iDrac – Virtual USB Device Error

The other day I was updating running firmware/driver updates on a 12G Dell server. I like to start with the iDrac firmware and work my way through the BIOS, Chipset, PERC, LCC, etc.

I was running the Windows iDrac7 firmware update where I encountered the error message: Failed to access Virtual USB Device

This is a nightmare because it takes 10 minutes or more just for this update to run and I’ve got an error. Which means I’ll have to run this update all over again, and again, and probably again…

Troubleshooting the issue:

Resetting the iDrac is quick and usually fixes most issues
-Problem is the iDrac has never been setup with an IP, so WebGUI reboot is not an option
-That also rules out using SSH to the iDrac to reset it

Open Command Prompt and run the CLI command: racadm racreset /soft
-This will do a reset on the iDrac and will not cause a reboot of the system
-This gives me an error that says the license is expired or not applied, so the command will not run

How about installing the firmware a different way?
-WebGUI firmware update method is out (iDrac is not configured)
-I don’t want to create a REPO .iso just to update the iDrac firmware. That would involve creating a bootable disk or USB key. Too much work.
-I could use a LIVE CD and download the .BIN file to run in linux, but that is also a bit overkill
-Running the update via LifeCycle Controller through FTP is also overkill at the moment. Port 21 is blocked anyway, it’d have to be enabled.

The Fix:

I need to reset the iDrac so I complete the tasks below:
Note – This does a soft reset not a hard reset, the iDrac login credentials and IP addresses will remain intact.

-I decide to bight the bullet and power off the machine
-Pull the power cables from the system
-Press the power button in to drain the flea power in the system
-Plug in the power cables to the system
-Turn the system back on
-Re-run the Windows firmware executable

Luckily for me, the IT gods allowed the rest of the firmware to update properly.