the BMC firmware update.

Get the right version for your system here:
https://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/bios_ipmi.php

My system used this code:
https://www.supermicro.com/Bios/softfiles/12085/X11SDVN_BIOS_1_3a_IPMI_1_31_03.zip
Manufacturer Name: Supermicro
Product PartNum: SYS-E300-9D
Chassis Part Number: CSE-E300
Board Product Name: X11SDV-4C-TLN2F
BIOS Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) D-2123IT CPU @ 2.20GHz

Update the code with extra patience
Use the AwUpdate utility to update the IPMI/BMC firmware
.\AwUpdate -f ......\WS_X11AST2500_131_03.bin -i lan -h 192.168.1.210 -u ADMIN -p ADMIN
NOTE: This can be on some other system as long as you can connect TCP between the two.
NOTE: No -r, and in the web UI, we would uncheck all of the “preserve settings” options.

Let all 5 parts (0 through 4) complete
Wait for the “New firmware is updating” to complete
Wait for the system to reboot.

Monitor the console
Wait for a longer version of IPMI Initialization
Wait for a longer than usual DXE — ACPI Initialization
Wait for the red LED to come on
Wait at least 5 more minutes (try 10)

At this point, you should see that it responds to F11 or DEL, but stays hung.
CTRL-ALT-DEL and everything should be populated and working.

The Unit IDentity LED may be stuck red.
You cannot clear the UID red state any way other than pulling the power cord.
Let it drain for 30 seconds, and plug back in.

After this, everything works, AND the UID LED setting in the IPMI web interface will switch from blink blue to off.


iPhone, Garmin, Live Tracking

Posted by xaminmo

This is a write-up I made for a friend having problems with Garmin Live Tracking on an iPhone. It would get interrupted all the time, and show negative, or tiny percentages, of the real stats, though the map and track would look correct.

iPhone viruses / bugs:
iPhones don’t get generally malware unless they have been jailbroken / hacked.
This can only happen hands-on, and is not currently possible at the current OS version.

Any concerns can be fixed with a reinstall/restore of the phone.
I do this for any major upgrade (iOS 8 to iOS 9), but no more often.

This brings you to latest level, and replaces anything that got messed up.
Takes a couple of hours to finish the restore.

iPhone Restore / Reinstall:
* Back up to iTunes, plugged in is best.
* Disable your pin-code lock from Settings on the phone..
* Do a restore from iTunes.
* Wait for the OS install to finish (15-20 mins)
* Answer the 5 “new phone” questions to get back to the home screen.
* Re-Enable your pin-code lock
* Re-Enroll your fingerprints if you use that
* Wait for iTunes to finish restoring your apps and photos.

    Here is info about the LiveTracking problem specifically:

The stats error:
This is a design issue with the garmin app. They really need to fix it.
Reference: https://forums.garmin.com/archive/index.php/t-329984.html

The stats fix:
Replace the livetrack exercise with an upload of the activity.
* Finish the activity on the device.
* Delete the bad one from the Connect app calendar.
* Sync/Upload from your device.

Stability improvement:
The stability during tracking can be helped with:
* Disable WiFi while livetracking.
* Make sure all other apps are closed while livetracking
* Make sure the phone has been hard rebooted in the last week or two.

General Garmin stuff that *may* help:
* Update the Garmin Connect app from the App Store. Again.
* Update Garmin Express. Mine doesn’t auto-update anymore.
* Update Garmin device firmware. Maybe there is an unreleased version from support?
* Clear off activities every week. You can save the files to dropbox, or upload to Garmin Connect, or both.
* Maybe to a master reset as a last resort.

Master Reset of the Garmin Device
Plug in the USB cable
Copy all of the files off of your device.
Delete activities from the device
Unplug the USB cable
Power off the device of not already off
Hold Lap/Reset and Start/Stop buttons
Press power button
Wait for spash screen showing Garmin brand
Release Lap/Reset and Start/Stop buttons
Wait for power-up
Take outside for a 5-20 minutes so it can get the initial satellite fix.
Power off the device
Plug in USB cable
Copy the settings.fit, totals.fit, and records.fit back to “NewFiles”
Unplug USB
Power on and make sure all of your settings are there.

    Here are the things I have done that have helped my phone be less crashy in general:

#1 Limit what can use GPS in the background.
* Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services -> Purple are running now or in the last few minutes. Grey are in the last day. Disable anything that should not be allowed. Keep garmin, strava, etc.

#2 Limit what can run in the background
* Settings -> General -> Background App Refresh -> Disable anything that should never stay running when not up on the screen. Keep music, maps, chat/messenger, and similar enabled.

#3 Close apps when you’re not using them.
iOS 8 and later seems to have memory control issues. Lots of apps just get killed when they ask for memory, rather than being denied. If you close out everything first, then start the one GPS app, that often helps.

#4 is hard reboot your phone once every week or two.
I find sometimes my phone gets crashy, and only a hard reboot helps:
* close all of the apps running – double-click home, then swipe or close from there
* hold power button and swipe off when prompted
* Power on with both power and home button held down at the same time.
* Keep both buttons held down until the apple logo appears, then disappears again.
* Normal power on with 1 second on power button.