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6,205 Views 18 Replies Last post: Nov 25, 2009 6:40 PM by eku1 RSS
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3APA3A Novice
3APA3A
8 posts since
Oct 9, 2009
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Oct 9, 2009 8:18 PM

TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

 

Here is the solution I have found:

 

  • at installation boot press Shift-o

  • type in the kernel advanced option: skipMicrocodeCompatCheck

  • to make it permanent after installation type at command line: esxcfg-advcfg -k TRUE skipmicrocodecompatcheck

 

Works for me on Dell PE SC1435 with dual quad-core AMD Opteron 2350 and ESXi 4.0

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Tags: esxi, amd, 4, esx4i, 4.0, stepping, pink_screen, esxi_4, microcode_levels, pe1435, sc1435, psd
eharvill Enthusiast
eharvill
25 posts since
May 4, 2006
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1. Oct 22, 2009 11:42 AM in response to: 3APA3A
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

At what point exactly do you hit shift-o?  Which version of ESX are we talking about here?  I've tried with ESX4i and ESX4 classic and shift-o does nothing at their respective boot menus.  In ESX4 classic I hit F2 and added "skipMicrocodeCompatCheck" to the boot options to no avail.  Any thoughts?

eharvill Enthusiast
eharvill
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May 4, 2006
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2. Oct 22, 2009 11:45 AM in response to: 3APA3A
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

sorry, doublepost

 

Message was edited by: eharvill

3APA3A Novice
3APA3A
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Oct 9, 2009
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3. Oct 22, 2009 9:17 PM in response to: eharvill
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

The post was for those who experience 'pink screen' problem during the installation, i.e. they could not install because of the 'microcode levels not supported' error. Shift-o works when you see a progress bar during boot. If you are able to boot and install ESXi 4.0 then you seem not to be affected.

Roshando Lurker
Roshando
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Oct 23, 2009
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4. Oct 23, 2009 11:16 PM in response to: 3APA3A
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

 

Hi,  Please help me out, I can't figure the Shift-o.  I tried several ways on ESXi but keep getting the pink screen.  When do hit shift-o?  Tried it before and after the menu screen install ESXi or boot to local disk screen choice.  I tried hitting tab and tried typing it in the command line.  I also tried to add it to the existing command line listed.

 

 

Besides hitting tab, I cannot get to any command line.  I can't figure out the Shift-o (o for oscar) part.  

 

 

 

 

 

Btw I can disable the 298 TLB problem with my board, it's currently disabled and it doesnt make a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

-R

 

 

Dave.Mishchen… Guru User Moderators vExpert
Dave.Mishchen…
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Nov 15, 2005
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5. Oct 23, 2009 11:31 PM in response to: Roshando
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

You use the tab key when you're installing ESXi  and shift+o when booting it up.  http://www.vm-help.com/esx40i/vmkernel_boot_options.php




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

 

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Roshando Lurker
Roshando
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Oct 23, 2009
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6. Oct 23, 2009 11:48 PM in response to: Dave.Mishchen…
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

 

Thanks for the super fast reply.  That helped a lot. The key is to type it after vmkboot.gz.  My problem is I tried typing it after the other gz entries. 

 

 

 

 

 

Much Thanks!

 

 

-R

 

 

3APA3A Novice
3APA3A
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7. Oct 26, 2009 6:31 AM in response to: Roshando
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

Sorry for the confusion. Dave is right, Shift-O works on boot, TAB on install. I almost never install ESXi, I just use pre-built USB drive to boot a new server right away.

eku1 Novice
eku1
17 posts since
Dec 27, 2008
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8. Nov 22, 2009 12:48 PM in response to: 3APA3A
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

Thank you very much - you saved the day for me.  I've been struggling with this for almost a year - gave up on it for most of the time until now.

eku1 Novice
eku1
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Dec 27, 2008
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9. Nov 23, 2009 7:25 PM in response to: 3APA3A
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

Is there a trick to making the boot argument permanent?  I have to enter "esxcfg-advcfg -k TRUE skipmicrocodecompatcheck`` every time I reboot the machine.  This isn`t the practical in case the power goes out and I want it to reboot automatically.

3APA3A Novice
3APA3A
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10. Nov 24, 2009 5:45 AM in response to: eku1
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

That command actually makes it permanent. The fact that you are able to boot without the pink screen proves that the setting is there.

eku1 Novice
eku1
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11. Nov 24, 2009 7:42 AM in response to: 3APA3A
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

Perhaps we were talking about 2 different "permanent" settings.  I'm trying to prevent me having to type those settings in every time the physical machine is rebooted/power-cycled.  Right now if I don't type those commands in at boot progress bar (shift-o ....), I do get the purple screen complaining about the CPU.  If I do enter those parameters as the advanced boot arguments, everything works fine until the next time the physical machine is rebooted.

3APA3A Novice
3APA3A
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12. Nov 24, 2009 9:36 AM in response to: eku1
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

 

Try to change the second line of /bootbank/boot.cfg to read:

 

 

kernelopt=skipMicrocodeCompatCheck=TRUE

 

 

Dave.Mishchen… Guru User Moderators vExpert
Dave.Mishchen…
11,904 posts since
Nov 15, 2005
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13. Nov 24, 2009 10:38 AM in response to: eku1
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

If the setting is properly changed then it will survive a reboot.  

 

To check that the command actually made a change, download esx.conf with vifs from the vCLI and you should see the setting there.   You can also change this in the vSphere client by going to Advanced Settings in the vSphere client - http://vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/esx_3i_rcli/vicfg-advcfg.php.  It'll be under VMkernel\boot.   If you do change it in /bootbank also make sure to change /altbootbank.   But if using the vCLI or client isn't working for you then you may have an issue with the configuration backup process.

 






Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

 

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

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3APA3A Novice
3APA3A
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14. Nov 24, 2009 1:14 PM in response to: Dave.Mishchen…
Re: TIP: for those affected by 'microcode levels not supported' pink screen at installation (cpu stepping mismatch, tlb bug, etc.)

You are right. On my server it is present as /vmkernel/skipMicrocodeCompatCheck = "TRUE" at the end of /etc/vmware/esx.conf

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