Broadcom MegaRAID 9540-2M2 Not Working on HP Z2 G9 Workstation (Code 10)

[Anguel]

Hi,

On a new HP Z2 G9 workstation, the Broadcom MegaRAID 9540-2M2 controller

https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9540-2m2

shows an exclamation mark with Code 10 in Windows 11 Device Manager and does not function at all.

The same issue also occurs on an older HP Z2 G4.

In contrast, the controller works perfectly on an Intel server and on an older Dell Optiplex 9020. I’ve tested with two separate 9540-2M2 controllers, both showing the same behavior on the HP systems — indicating a likely compatibility issue.

On the Z2 G9, I tried adjusting every possible BIOS setting (e.g., DMA protection, VTd, PCIe settings, etc.) without success. I also updated to the latest firmware and drivers, but the problem persists. Even using storcli.efi from an EFI shell results in a simple "Failure" message.

It's also notable that the HP BIOS does not display the controller’s BIOS under "3rd party option ROMs", although the controller is recognized in HP Performance Advisor’s Block Diagram.

Am I overlooking a specific BIOS or platform setting?
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Anguel

[DGroves]

make sure the megaraid control bios is set to factory defaults if that fails try disabling the " DirectPDMapping" on the megaraid card bios

the problem is most likely a conflict between the megaraid and the system board trying to use the same I/O ports

it's highly unlikely the megaraid has a actual fault

[Anguel]

Thanks DGroves, I already did a config reset on the Dell-PC and also checked that DirectPDMapping was off. Unfortunately that did not change anything on the HP Z2. As I said before, the MegaRAID is fully ok as it works just fine on non-HP computers. In the meantime I got this reply from Broadcom support but that did not help:

This is because the HP system is not allowing the controller to reserve memory at POST.
Try Disabling the "IOMMU" setting in the motherboard BIOS.
Also make sure that the PCIe slot is set to UEFI and not legacy option ROM.
Unfortunately, this is a software RAID card and it is not compatible with some motherboards but make sure that your MB BIOS is up to date.

---

AFAIK:

• The HP Z2 G9 does not have a legacy option in BIOS, it is UEFI-only
• No IOMMU setting in BIOS, I tried enable/disable Intel VT-d but this did not change anything
• Even on the Broadcom controller’s page it is stated: “Customers who trust hardware RAID for critical data can expand this trust to their OS drives.” - so it should be HW RAID...

It is really frustrating to find out that a current model from a leading workstation manufacturer (HP) is not compatible with a current controller from the leading RAID manufacturer…

Any further ideas are welcome.

[DGroves]

no vender or 3rd party hardware maker can guarantee compatibility that all pc's will work with all available expansion cards

consider this a learning experience, while many many addons do work there are some combinations that do not work or work sub optimally compared to another part

buying addon hardware before checking for compatibility is YOUYR JOB not HP's or the 3rd party card maker 

buying products without checking combability is up to you and most venders will reply on compatibility related issues if you ask them before buying their product or at least let you know their return policy on incompatible parts return policy's