The standard BIOS will have to be modified to make the 5th SATA port run at
FULL SATA speeds.
NOTE: The setup mentioned below assumes that you are running a PC with Windows (in my case XP). This procedure will not work with 64 bit Windows
To update the BIOS you will need a monitor & a USB keyboard connected to your Microserver.
Please be aware that flashing BIOS' contains an element of risk, i cannot held accountable for any potential problems
Download this BIOS from HP:
HP ProLiant MicroServer series*-* * RECOMMENDED * Systems ROMPaq Firmware Upgrade for HP ProLiant MicroServer (For USB Key-Media) - HP Business Support Center
Run the exe file & follow the prompts, don't change anything keep everything as is, when done a HP web browser GUI pops up, this, (for me) did not work so for clarity close the browser.
Open My Computer & navigate to the C:/ drive there you will see a folder called SWSetup inside that is another folder called SP50582 inside this folder navigate to a folder named USB Key open this, then put a USB memory stick in a convienient USB slot (make a note of where the memory stick is in My Computer). Go back to the folder USB Key & run the application HPQUSB.exe, select your USB stick from the devices drop down menu, the program will then warn that you will lose all data on your USB key, press OK, when finished the program has renamed your memory stick ROMPAQ open it to check that these files are on the memory stick:
flash.bat
IBMBIO.COM
IBMDOS.COM
kbd.exe
O41093010.ROM
readme.1st
Readme.txt
rev_hist.txt
There are some hidden system files (these make the USB stick bootable) if you want to check they are:
AUTOEXEC.BAT
COMMAND.COM
CONFIG.SYS
Next step is to download the modified BIOS from here:
ahci.rar
You should have a file called ahci.rar, open this file & extract:
ahci.bat
ahci_o.rom
Put these 2 files onto your USB stick.
The Microserver is already setup to boot from a USB stick by default, put the USB stick into
ANY of the Microservers USB ports & start the server, the BIOS update will run automatically & will take about a second to complete, if successful you will see a c:/ prompt now type ahci.bat hit enter, this will load the BIOS mod & again take about a second to complete.
Turn off the server & remove the USB stick, wait a couple of seconds & restart, hit F10 to gain access to the BIOS make any adjustments as per the pictures in the BIOS config section then save & exit.
If for any reason you're unable to download I have these files, PM me.
NOTE: A new BIOS & hack for the N36L has become available for those of you who want the latest, the link is below with install instructions, big thanks to Knight01: Tim's 7.24TB "Tiddler" Unraid NAS. The BIOS tweaks mentioned above are for the older N36L Microserver, there are reports that the BIOS tweak will work on the N40L, I personally would not recommend this.
Use & flash the new bios here: http://www.avforums.com/forums/netwo...s-support.html
This BIOS definitely works with N40L look here:
HP N36L/N40L/N54L Microserver Updated AHCI BIOS Support.