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Context:

I have a Dell Perc H200I card, which is a x8 PCIe card, that I want to flash to IT Mode. Sadly it can't be done on my Dell server as megarec command does not work. So I'm trying to do the flash on other computer with a MSI h81m-e35 motherboard which has a PCIe x16 slot meant to install a graphic card I think.

When I plug the card in my MSI computer it wont boot. Just blank screen. But no beep at all either.

Question:

I just need to be able to boot this computer in uefi shell and FreeDOS in a way it recognizes the H200I card so I can flash it. Without the H200I card plugged I can boot properly both with my FreeDOS bootable USB and into uefi shell too.

Is there something I can change in the uefi bios to make it work with the H200I card plugged on the PCIe slot?

Pedro Reyes
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  • Does the card actually work? – Michael Hampton Jul 16 '19 at 22:21
  • Yes, the card works on the DELL Server. I can read its details including its SAS address. I forgot to mention so I should clarify it, that the computer with the MSI motherboard has its PCIe x16 slot empty because I just use the CPU integrated graphics. But when I plug the DELL Perc on that slot and boot the computer it shows nothing on screen and no beeps either. – Pedro Reyes Jul 16 '19 at 22:35

1 Answers1

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Consumer motherboards are kinda weird sometimes. I had very similar issues with an Adaptec RAID controller on a Gigabyte motherboard years ago. It just did not work in the x16 slot, and the manual stated that the x16 could only be used for graphics cards.

The good news is that your motherboard has multiple PCIe slots. Just try it in the other one. For your purposes it doesn't matter if that slot is only x1 electrically, everything will still work fine. You just want to flash it, not max out its bandwidth.

If neither slot works, then chances are that motherboard just isn't going to work with a proper RAID controller. This is not uncommon on basic consumer motherboards.

Mark Henderson
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  • I already read the PCIe cards should work on any slot, both larger or shorter but, how can I plug the x8 PCIe card in a x1 slot? Is there some kind of adapter? – Pedro Reyes Jul 17 '19 at 06:11