Update 09-Feb-2025: added H200 method. The Support Files zip file was also updated for better EFI compatibility and to include the DOS version of sas2flsh.exe
Update 30-Oct-2019: clarified that BIOS flashing is optional, added an error that can be encountered on Step 12 and a warning that can be encountered on Step 15. The Support Files zip file was also updated to include a UEFI Shell Binary file.
Update 18-Aug-2019: added mouse initialization error, page parameter, Exit Code error and P20 BIOS and FW zip file. A duplicate file was also removed from the Support Files zip file.
This procedure is a combination of using the Legacy (DOS) + UEFI methods to flash an LSI SAS2008 chip based card Dell PERC H310 or H200 to an LSI 9211-8i in IT mode.
This method will flash both the firmware and also the BIOS of the card (optional) , which many guides omit.
- Create a bootable USB flash drive using Rufus.
- Choose partition scheme: MBR for BIOS or UEFI
- Bootable disk using FreeDOS
- Download the latest zip file from LSI/Broadcom that has the BIOS and firmware for the 9211 HBA card. The two files needed for this guide can be downloaded from here: BIOS-Firmware (these are version P20 which are the latest available at this time).The files were sourced directly from Broadcom (https://www.broadcom.com/support/download-search?dk=sas+9211-8i)There are two files you need:
- Firmware (IT mode) file for 8i model, it will have file extension *.bin (typical file name 2118it.bin)
- BIOS file, it will have file extension *.rom (typical file name mptsas2.rom)
- Place these two files on the root of the bootable flash drive
- Also download and extract some support files to the root of this drive. These files are needed to prepare the card for updating. Download from here: Support Files.
- Install the HBA card in the system
- Boot from the flash drive using Legacy/DOS mode (not UEFI mode). This will get you into FreeDOS.
- Determine what the current SAS Address is of the card using one of the two methods below. Make a record of it because we will need to re-program this same address later.PERC H200:
sas2flsh.exe -listall
If after running the above command you get: ERROR: Failed to initialize PAL. Exiting Program. Use Appendix A of this guide to boot into UEFI. Then run the below command (UEFI only):
sas2flash.efi -listall
You should then be presented with a list of all detected adapters each with a number assigned to them. To get the address of the first card, run the appropriate DOS or UEFI command:
sas2flsh.exe -c 0 -list sas2flash.efi -c 0 -list
PERC H310:megacli.exe -AdpAllInfo -aAll -page 20
H310 Notes:
- the output of this command is several pages long. Use the parameter -page x where x is the number of lines to print per page
- If after running the above command you get Exit Code: 0x01 along with no device information, then no H310 adapter was found.
- Now wipe the firmware of the card using this command:
megarec.exe -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin
You may see an output that Chip is in FUSION mode. When the step is complete, you should see: Success.
- The next step is the erase command:
megarec.exe -cleanflash 0
You should see the output Erasing Flash Chip (8 MB) with a % complete that increases over time. When the step is complete, you should see: Completed: 100%.
Note:
- When running the DOS commands above, you may receive the error below multiple times:
DOS/32A warning (9004): mouse initialization failed
This is typical and can be safely ignored.
- When running the DOS commands above, you may receive the error below multiple times:
- Once complete, it is time to reboot into the UEFI shell using Appendix A of this guide.
- At the UEFI shell, flash a Dell firmware using this command. Say Yes if it asks if you want to flash.
sas2flash.efi -o -f 6GBPSAS.FW
When you see: Firmware Flash Successful! the step is complete.
Note:
- If you receive the following error after it says Firmware Download Successful, simply try the flash command again:
Resetting Adapter … Adapter Reset Failed! Due to error remaining commands will not be executed. Unable to Process Commands. Exiting SAS2Flash.
The error may appear a second time, but the second attempt should result in a successful flash output.
- If you receive the following error after it says Firmware Download Successful, simply try the flash command again:
- Next it is time to program the SAS address using the following command. Replace the X with the values you recorded earlier, but do not include the hyphens.
sas2flash_p19.efi -o -sasadd XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
You should see the output: SAS Address Successfully Programmed!
- Reboot the system and boot back into the UEFI shell per Appendix A.
- Now flash the firmware of the card to the latest 9211-8i firmware:
sas2flash.efi -o -f 2118it.bin
When you see: Firmware Flash Successful! the step is complete.
Note:
- If you receive the message below then choose yes.
NVDATA Product ID and Vendor ID do not match. Would you like to flash anyway [y/n]? - Similar to the previous flashing step, you may get a Resetting Adapter … Adapter Reset Failed! Due to error remaining commands will not be executed. Unable to Process Commands. Exiting SAS2Flash. If the flash was successful on the first attempt, then this can be safely ignored.
- If you receive the message below then choose yes.
- Once complete, you have the option to flash the latest BIOS for the card. This is completely optional for a card running in IT mode since there are no disk management settings, however it may help with troubleshooting since it gives you diagnostic information about what devices are connected to the card during the boot process. If you skip this step then the card will not have a BIOS and your boot times should be reduced.
sas2flash.efi -o -b mptsas2.rom
Note:
- This is a legacy BIOS, so on some UEFI motherboards you may need to enable the option for Legacy mode for Storage Boot Option Control in the BIOS before you will see it during the boot process.
- Once complete, reboot and you should now have a card running in IT mode. You can verify the results with the step above for checking the SAS address. FW version should show as 20.00.07.00. If you chose not to flash the BIOS, x86-BIOS column will show as No Image.
Appendix A:
Steps to boot into UEFI shell:
- Reboot the system and enter the BIOS.
- Look for a boot override option that is described as either “UEFI” followed by the name of your flash drive or Launch UEFI Shell from filesystem device. Select either one to continue.
- At the UEFI command prompt, find out what device number has been assigned to your flash drive using this command
map -b
- Then type the device number followed by a colon symbol to get to the root of your flash drive in UEFI mode. For example, if you determine your flash drive is fs0 then you type:
fs0:
- This gets you to the root of the USB drive. From here, follow the appropriate steps in the main guide.