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An HP Proliant DL380e Gen8 BIOS P73 (03/01/2013) using iLO4 suffers from USB CD/DVD drive boot issues after a reboot, as described in HP Advisory c02707749. External USB DVD drive details are:

Product ID: 0x0719 Vendor ID: 0x05e3 (Genesys Logic, Inc.)
Version: 0.09 Serial Number: 33 Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Location ID: 0x1d111000 / 12 Current Available (mA): 500 Current Required (mA): 96

Our workaround is to "Restore Default System Settings". Then it is possible to boot from the external USB DVD drive again.

Is there anyone that has found a better workaround or solution to boot an HP Proliant from USB DVD drive?

ewwhite
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  • Can you provide more information about what you're trying to do? In my experience, I rarely use external USB CD/DVD devices on these servers *because* the ILO provides media boot capabilities (e.g. you shouldn't need a USB device). So this sounds like an edge case. Could you walk us through your workflow? – ewwhite Nov 22 '13 at 14:01
  • @ewwhite iLO ISO media boot requires buying a license. We just would like to install an operating system from DVD. – Pro Backup Nov 22 '13 at 14:15
  • @ProBackup Trial license? http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/management/tryinsightcontrol/index.html – Nathan C Nov 22 '13 at 14:21
  • @ProBackup You should be able to install the OS from external DVD without issue. Once done, unplug your DVD and use the OS? What's missing here? – ewwhite Nov 22 '13 at 14:41
  • @ewwhite Then I would like to try installing another OS, migrate an installation to different drives/disk using f.e. Acronis, Norton Ghost, Paragon, or similar. – Pro Backup Nov 22 '13 at 15:11
  • @ProBackup Try hitting `F10` for the **Intelligent Provisioning** utility between OS installations. – ewwhite Nov 22 '13 at 15:22
  • Does the server have IPMI? use the emulated DVDROM via IPMI. You can then boot over the network using CD or DVD from another PC or ISO file. – hookenz Nov 27 '13 at 20:01
  • @ewwhite Why should I hit `F10` for Intelligent Provisioning? What should it do? And how does that improve my issue that the Proliant boots unreliable from USB DVD drive? – Pro Backup Nov 28 '13 at 09:12
  • @ProBackup [Intelligent Provisioning](http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/server-software/product-detail.html?oid=5219984#!tab=features) is a provisioning tool that integrates with your OS deployment, slipstreaming HP agents/drives into the OS installation. It also accepts your installation media. If you haven't used it at all on your HP server, you're missing a key part of its functionality. – ewwhite Nov 28 '13 at 11:37

2 Answers2

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Yes, there is a better approach to booting your server from physical media than resetting your BIOS to factory settings every time.

From HP's documentation... Title: How to Boot from External USB Optical Drive/USB Key?

HP ProLiant Gen8 Server Series:

USB Boot Support USB Boot Support controls whether the system boots from USB devices connected to the server. When disabled, this option also disables booting of iLO virtual media. Options include:

• Enabled (default)
• Disabled

enter image description here

Booting from USB device:

  • Try with front and rear USB ports in the server.
  • Booting into a External USB hard drive may not be supported.
  • Avoid using USB hub while tring to boot.
  • Make sure USB key has bootable files.
ewwhite
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Using one of the two front side USB connectors over one of the four USB connectors on the back side of the ProLiant DL380e server, improves the boot from USB DVD drive reliability to near 100%.

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