Hi All, I have a Dell T610 server and for some reason the BIOS does not retain the modified settings and always reverts back to the default ones. (Basic troubleshooting has been done already but could not identify the root cause.The jumpers are installed correctly, installed latest official Dell BIOS and iDRAC FW, reset all settings from software and using the jumper as well, replaced coin battery, etc... and also it just started out of the blue after a reboot without me even opening the chassis.) Note: During the bootup the BIOS displays a message saying the NVRAM_CLR jumper is installed on the board - which is not... The problem: I'm OK with most of the default settings except for the VT which is set to disabled. Without VT enabled the server is useless to me so I thought if it was possible to set it to enabled by default in the BIOS I could still use it. Additionally during the boot process at the end of all HW initialisations the BIOS stops waiting for F1 to proceed or F2 to enter system setup. The ask: If someone could set VT to enabled by default and get rid of the waiting for keyboard action at the end that would be a tremendous help. I can provide the exact messages if required. I have no experience with modding and I'm only hoping it can be done. If there is any idea what else could be the root cause of the whole issue and how to fix it I'm more than happy to try anything. Link to the current BIOS I'm using: Sorry can't post links yet... Manufacturer/model: Dell PowerEdge T610 Motherboard part number: 09CGW2 It's a phoenix BIOS as far as I can tell. Version 6.6.0 Thanks.
If Windows is your main system, you can enable virtualization with RWEverything. Using its portable version and autostart function the command for batch file will be: "RW.exe /Command="WRMSR 0x3A 0x0 0x5;RwExit" /Min". There are Linux alternative programs you may search for. The other way is to modify the bios. Not a difficult objective, if you have a PC to do this, what i can not brag about.
Thanks for the response. I've done some research to understand the command you posted and figured out that it's the MSR IA32_FEATURE_CONTROL register that we need to write to in order to enable VT. I'm using linux so I've tried it with msr-tools but it says it cannot write 0x5 to register 0x3a. The register is currently set to 1 which I assume means that the lock is set by the BIOS. (I used root mode with msr module loaded). Even if I was able to change the register to 0x5 I'd still need to reboot and also I would have to repeat the process after every cold boot which is a bit of a hassle so I would like to go with the BIOS mod if possible to get a more permanent solution. However I have no experience with modding. If you could help with that or point me in the right direction that would be appreciated. Thanks for the help so far.
I have now installed a windows system on the box but RWEverything does not work either unfortunately. Could you give me directions on how the BIOS could by modified to change VT to enabled by default and remove the waiting for a keypress (F1 / F2) to proceed at the end of the POST process? I've tried to use SCEWIN but I couldn't manage to read out the current settings.
This exact value confirms that virtualization is locked. As known, the value of the IA32_FEATURE_CONTROL register is 1 when virtualization is disabled by a BIOS setting. It's not something that can be done so easily. Therefore, any directions will be useless. I thought this all would do without modding, but it doesn't seem to work that way. I could provide you a ready-made modified BIOS, but life circumstances are bounding me from using my desktop PC device for at least another 4 months. I hope you find help from someone else. If there is no progress on your issue, sooner or later I will post a BIOS mod for T610.
Ok, I understand and thanks again for the help and suggestions. If you are in a position to work on this please let me know and I'm happy to test the mod. All the best.
maybe a bit simple reply but have you tryed the: PASS 1234 (or PASS: 1234) as the asset tag, it puts it in 'maintenance mode' for 1 boot (it also does a full memory test or something, so the screen goes black for a long time, don't panic) it also basically enables all features (like the SLIC licence) on older poweredges you have to use the DOS version (asset.com with a freedos usb) stick to apply the asset tag, but the newer ones you just type it in the bios attached old dell disk for anyone else that see's this thread