Dell EMC Switch S4148F-ON firmware update issue/failure Dell site error?

Hi,

1. Why recommended firmware package can not be installed to switch? Is it site file/version error or maybe just wrong file?

If I'm not wrong, you have already updated https://dell.to/3CI9KLp and https://dell.to/3V7tluL at it's respective order right, referring to the documentation you have posted. 

2. Why full update file for that switch kills it? If that version must be installed with some staging/intermediate versions it must refuse to update?

For ONIE and ONIE firmware update, there is no staged update. Only the OS10 firmware need to be stage. Ref: https://dell.to/3B5Niv4

3. How can switch be brought to life? If BIOS downgrade will fix that - how to downgrade from ONIE?  Long post, but could help someone to not kill the switch and Dell to make support site better and me to recover switch?

Based on the update order, you might be at step 3. which you need to update the SSD firmware. https://dell.to/3Z27xlj. Try updating the SSD firmware first to check if the issue persist. If yes, please try to get the error or a screenshot of the error which is displayed. 

Hi, thanks for reply
1. yes. updated direct to S41X8_FW_Updater_3.33.5.1-26.zip as it was not possible to update to FW Updater 3.33.5.1-9_S4148F.zip from FW UPDTR,S4148,V3.33.5.1-XX.zip archive (that is seemed to be intermediate between existed
BIOS                 : 3.33.0.0-4    
System CPLD          : 0.4           
Master CPLD          : 0.10          
Slave CPLD           : 0.7

and S41X8_FW_Updater_3.33.5.1-26.zip) ? that direct update killed the switch - made it unbootable

3. Yes as I mentioned ONIES were updated, ONIE-firmware was direct 3.33.0.0-4  --> S4100-BIOS-3.33.0.1-12.bin (as full update package)  without intermediate FW Updater 3.33.5.1-9.zip that cant be installed.
so step 3 is impossible as switch doesnt see SSD anymore - it cant be updated.

I booted switch from ONIE recovery USB and SSD is missing.
Tried to install ONIE to switch from that ONIE reovery:

 eth0:  Checking link... up.
Info: Trying DHCPv4 on interface: eth0
ONIE: Using DHCPv4 addr: eth0: 10.1.45.173 / 255.255.255.224
ONIE: Starting ONIE Service Discovery
Info: Found static url: file:///lib/onie/onie-updater
ONIE: Executing installer: file:///lib/onie/onie-updater
Verifying image checksum ... OK.
Preparing image archive ... OK.
ONIE: Version       : 3.33.1.1-11
ONIE: Architecture  : x86_64
ONIE: Machine       : dellemc_s4100_c2338
ONIE: Machine Rev   : 0
ONIE: Config Version: 1
Installing ONIE on: /dev/sda
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] Sense not available.
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] Sense not available.
ERROR: Problems creating EFI System partition 1 on: /dev/sda
Problem reading disk in BasicMBRData::ReadMBRData()!
Warning! Read error 22; strange behavior now likely!
Warning! Read error 22; strange behavior now likely!

***************************************************************
Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format
in memory. 
***************************************************************

Non-GPT disk; not saving changes. Use -g to override.
ONIE: ERROR: Firmware update URL: file:///lib/onie/onie-updater 
ONIE: ERROR: Firmware update version: 3.33.1.1-11 
Failure: Unable to install image: file:///lib/onie/onie-updater

also from ONIE recovery SSD:

Disk /dev/sda: 0 sectors, 0 bytes
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 1BCC1C5C-60E9-41FE-AC3B-7610E48FAEEE
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 18446744073709551582
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 0 sectors (0 bytes)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name

tried to downgrade firmware in a conventional way from ONIE to that version couldnt be installed:
Verifying image checksum ... OK.
Preparing image archive ... OK.
ERROR:Firmware: Machine mismatch
Running machine     : x86_64-dellemc_s4148f_c2338-0
Update Image machine: x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-0
Source URL: onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4148f_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-9.bin

so thet version is not accepted as right for S4148F-ON (seems that is why it wasnt installed as intermediate when switch was live)

also tried to install SSD firmware ssd-firmware-updater-3ie3-r0.3.00.7.0-1.zip (its included in  full package S41X8_FW_Updater_3.33.5.1-26.zip as I understand, so is supposed to be installed?) update from ONIE recovery - it refused to install and said that there is no 3ie3 SSD in system and nothing to update.
Thanks!

Hi,

Did you do the update in this order, based on the guide:

1. ONIE update: Ensure that you have the correct ONIE version for the switch. : https://dell.to/3B5uagN
2. ONIE Firmware update: Update the ONIE firmware to the latest recommended version. : https://dell.to/40YIzWT
3. SSD update: Update the solid state drive (SSD) components. : https://dell.to/414wjUR

The SSD seems to have bad sector. Perhaps, I would recommend contacting the support to raise a case. 

hi, thanks for reply.
yes exact that order.
1. Updated ONIE to the latest version.
2. Then tried FW Updater 3.33.5.1-9_S4148F.zip that didnt work, so updated to S41X8_FW_Updater_3.33.5.1-26.zip

3. unable/impossible as there were no signs of life from switch after 3.33.5.1-26 full package install. ONIE recovery flash shown that BIOS doesnt see SSD as I've shown in previous post.
So questions:
1. Maybe 3.33.0.0-4 -> S41X8_FW_Updater_3.33.5.1-26.zip firmware update is wrong way of update? Shouldnt be there FW Updater 3.33.5.1-9_S4148F.zip before S41X8_FW_Updater_3.33.5.1-26.zip?
2. could downgrade of BIOS recover the switch? If yes how can it be done?
Thanks

Please check firmware file's MD5 checksum, To ensure the integrity of your download. 

You can use this method to see hash code:

1. Open the Windows command line.

   Press Windows + R, type cmd and press Enter.

   Alternative: You can also open command prompt or Windows PowerShell from the Start menu.

2. Go to the folder that contains the file whose MD5 checksum you want to check and verify.

   Command: Type cd followed by the path to the folder.

   Tip: You can drag and drop a folder from Windows Explorer to insert the path.

3. Type the command below:

   certutil -hashfile <file> MD5

   Replace <file> with the filename.

   Tip: You can use the Tab key to have Windows complete the file name.

   For example, to get the MD5 hash for the file Example.txt:

   certutil -hashfile Example.txt MD5

hi
no Windows here sorry :)
all files are in archives - so they are verified when uncompressing and sure I verified all the checksums as they are included with update packages.
onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-9.bin
onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-9.bin.md5
$ md5sum -c onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-9.bin.md5 
onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-9.bin: OK
but that version cant be installed as you can see in my previous posts

$ md5sum -c onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin.md5 
onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin: OK

that package was accepted/installed but switch became unbootable.

no answer to 2 questions? does BIOS update need exact staging? if not - how 3.33.0.0-4(previous) -> 3.33.0.1-12(3.33.5.1-26package) killed it? can BIOS be downgraded and will downgrade recover switch?
Thanks.

@DELL-Joey C​ 

File you mentioned in 2 is onie-update-full-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin that has both ONIE and firmware, so it updated both of them. and now switch is unbootable.

onie-firmware-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin
onie-updater-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.1.1-11 
are in that update-full package.
FYI onie-update-full-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin.md5 from your mentioned zip has no filename in it - wrong md5 file, but if you add correct name md5 sum is ok
$ md5sum -c onie-update-full-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin.md5 
onie-update-full-x86_64-dellemc_s4100_c2338-r0.3.33.5.1-26.bin: OK
but its not related to dead switch, just mistakes in files (must be corrected)
Thanks

As I know yes generally recommended to follow the exact staging. Skipping necessary intermediate updates or compatibility issues might be the problem. Downgrading the BIOS can be risky, so it's crucial to handle it carefully with an engineer. Honestly, in your case I would contact Dell network team for further investigation. 

Hi, thanks for reply.
Was unable to access switch for some time.
Ok here is how SSD looks in ONIE recovery dmesg output:

ata6: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300)
ata5: SATA link up 6.0 Gbps (SStatus 133 SControl 300)
ata5.00: ATA-8: Generic FCR SATA Loader Loader Device, 01.01001, max UDMA/100
ata5.00: 8192 sectors, multi 0: LBA 
ata5.00: configured for UDMA/100 (device error ignored)
scsi 4:0:0:0: Direct-Access     ATA      Generic FCR SATA 1001 PQ: 0 ANSI: 5
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] 8192 512-byte logical blocks: (4.19 MB/4.00 MiB)
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
sd 4:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk

so seems SSD failled or killed by update? Can it be recovered?

Thanks

Hello,

as my collegue said, please can you contact technical support to better analyze the issue, because there are bad sector and probably an hardware issue.

Thanks

Hi, thanks for reply.
Isn't it technical support here? The one should have valid contract to contact them? Or how to contact them?

Thanks

Hello,

For US/Canada you can use 1-800-945-3355 to reach Support directly.

If you are not in that region you can find support contact information here. You may need to change the US/EN at to top right corner to select your region:

https://dell.to/4fM7GAB

You would need an active warranty and if you don't you can ask about a Post Standard Support contract to work the issue.