Cannot Downgrade to iDRAC 9 Firmware 4.40.10.00 on PowerEdge R640

Hi,

As I can see you already tried importing steps. Please try to use RACADM. 

To roll back iDRAC9 firmware using iDRAC9 RACADM:

1. SSH to the IP Address of the Server

2. Run 'swinventory' to confirm the FQDD of the iDRAC and check the available Rollback version:



3. Run 'racadm rollback <FQDD>' (Ex. 'racadam rollback iDRAC.Embedded.1-1') to initiate the downgrade.

• Format an SD card with FAT32 (using Windows) or EXT3 (using Linux).
• Copy the firmimgFIT.d9 file to the SD card.

Insert the SD card into the vFlash slot on your server. Power cycle the server. The iDRAC boot loader should detect the SD card, read the firmware image, reprogram the iDRAC, and then reboot it. This process can take 2-5 minutes

Hope that helps!

@DELL-Erman O​ Hi Erman, thanks for the prompt response.

Can you 100% confirm that this process overwrites the iDRAC bootloader and fully allows for downgrading below firmware version 4.40.40.00? How is initiating this via the command line + SD card different from doing this via the GUI?

When I try downgrading via GUI, I do get the following error message in the lifecycle logs:

Joeschmoe2024,

The route I would go would be to do a racadm systemerase, or F10 Retire and Repurpose, and select the iDRAC and the Lifecycle Controller. That will cause the idrac bootloader to be replaced. Now if you do those and the issue persists, then I would look at replacing the motherboard and maybe control panel. 

@DELL-Chris H ​ Hi Chris,

I tried both F10 Retire and Repurpose as well as a racadm systemerase for everything (just to be certain). Unfortunately this does not cause the iDRAC bootloader to be "replaced" as you claimed, as the system still refuses to boot into the older firmware image with the same error mentioned before.

Is there any way to re-flash the iDRAC bootloader? It appears flashing an older firmware works fine, as I can see it in the rollback menu (4.40.40.00 vs. 3.36.103.36). But the bootloader refuses to load the older version when rolling back. Surely this is possible if bootloader updates are possible via iDRAC updates.

The SD card recovery procedure seems like it's designed for cases where the bootloader is intact but both iDRAC firmwares are corrupted. Is it accurate to say that? If so, it sounds like this wouldn't make a difference either. How can we re-flash the iDRAC bootloader? Thanks.

sorry to hear that. If these methods do not work, unfortunately I cannot think of any other method.

@DELL-Erman O​ Hi Erman,

Based on these replies, I think there are two options:

1. Dell adds back the option to manually adjust minimum fan speed down to 5% in a future iDRAC9 update. This allows those who are using these servers in noise-sensitive environments to keep things quiet while still maintaining good airflow. This would be easy to implement from a software perspective. (Ideal)

or

2. Dell releases a firmware update file or another method that allows the user to roll back prior to version 4.40.40.00. (not ideal)

@DELL-Chris H  Is there any way you can escalate this to someone who is on the iDRAC/developer team? This feature is a critical ask for those of us using these at home or in noise-sensitive environments. Thank you.

Yes, I agree.  I found this thread looking for ways to regain control of fan speed.  I had also already attempted the iDRAC rollback and was stuck on the same version as above and was about to downgrade my BIOS to try to get around the lower limit of iDRAC to no avail.  Users should be able to make these decisions for their own situations instead of being limited by the software.

I also arrived here trying to regain control of my fan speed.  Please either restore the ability to adjust the fans down to 5% or fix our ability to downgrade to firmware 3.30.30.30.  

In the same Boat with my R640 (1*6132/384GB). Initially planned to replace my R720 and R420 with it. Both of them are managed with ipmi fancontrol since 2019 and work reliable and without issues. I would love if Dell could provide a way for the homelab community to get ipmi writable again - none of these machines will bring support cases and trouble to Dell. There is NO reason for fans on 35% on a machine that draws 80W idle.

One more homelab user with the same goal, to be able to set fan speeds manually. I don't want or need the fans to be at a high speed. It's a single server in my garage, nobody cares if it runs hotter or not. It's outside of warranty anyway, and it's been so for years.

Give us the option to control fan speeds manually. Make it behind a "I understand what I'm doing" checkbox or whatever.

So yea, downgraded from latest iDRAC 7.00.00.181 to 4.40.40.0, and can't get below that.

Hello, I'll leave this comment here.

https://dl.dell.com/manuals/common/dell_emc_poweredge_14g_acoustical_performance_and_dependencies_22nov2018.pdf

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-au/000257346/poweredge-how-to-change-the-fan-speed-offset

PowerEdge: How to change the Server Thermal and Fan Settings | Dell Australia

This article shows how to modify the PowerEdge Server Thermal settings and Fan Speed manually.

• Sound Cap - Sound Cap provides reduced acoustical output from a server at the expense of some performance. Enabling Sound Cap may include temporary deployment or evaluation of a server in an occupied space, but it should not be used during benchmarking or performance sensitive applications.
  • Note: The sound Cap option is not available on all models