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This problem happens on both an IBM blade & HP blade

I installed Linux 5.X on my HP blade from a PXE server. Linux installed successfully from the PXE.

I changed the HP Blade boot order so "hard drive" is before the "PXE NIC" order so Linux will boot from the hard disk.

Although "hard drive " was before "PXE NIC", HP blade still boots from the PXE and not from the hard disk.

Note I disconnected the PXE LAN and the Linux booted successfully from the hard disk (but I not want to remove the PXE LAN from the blade)

Example of HP boot order after successfully installed linux 

 CD-ROM
 Diskette Drive (A:)
 USB DriveKey (C:)
 Hard Drive C: (*)
 PXE NIC 1 (**)

example of HP blade boot order before I installed linux (downloading linux from PXE server)

   PXE NIC 1 (**)
   CD-ROM
   Diskette Drive (A:)
   USB DriveKey (C:)
   Hard Drive C: (*)

Can anyone suggest why this is happening?

fixer1234
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Eytan
  • 47

2 Answers2

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The blade will boot from the PXE source if the hard disk is not bootable. So the PXE is not being prioritised over the hard disk, it is likely trying the hard disk, finding it unbootable, then moving to the next in the sequence.

So your focus should be on why the hard disk is not bootable. This is most likely because grub or whichever bootloader you chose is not correctly installed into the boot sector of the hard disk.

You can boot a cdrom and mount the relevant partitions (this topic has been covered on SU before) and ensure that grub gets correctly installed.

Paul
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Hi i'm really not an expert with hp blades, however I know that common settings in the domain play the important role, not a local server. You have to know that you are working in a Virtual Connect environment. First you should have a look in your blade chassis configuration because this may override your server settings. I had a quick look in the user guide mentioned above and found: "Virtual Connect Manager v1.20 and higher supports three PXE options:

  • Enable—VC Manager sends a configuration update to the mezzanine NIC
    or embedded NIC associated with the port to enable PXE operations.

  • Disable—VC Manager sends a configuration update to the associated mezzanine NIC or embedded NIC to disable PXE operations.

  • Use BIOS—Current BIOS settings are used for embedded NICs and mezzanine NIC PXE operations. VC Manager makes no changes to the current settings. This is not applicable to Flex-10 LOM ports when used with Flex-10 interconnect modules. In this situation, the USE-BIOS option for PXE boot in a VC profile always allows a server to PXE boot from a LOM port irrespective of the initial LOM settings in the BIOS utility (F9 screen). HP BladeSystem c-Class server blades have a factory default configuration for PXE to be enabled on embedded NIC 1 only, included as the last entry in the RBSU IPL priority list (boot order). VC Manager and the BIOS limit the number of PXE enabled embedded NICs to one. However, additional NIC ports from a mezzanine adapter can be enabled simultaneously using the "Use BIOS" settings. All mezzanine NIC ports can be enabled for PXE booting at the same time, along with one embedded NIC port. If one or more mezzanine NIC ports are enabled for PXE booting, you should review the RBSU IPL list to validate or update the boot order priority.
Journeyman Geek
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klaus-dieter
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