Workstation Z600 BootBlock Emergency Recover mode loop

[TTsekov]

Hello community !

As we all love our workstations , I have a rather big issue with my Z600.

Because I was curious if I can set my second GPU to compute , I set the option and restarted the machine. 

Problem is it didn`t boot anymore (of course).

I tried clearing the CMOS with the buttoon , and that led me to the BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode.

It requested a new BIOS to be flashed , so I got a bunch of CD`s (USB didn`t work whatsoever) and tried to flash. 

All of the images flashed , but the issue is the following : 

1.It says I should remove the power cord , wait 5 seconds and then reboot it. Can`t I just use the power button ? Am I doing it right by following the exact inbstructions appearing on screen ?)

2. When I manage to boot it again , fans go wild for a few seconds and then to normal. Power illumination goes from blue to black and then RED starts blinking 8 times. After this I am again into the BootBlock Emergency Recovery Mode , doing the same as step 1.

Any suggestions how can I fix this without going to an HP Certified Service center (I probably won`t have the money to pay the service , as it is out of warranty)

Looking forward to replies , this is kind of urgent 😞

Thank you in advance !

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

are you sure you really had 2 video devices installed, and that you only selected the secondary video device as a compute device in the bios?

also, setting the secondary video pci-e slot to compute does not cause a bios coruption, all it does is tell the bios that the device in that slot does not have a working video display out device, meaning the card will not output a video signal  when placed in that slot nothing more

if you are getting a bios coruption message, please post what the actual msg is onscreen

last, as per HP you can not use a usb 3.0 port for bios recovery you must use a 2.0 port, this is covered in the documentation of the recovery steps, so you might want to read all the directions before doing anything as this will increase your chances of recovering from whatever happened.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/Latest-Bios-update...

the 8 blinking red light means that you did not actually flash the rom 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Diagnostic LED blinks red 8 times and the system beeps 8 times (once per second), then a 2-second pause follows:

This indicates an invalid system ROM based on bad checksum and entering Failsafe (Boot Block) recovery mode. 

To resolve the issue, complete the following steps:

1) Re-flash the system ROM. (Failsafe Boot Block ROM Recovery)

1. Clear CMOS.

      NOTE:

   Refer to the Maintenance and Service Guide for the workstation model for detailed information on clearing CMOS.

2. Upgrade the ROM using SoftPaq, either from the hard disk drive, CD, diskette, or USB removable device (for example., HP Drive Key). See the ROM Flash section of the Maintenance and Service Guide at http://www.hp.com/support/workstation_manuals. SoftPaq is a self-extracting executable, which contains instructions for its use, that enables you to upgrade the ROM. To download the Softpaq executable, visit http://www.hp.com/go/workstationsupport.

[Eugeni]

have you been able to solve it?
I am in the same situation

[DGroves]

instead of asking, why not use the "search" button, enter  "z620 bios recovery" and read the extensive directions "SDH" has posted on this...... following those directions can recover a bad/corupted bios on the z600/z620/z800/z820. other z600 posts cover various isues/solutions

to recover from a set pci-e slots to compute issue, install a PCI video card