Handling System x Automatic Boot Failure After OS Installation

System x series servers cannot automatically boot after the operating system is installed. You need to press the F12 key to select Hard Driver or boot from the system installation disc.

Cause Analysis     Back to Table of Contents

System x M5 and X6 series servers use UEFI mode for booting by default.

When the system installation disc does not support UEFI mode booting, it will switch to Legacy mode to start and install the operating system. This causes a mismatch between the system installation mode and the server boot mode, so the operating system cannot be booted normally.

Note: Since most USB flash drive startup creation tools do not support UEFI booting (such as UltraISO/Ruoshitong), when customers find that they cannot install the system from a USB flash drive, they will try to check the "Legacy Mode" option in the F12 Boot Device Manager interface (as shown in the attached image of the fault phenomenon), and then select USB Storage to boot from the USB flash drive. This results in the inability to boot the operating system normally after the operating system installation is completed.

Solution     Back to Table of Contents

System x M5 and X6 series servers are recommended to install the system using UEFI mode, and also support booting using Legacy mode.

To boot via Legacy mode, you need to configure it in F1 UEFI Setup.

Start the server. When the Lenovo System x interface appears, press the F1 key to enter the UEFI Setup interface, then enter "Boot Manager".
Note: The UEFI interface for early versions (IBM version) has a blue background, and the interface layout is different.

Then enter Boot Modes.

Change "System Boot Mode" to "Legacy Mode".

Return to "Boot Manager" and enter "Add Boot Option".

Then enter "Generic Boot Option".

Select "Legacy Only" and press Enter.

After pressing Enter, this item will disappear. Return to "Boot Manager" and enter "Change Boot Order".

Press Enter on "Change the order", and use the keyboard "+" and "-" keys to move "Legacy Only" to the first position.

Then press Enter on "Commit Changes and Exit" to save.

Return to the UEFI Setup main interface and enter "Start Options".

Confirm whether "Legacy Only" is in the first position.

Return to the UEFI Setup main interface, press Enter on "Save Settings" to save the settings. During the saving process, it may hang for about 30 seconds.

After saving is complete, press Enter on Exit Setup. A prompt will appear asking to press the "Y" key and then Enter. The server will restart. After restarting, the system can be booted normally.