The title alone does not identify a particular LSI controller, server, firmware image, or failed update, so it is not possible to confirm what went wrong—or that it was resolved. The clearest contemporaneous warning is specific to Sun Fire X4100/X4200 systems: Sun said downgrading LSI firmware after version 1.16 was unsupported and could make the card and attached SCSI devices undetectable. Other vendor records describe different update failures, not the same incident.
What is known about the “LSI 2008” flash failure?
“LSI 2008” is not enough information to identify one controller or incident. The available vendor records concern different systems, firmware versions, flash utilities, and execution environments. They do not establish the cause, recovery, or outcome of the event implied by “gone horribly wrong.”
The closest 2008-era warning is in Sun’s August 2008 X4100/X4200 release notes. For those systems, Sun listed LSI MPT SAS firmware 1.16.40 and MPT BIOS 6.14.04 in software release 1.5, and warned: “Once you update to version 1.16, downgrading the firmware to a previous version is not supported. Doing so can cause the LSI card and SCSI devices to become undetectable.” That warning applies to the covered Sun systems; it is not a general statement about every LSI card.
The same release notes include a section titled “Recovering from a Failed Flash Update,” with recovery guidance beginning on page 25. That does not make its procedure universal: the platform-specific instructions and update sequence matter.
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- LSI 9211-8I SAS2008 CHIP
- (LSI 9211-8i) FW: P20 IT Mode
- 6Gbps PCI E X8 2.0
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- Packing List: HBA Card ×1,High and low bracket*1,2*SFF-8087-SATA Cable
Why different flash errors need different fixes
A failed updater, a tool that cannot initialize, and a controller that disappears are distinct symptoms. The vendor examples below should not be treated as reports of one shared failure.
| Documented case | Symptom and context | What the vendor says |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Fire X4100/X4200, August 2008 | Downgrading after LSI firmware 1.16 may leave the LSI card and SCSI devices undetectable. | Sun says the downgrade is unsupported; consult the release notes’ platform-specific update and recovery guidance. Sun release notes |
| Supermicro 2027TR-D70FRF (X9DRT-HIBFF), April 30, 2012 | An attempt to update onboard LSI 2008 firmware to 12.12.00.0 produced “fail to initialize PAL” in sas2flsh.exe. |
Supermicro attributed the issue to a possible conflict between UEFI BIOS and the included utility and advised using sas2flash.efi. This is guidance for that reported case. Supermicro FAQ 14151 |
| Dell LSI 2008 mezzanine card | Dell provides separate DOS and UEFI update procedures for its mezzanine adapter, compatible with PowerEdge C5220, C6105, and C6145 systems. | Dell’s UEFI procedure says to record the SAS address before erasing flash and updating firmware. Follow the instructions only for the listed adapter and platform. Dell support page |
| IBM BladeCenter update package on Windows Server 2008 R2 | The updater can report “Error: Number of fields in versions does not match” and “Minimum version not detected, update process aborted.” | IBM describes a utility/parser problem, not a corrupted or unbootable controller, and gives using another operating system as a workaround. Its article says the behavior was to be corrected in a future release targeted for Q4 2009. IBM support article |
What the flash process does—and why downgrade commands are risky
LSI’s February 2008 SASFlash Quick Reference Guide describes checking the downloaded firmware against the image. After a successful comparison, the adapter resets and copies the new image from its backup area to the running firmware location. The guide also describes a downgrade limitation specific to SAS1078 controllers involving NVDATA major versions.
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- SAS2008 chip FW:P20 IT Mode
- PCI Express x8
- ZFS FreeNAS unRAID
- 6Gbps
- 2* SFF-8087 SATA
These details do not support treating erase, downgrade, or recovery commands as interchangeable across LSI hardware. The controller family, OEM firmware package, and supported update path affect which instructions apply.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Identify the exact hardware and failure before attempting recovery
Before choosing a procedure, collect the information that determines whether a vendor instruction matches your system:
Rank #3
- 9211-8I
- SAS2008 CHIP P20 IT Mode
- PCI E 2.0 6Gbps
- 2* SFF-8087 SATA
- Configure high and low brackets
- Server and adapter: record the server model and the controller’s exact model or OEM part number. An onboard SAS2008, a mezzanine adapter, and an OEM-branded LSI card may have different support constraints.
- Firmware direction and versions: note the installed and target firmware versions, and whether the operation is an upgrade or downgrade. Sun’s 1.16 downgrade warning and LSI’s SAS1078 NVDATA limitation are specific examples, not universal version rules.
- Utility and image: identify the exact flash utility build and firmware package. A utility intended for a different platform or firmware image can fail or be unsupported.
- Boot and execution environment: record whether the update ran from DOS, Windows, a UEFI shell, or another environment. Supermicro’s PAL error and Dell’s separate DOS and UEFI procedures illustrate why this matters.
- Exact symptom: preserve the full error text and note whether the updater aborted, the utility failed to initialize, or the controller and attached devices became undetectable. Those outcomes call for different diagnosis.
Then use the server or adapter vendor’s documentation for that exact model and package. If the card or its devices are no longer detected, do not assume a generic erase or cross-flash will restore them; the cited sources do not establish a universal recovery recipe.
Quick Recap
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- Compatible with: LSI 9300-8i; Controller: LSI/Broadcom SAS3008 (12Gb/s SAS)
- Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: up to 12Gbps SAS, SATA 6Gbps
- Host Interface: PCIe 3.0 x8; Internal Connectors: 2× Mini-SAS HD SFF-8643. --Direct attach up to 8 drives, and expand via external SAS Expander for large arrays
- PERFECT FOR: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, Proxmox, ESXi home-lab & NAS storage
- Packing List: HBA Card ×1; 2× SFF-8643 to 4× SATA cables (8× SATA ends). --Cables in box are for SATA drives. They are not compatible with SAS drives. To connect SAS drives, use SFF-8643 to 8482 SAS cables (sold separately) or our matched HBA + cable kit.
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- Compatible with: LSI 9211-4i; Controller: LSI SAS2008 (single-chip)
- Firmware (FW): HBA IT Mode (Non-RAID); Data Transfer Rate: 6Gb/s SAS/SATA per port
- Host Interface: PCIe 2.0 x4; Internal Connectors: ONE Mini SAS SFF-8087 Direct attach up to 4 drives, and expand via external SAS Expander for large arrays
- PERFECT FOR: ZFS, FreeNAS/TrueNAS, unRAID, JBOD, home lab & NAS servers
- Packing List: HBA Card ×1; SFF-8087 to 4× 8482 SAS Cable ×1
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