Grading Checklist: Firmware Update Boot Loop

A good response must include:

• Accessed BMC/iLO remote console to observe the exact failure point in POST
• Checked BMC event/IML log for hardware errors or firmware update status
• Verified boot mode (UEFI vs Legacy) matches what the OS was installed with
• Checked boot order to confirm the OS disk is listed and prioritized
• Verified the boot disk/RAID controller is detected during POST
• Considered Secure Boot state change as a possible cause
• Attempted booting from rescue/recovery media to validate OS disk integrity
• Identified BIOS rollback procedure (redundant BIOS ROM, iLO firmware downgrade)
• Checked if BIOS settings were reset to factory defaults by the update
• Documented the incident and root cause for the change management record
• Proposed preventive measures (pre-update BIOS config export, staged rollouts)
• Assessed whether other servers updated in the same batch need verification