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Using the Setup utility

Use these instructions to start the Setup utility.

To start the Setup utility, complete the following steps:

  1. Turn on the blade server (see Turning on the blade server).
  2. Immediately give the blade server control of the BladeCenter unit shared keyboard, video, and mouse ports.
  3. When the prompt Press <F1> Setup is displayed, press F1. If you have set an administrator password, you must type the administrator password to access the full Setup utility menu. If you do not type the administrator password, a limited Setup utility menu is available.
  4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

The following menu items are on the Setup utility main menu. Depending on the version of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), some menu items might differ slightly from these descriptions.

  • System Information

    Select this choice to view information about the server. When you make changes through other choices in the Setup utility, some of those changes are reflected in the system information; you cannot change settings directly in the system information. This choice is on the full Setup utility menu only.
    • System Summary

      Select this choice to view configuration information, including the ID, speed, and cache size of the microprocessors, machine type and model of the server, the serial number, the system UUID, and the details about the memory that is installed in the BladeCenter HX5 blade server and the IBM MAX5 expansion blade.

    • Product Data

      Select this choice to view the system board identifier, the revision level or issue date of the firmware, the integrated management module and diagnostics code, and the version and date.

    This choice is on the full UEFI Setup Utility menu only.

  • System Settings

    Select this choice to view or change the server component settings.
    • Adapters and UEFI Drivers

      Select this choice to view information about the adapters and UEFI drivers installed in the server.

      Note
      Before you configure a UEFI-compatible device, you should update the firmware for your blade server. See Updating firmware and device drivers for information about how to update the firmware for your blade server.
      To configure a UEFI-compatible expansion card, complete the following steps:
      1. Select Please refresh this page first and press Enter.
      2. Select the device driver that you want to configure and press Enter.
      3. When you have finished changing settings, press Esc to exit from the program; select Save to save the settings that you have changed.
    • Processors

      Select this choice to view or change the processor settings.

    • Memory

      Select this choice to view or change the memory settings related to the BladeCenter HX5 blade server and the MAX5 expansion blade.
      Note
      Select the Memory Scaling Affinity setting to specify whether the memory in the MAX5 expansion blade is distributed to each processor domain (non-pooled) or set up as a separate memory domain (pooled).
    • Devices and I/O Ports

      Select this choice to view or change assignments for devices and input/output (I/O) ports. You can configure the remote console redirection, and enable or disable integrated Ethernet controllers. If you disable a device, it cannot be configured, and the operating system cannot detect it (disabling a device is equivalent to disconnecting the device).

      You can also choose to enable or disable adapter option ROM support. Disabling support can potentially improve the time it takes the blade server to start.

    • Power

      Select this choice to view or change Active Energy Manager (AEM) power capping to control power consumption and processor performance states.

    • Operating Modes

      Select this choice to determine operational settings, such as operating mode (acoustic, efficiency, or performance) and memory speed.

    • Integrated Management Module

      Select this choice to view or change the settings for the integrated management module (IMM).

      • POST Watchdog Timer

        Select this choice to view or enable the POST watchdog timer.

      • POST Watchdog Timer Value

        Select this choice to view or set the POST loader watchdog timer value.

      • Reboot System on NMI

        Select this choice to enable or disable restarting the system whenever a nonmaskable interrupt (NMI) occurs. Disable is the default.

      • Commands on USB Interface Preference

        Select this choice to specify whether the Ethernet over USB interface is enabled or disabled.
        Note
        This option is primarily for older operating systems that have problems with USB communications device class (CDC) Ethernet interfaces. Disabling this option will cause the following issues:
        • Online update packages will not work.
        • Updates that use Bootable Media Creator (BoMC) will not work because BoMC uses the LAN over USB interface.
        • You must install the IPMI device driver to use ASU to change the IMM or UEFI configuration.
        • You cannot set the IMM OS Loader watchdog.
      • Network Configuration

        Select this choice to view the system management network interface port, the IMM MAC address, the current IMM IP address, and host name; define the static IMM IP address, subnet mask, and gateway address; specify whether to use the static IP address or have DHCP assign the IMM IP address; save the network changes; and reset the IMM.

      • Reset IMM to Defaults

        Select this choice to reset the IMM to the default settings.

      • Reset IMM

        Select this choice to reset the IMM.

    • Legacy Support

      Select this choice to view or set legacy support.

      • Force Legacy Video on Boot

        Select this choice to enable or disable force INT video support, if the operating system does not support UEFI video output standards. The default is Enable.

      • Rehook INT

        Select this choice to enable or disable devices from taking control of the boot process. The default is Disable.

      • Legacy Thunk Support

        Select this choice to enable or disable UEFI to interact with PCI mass storage devices that are non-UEFI compliant. The default is Enable.

    • System Security

      Select this choice to view or configure security options for Trusted Platform Module (TPM).

    • Network

      Select this choice to view or configure the network device options, such as iSCSI, PXE, and Broadcom.

    • Trusted Platform Module (TPM)

      Select this choice to view and configure TPM settings.

  • Date and Time

    Select this choice to set the date and time for the server. The date is set in month/day/year format. The time is set in 24-hour format (hour:minute:second).

    This choice is on the full UEFI Setup Utility menu only.

  • Start Options

    Select this choice to view or change the start options, including the startup sequence, keyboard NumLock state, PXE boot option, and PCI device boot priority. Changes in the startup options take effect when you start the blade server.

    The startup sequence specifies the order in which the blade server checks devices to find a boot record. The blade server starts from the first boot record that it finds. If the blade server has Wake on LAN hardware and software and the operating system supports Wake on LAN functions, you can specify a startup sequence for the Wake on LAN functions. For example, you can define a startup sequence that checks for a disc in the CD-RW/DVD drive, then checks the hard disk drive, and then checks a network adapter.

    This choice is on the full UEFI Setup utility menu only.

  • Boot Manager

    Select this choice to view, add, delete, or change the device boot priority, boot from a file, select a one-time boot, or reset the boot order to the default setting.

  • System Event Logs

    Select this choice to access the System Event Manager, where you can view the POST event log and the system-event log.

    The POST event log contains the three most recent error codes and messages that were generated during POST.

    The system-event log contains POST and system management interrupt (SMI) events and all events that are generated by the baseboard management controller that is embedded in the integrated management module.

    Important: If the system-error LED on the front of the server is lit but there are no other error indications, clear the system-event log. Also, after you complete a repair or correct an error, clear the system-event log to turn off the system-error LED on the front of the server.

    • POST Event Viewer

      Select this choice to enter the POST event viewer to view the POST error messages.

    • System Event Log

      Select this choice to view the system-event log.

    • Clear System Event Log

      Select this choice to clear the system-event log.

  • User Security

    Select this choice to set, change, or clear passwords.

    You can set, change, and delete a power-on password and an administrator password through this selection. If you set a power-on password, you must type the power-on password to complete the system startup and to have access to the Setup Utility menu.

    The password must be from 6 to 20 characters. You can use any combination of ASCII printable characters for the password. Keep a record of your password in a secure place.

    If you forget the power-on password, you can regain access to the blade server either by removing the blade server battery and then reinstalling it (see Removing the battery and Installing the battery) or by using the power-on password override switch (see System-board switches).

    An administrator password is intended to be used by a system administrator; it limits access to the full Setup utility menu.

    Attention
    If you set an administrator password and then forget it, there is no way to change, override, or remove it. You must replace the system board.
  • Save Settings

    Select this choice to save the changes that you have made in the settings.

  • Restore Settings

    Select this choice to cancel the changes that you have made in the settings and restore the previous settings.

  • Load Default Settings

    Select this choice to cancel the changes that you have made in the settings and restore the factory settings.

  • Exit Setup

    Select this choice to exit from the Setup utility. If you have not saved the changes that you have made in the settings, you are asked whether you want to save the changes or exit without saving them.