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 Post subject: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:30 pm 
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Hello,

This is my first post to this forum.

I have a Mediasmart ex470 and I have a problem trying to perform a factory recovery/reset.

I have purchase a debug board to see what is happening when the server is trying to initiate the server reload using the SMI files. It gets to a point where it indicates that it dows not find any network device connected. I know that the netword port is working because when I boot it using my copy of the WHS2003 it sees the network port as well as when I force the server to try to boot using PIXI from the BIOS it also initiate the port and my DHCP sees the port.

I did a copy of the SMI files onto a USB stick and made it bootable. I got the same results... no network card driver loaded.

I am starting to suspect that my SMI Files may be corrupted. I placed a call to HP to see If I could obtain a copy from them but I was not successful; the gentlement on the phone could not find any reference to them and seemed not to understand what I was talking about.

Do you know here I could obatin copies of those files?

Thank you

Pierre


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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:39 am 
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There are 2 versions of the SMI Files specific for either the EX47x or EX48x.

If you look at your SMI files look for the folder named Drivers and with notepad open up the file drivers.list and if you have SMI Files for the EX47x you will see the files listed below:

Attachment:
EX47x Drivers.JPG
EX47x Drivers.JPG [ 37.94 KiB | Viewed 38709 times ]


Its important to have the correct drivers for your EX470 to install when it boots into its recovery mode otherwise its simply not going to work.

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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:29 pm 
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Dear Comp1962,

The content of my drivers.lst is identical to yours as well as the content of my drivers directory.

When booting the restore restore program gets to a point where it does not find the necessary drivers for the network card and asks for additional drivers from a USB flash drive. I inserted a USB drive with the drivers and it seems that it does not see them. I have also tried to force WinPE to allow unsigned drivers to be used by pressing F8 at the booting phase with no success.

Any suggestion?

I am starting to believe that somehow the smi files are corrupted.

Thank you

Pierre


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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:01 pm 
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Lets confirm the SMI files in your EX470 are working or not......

Back out all the hard drives and disconnect any external eSATA and USB Devices. Then turn the server on, hopefully you will have the BIOS Set to the default boot order. When the EX470 boots into its recovery mode the Health Light will blink Purple and Red and a whole bunch of messages will appear on the screen but you will see a Listening Message or series of Listening Messages.

Once you see this logon to your router and check the DHCP Listing and you should see a device starting with the name MININT. If you see this then your server is booting properly into its recovery mode.

If not then check the network connection to the EX470 to see if its active or not. You could simply have a bad network connection or something is blocking the communication between your server and router. Much has already been written about troubleshooting these types of issues but its all a process of elimination. You can also connect the client directly to the server using a standard Cat5 or 6 cable because all HP MSS servers have autosensing ports and will correct the connection so no special crossover cable is required.

The other thing to look at is if where your server is connected be it to a switch or router what speed is the connection if where its connection provides that information be it 10, 100 or 1000. I have seen failed NICs on the EX470 running at 10 but you will need to rule this out because the NIC's on these EX470 have been known to fail and the only solution would be to use a USB-LAN Adapter and install the drivers onto your SMI Flash Drive your using right now but the drivers will need to be loaded into two locations which I can go over. I have in the past performed a recovery with a USB SMI Flash Drive and USB-LAN Adapter but its a different process and since you have a DEBUG Board it will be a much easier process for you should you need to do it.

As for the part your seeing where it asks for Network Drivers the only time I am aware you will see this request is from the Client Side not the server side so kindly confirm for me where your seeing this message because its important that we are on the same page.

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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 4:21 pm 
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I did many tests on my server. In fact I have been trying for the past month to resolve this situation.

I checked the BIOS settings specifically for the boot order. Forcing the SMI first, removing all the drives from the server did not produce any different results.

The following series of screens is to illustrate how I get to the server restore screen where it says that the driver for the network card has not been found.

Applying power to the server presents the following screens attached. During that time the DHCP server does not receive any request for an IP address. If I connect directly my server to a laptop running the server recovery software the server network indicators come alive with link status and activity blinking.

I also still have a corrupted copy of my Windows Home server hard disk that still boots but that I want to restore to factory state. When I do this the network card comes alive and works fine. Those tests seem to indicate that the card is functional.

What do you think?


Attachments:
IMG_20150302_161943.jpg
IMG_20150302_161943.jpg [ 1.31 MiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: You will notice that a drive is installed. It is unformatted and because of that it falls into the recovery sequence automotically.
IMG_20150302_161953.jpg
IMG_20150302_161953.jpg [ 1.47 MiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: Then WinPE starts.
IMG_20150302_162005.jpg
IMG_20150302_162005.jpg [ 1.12 MiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: Then the restore program starts. I sits for about 90 to 120 seconds.
IMG_20150302_162032.jpg
IMG_20150302_162032.jpg [ 1.21 MiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: Then it displays this screen where it indicates that it does not find the network driver.
IMG_20150302_162159.jpg
IMG_20150302_162159.jpg [ 892.53 KiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: With a USB keyboard attached if I try to load a driver from a usb key that contains an integral copy of the smi files ... no success. It sits there doing nothing. If I press Continue then it enventually gets to a screen where it will say that a Listener has been created.
IMG_20150302_162216.jpg
IMG_20150302_162216.jpg [ 1.14 MiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: I have tried starting the PIXI boot (Sis191 UNDI, PX) sequence by pressing F8 when WinPE starts to see if the network card was still alive. When I do this the DHCP server received a request for an IP address.
IMG_20150302_162407.jpg
IMG_20150302_162407.jpg [ 1.3 MiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
File comment: This the Listener screen I get I f I press Continue.
IMG_20150302_171549.jpg
IMG_20150302_171549.jpg [ 999.85 KiB | Viewed 38682 times ]
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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:22 pm 
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Enter the EX470 BIOS:

Select Integrated Peripherals
- Select SIS OnChip PCI Device
- Check to make sure SIS Ethernet Controller is Enabled

If its enabled then I would suspect either the drivers in the SMI are corrupt or your NIC has failed on the EX470. You can also look at the NIC on the EX470 and you should see a solid Green Light and a Blinking Amber or Yellow Light.

If the NIC has failed then what you will need to do is purchase a USB-LAN Adapter and install the Driver Files for the adapter in the Drivers Directory and then edit the drivers.lst file with the path and driver much like you see with the existing drivers so that WHS can load then when booting into recovery mode. This will get the first part of the recovery up and running but after the server reboots you will see a prompt for a detected device which is the USB-LAN Adapter and so you will need to tell WHS where the drivers are so you can tell WHS to load the drivers from the Drivers Directory on your USB SMI Boot Flash Driver or you can also load them onto the Root of the drive to make them easier to find. Once WHS Loads those drivers at that point you will be good to go and the server should not ask you for the drivers again.

I suggest when you use the Bootable USB Flash Drive with the SMI Files on it that you just connect it to the bottom rear USB Port, back out the bottom drive and turn the server on. When you see the health light blink Purple and Red just seat the system drive and when you see the Listening Message run the Server Software on a Client and select the recovery method you wish to perform.

Good Luck and hopefully the on board NIC was just disabled. I will leave the EX470 I have out incase you need additional assistance.

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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:08 am 
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Dear Comp1962,

By the way, thank you for the time you are taking to answer my posts.

I doubled checked the BIOS just in case. The NIC was enabled. Anyways it did function under HomeServer 2003 (my corrupted copy I am trying to reset to factory state) as of yesterday and the Pixi boot sequence did produce a request to my DHCP server. This seems to indicate that the NIC is good. Traffic (blinking amber) and Status (solid green) indicators are operating as expected. The blue status light on the front of the server is a solid blue as expected.

I did another test with my USB copy of the SMI files where I replaced the NIC drivers with fresh copies obtained from SIS for that specific NIC (SIS191) for XP and Vista versions. I have modified the driver.lst file to point to the new files... just in case. I have obtained the same results.

On point though. If I look at the content of the SMI drive I have notice a funny folder called Local drive (E). I have included picture of the fildor in question. If I remember correctly there was a post on this forum that showed the content of the SMI files. This folder did not appear in the on the other gentlemen's pictures he had posted. I did test with and without that folder. It did not make any difference... same results.

Because the NIC is working under other conditions, I am starting to beleive that the SMI files may be corrupted.

Any suggestions?


Attachments:
File comment: This is the content of my USB stick drive copied from the SMI drive. You will notice that funny folder called Local drive (E).
IMG_20150303_084553.jpg
IMG_20150303_084553.jpg [ 1.49 MiB | Viewed 38645 times ]
File comment: When you open this folder up this is what you see. With or without this folder the behavior remains the same.
IMG_20150303_084624.jpg
IMG_20150303_084624.jpg [ 1.38 MiB | Viewed 38645 times ]
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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 6:21 pm 
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Here is the listing from the SMI File Archive I have:

[attachment=0]EX470_SMI_Files.JPG[/attachment]

Notice the Local Folder is absent. Not sure why you have it in yours but I have posted similar pics of the SMI Root Directory on the site in the past. I just took a look at the EX48x SMI and they are basically the same with probably the only difference being the drivers because the EX47x is AMD and the EX48x is Intel.

The NIC has a very specific MAC Address and its actually written on the end of the motherboard. If you know the MAC Address for the server you should be able to see it on your Router. If you do that PXE boot and believe the NIC is working then it should show up on the Routers DHCP Listing but to be certain you need to know the MAC Address or ID especially when the device name at this point will be unknown. I got to the point with the MSS and later one with my other devices to label the MAC ID so that it would make it easier to troubleshoot connectivity issues. All the HP MSS models have the MAC ID on the back end of the motherboard near the NIC but I am uncertain about the LX Models since I only have one of those but all the others definitely have a MAC ID Label on the motherboard near the NIC.


Attachments:
EX470_SMI_Files.JPG
EX470_SMI_Files.JPG [ 27.77 KiB | Viewed 38619 times ]

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~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:58 pm 
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Did another test tonight.

I decided to install a USB/Ethernet interface. I have purchased an Insignia 10/100 Mbit adaptor.

I have copied the drivers to the DRIVERS directory onto a USB KEY copy of the SMI files. I have modified the drivers.lst file to point to the *.inf file for the drivers of the interface. Did a first test with Vista drivers... no success. The LINK indicator on my switch never came up to acknowledge my adaptor.

Did the same test with the XP drivers... same results.

Just in case, I tested the USB/Ethernet adaptor on a WIN7 machine and the adaptor worked fine the first time. So the adaptor works fine.

The behavior of my EX470 remains the same; it does not see any network adaptor.

My conclusion is that my version of the SMI software is corrupted or it does not know were to find the drivers for the network card.

It must be corrupted somehow.

Would anyone know were I could find a copy of the SMI USB files that is known to work so that I could test it on my EX470? Otherwise I am afraid that this server will only find use as a nice decoration.

Thank you


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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 4:59 pm 
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I just did another test inspired by something I read in a French forum. I have located another file calle BOOT.WIM in the PC RESTORE disk from HP. On my USB bootable key I have replaced the corresponding file that originally came from the server SMI files with the one I got from the CDs. Voila! the software was able to activate my network card. The DHCP server saw the request.

It was not able to locate my disk image on my laptop I am trying to push but it indicates to me that the faulty piece of software in my server SMI files is that BOOT.WIM.

Would anyone know were I could get a working copy of this file.

I am certain that this would fix my problem and could help me resurrect my server.

Thank you in advance.


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 Post subject: Re: EX470 SMI files
PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 3:57 pm 
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does anyone have the smi files they could post a link to to download. my server seems to be bricked and trying to get it back up and running.


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