You're seeing error 0x00000911 on your Dell PowerEdge or HP ProLiant server. The drive LED is probably blinking amber. The system logs say something like "Drive not supported" or "Incompatible drive firmware." This happens most often when you put a newer or older SAS drive into a server that has a different firmware revision on the RAID controller. I've seen this exact error on Dell PERC H730 and H740 controllers, and on HP Smart Array P440 and P840 controllers. The trigger is usually a drive swap or adding a drive from a different batch.
Root cause
The culprit here is almost always a firmware mismatch between the drive and the controller. The controller checks the drive's firmware version when it powers up. If that version isn't in the controller's approved list, it throws error 0x00000911 and refuses to initialize the drive. It doesn't mean the drive is dead. It means the controller is being picky.
Don't bother replacing the drive right away. That rarely helps unless the drive actually failed. The real fix is to match the drive firmware to what the controller expects. You can do that by updating the drive's firmware through the controller's management utility.
Fix: Update drive firmware
You need three things: the server's service tag or serial number, the drive model number, and the current firmware version. Grab those from the iDRAC or iLO web interface. Then follow these steps.
- Download the correct firmware package from the server vendor's support site. For Dell, go to dell.com/support and enter your service tag. Filter by "Storage" and look for "SAS Hard Drive Firmware." For HP, go to support.hp.com and use your product number.
- Boot into the controller's utility. For Dell PERC, reboot and press Ctrl+R during POST to enter the PERC BIOS. For HP Smart Array, press F5 during POST to enter the Smart Array Utility.
- Identify the affected drive. In the utility, find the drive slot showing the error. Note its WWN (World Wide Name) or slot number. You'll need this to apply the update.
- Apply the firmware update. Use the vendor's offline firmware update tool. For Dell, it's usually a bootable ISO or a file you load through the iDRAC virtual media. For HP, you can use the Smart Update Manager (SUM) or the HP SPP ISO. Boot from the ISO, select the drive, and apply the firmware. This takes about 5 minutes. The drive will go offline briefly.
- Reboot the server. After the update finishes, reboot. The error should clear. Check the controller status in the utility or the iDRAC/ iLO logs.
If it still fails
If the error sticks around after the firmware update, you've got one of two problems. First, check if the drive is physically seated correctly. Reseat it. I've seen loose connections cause this error even with matching firmware. Second, check the controller firmware itself. Sometimes the controller firmware is too old to support the drive. Update the controller firmware to the latest version from the vendor. If that still doesn't work, the drive might have failed its internal self-test. In that case, replace it. But that's rare. Nine out of ten times, firmware update fixes it.
One thing to remember: always update drive firmware on a matching drive model from the same vendor. Don't mix Dell firmware on HP drives. It won't work and can brick the drive.
That's it. You should be back online in under 30 minutes.