# Yet more trouble with LSI 9240-8i



## EugenOS (Nov 11, 2014)

Hello everyone.

I have a well-known 
	
	



```
mfi0: Timeout on command <massive hex> xx seconds
```
 message during the MFI driver initialization. I have two systems installed on a PC. One is FreeBSD 9.3-RELEASE x64 (and it does not work with that card). Second is Windows 7 x64. And it works properly only with this firmware:  
	
	



```
BIOS: 4.30.00 (26th August 2011),  Firmware: 20.10.1-0107, Image: 2.130.354-1664
```
 (maybe not only with this, but when it was not working in FreeBSD, first of all I tried the latest firmware, and when I found it did not work on both Windows 7 and FreeBSD, then tried about 5 or 6 other firmwares. So *I* do not want any experiment in that way anymore).

So *I* need to make it work on FreeBSD.

Following the LSI instructions (*I* try both. old MFI driver and new MRSAS, one by one, in both ways, static and dynamic modules).


I remove the card from PC. And start FreeBSD.
Move the /usr/src/sys/dev/mfi (or... /mrsas) directory to some backup place
Unpack to /usr/src/sys/dev/mfi the sources which come in the LSI archive
Perform the similar action with /usr/src/sys/modules/mfi (.../mrsas)
Copy /usr/src/sys/amd64/conf/GENERIC to a backup place and edit it: 
	
	



```
comment these lines
[/LIST]
           #device   cbb   # cardbus (yenta) bridge
           #device   mpt   # LSI-Logic MPT-Fusion
```
 and also comment/uncomment/add one of the next lines. Relative to the driver and linkage way *I* try: 
	
	



```
device   mfi   # LSI MegaRAID SAS
            device   mrsas  # LSI MegaRAID SAS2
```
 compile and install the new kernel. 

So in any way is does not work properly. *W*hen *I* com*m*ent the 
	
	



```
device mfi
```
 line, then the operating system starts, but if *I* try to start the driver it hangs and writes timeout messages, repeating infinitely.

*W*hen *I* start the mrsas driver (dynamically) it says that all is OK, and id=2. But there are no new devices in /dev and its subdirectories. When I add mrsas statically it did not say anything and I have no new devices either. (Later *I* saw that mrsas can work only with devices starting from 9265, not 9240). 

So when *I* create a support ticket with LSI they send me the last driver from their site and write this:

```
Driver source files for FreeBSD 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x
  located here:
  For mfi driver, components/src/mfi.tgz
  For mrsas driver, components/src/mrsas.tgz
```

And close the ticket. He he, a lot of laughs, it seems like dark sarcasm. There has not been a mfi.tgz in any of the last LSI driver archives since 2011, only mrsas.tgz. I wrote them about it. The new answer still looks like sarcasm. It contradicts their previous message and again does not give any solutions.


```
“Special Notes for FreeBSD9.1 with inbox <mfi> driver has support for
Thunderbolt(device ID 0x005b)
================================================
FreeBSD-9.1-RELEASE is first RELEASED FREEBSD kernel which has mfi driver
capability to detect Thunderbolt without any intellegency to switch
preferences as explained in this document. FreeBSD-9.1 will have mfi inbuilt
into the kernel and without mrsas inbox support. Because of this issue,
FreeBSD-9.1 will give priority to <mfi> driver for Thunderbolt.
If user wants to achieve same behavior in FreeBSD-9.1, LSI recommend to switch
to next available FreeBSD-x release which can provide this feature. Below is
another option to use mrsas Driver for Thunderbolt on FreeBSD-9.1”
```

So anybody. Please help a newbie. What must *I* do with that? How do I make MFI work or may be switch FreeBSD to use MRSAS driver to work with that card?


----------



## AndyUKG (Nov 11, 2014)

Hi,

Another user who experienced issues reports a working firmware level in this thread, perhaps it will help you:

http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2013-October/075440.html

Thanks, Andy.


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## EugenOS (Nov 11, 2014)

Hi, as I wrote:

```
BIOS: 4.30.00 (26th August 2011), Firmware: 20.10.1-0107, Image: 2.130.354-1664
```
Board revision I can check tomorrow. But I think it's 04A. So it is like in the post you give and it does not work. I do not know why, because I do not have enough experience with FreeBSD (and *nix too).


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## AndyUKG (Nov 12, 2014)

One of the users reports a working configuration as:

```
Product Name: LSI MegaRAID SAS 9240-8i
mfi0: 6559 (boot + 3s/0x0020/info) - Firmware version 2.130.374-2023
mfi0: 6560 (boot + 5s/0x0020/info) - Package version 20.10.1-0126
mfi0: 6561 (boot + 5s/0x0020/info) - Board Revision 04A
```

Also, this not working has nothing to do with experience with FreeBSD, its just a hardware support issue. It should be the job of the vendor to provide a working driver and where necessary provide information about which firmware works on which OS with which driver. Sorry your first experience is with a difficult bit of hardware.


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