iDRAC 6 update failed, recovery unsuccessful

Hi,

It is my first post here, so hi everybody.

I have received a bunch of r610s with very old iDRAC firmwares. I have updated all except one of them successfully.

I researched the problem and found a number of possible solutions here and elsewhere, but none of them worked for me.

The iDRAC that went wrong, I started updating it using its web server like the others. However, this one stopped in the flashing stage at 10%. I left it for hours but when it became clear it wouldn't finish, I tried resetting it.

Now it doesn't even boot. The server complains that it can't talk to iDRAC when starting (if cold booting, it reboots once and then it will allow the booting process to continue), and the blue background in the front display is dark.

I can access the recovery console using the internal serial port and it gives a promising menu:

==== Firmware Recovery Option ====

1. Bootloader Version ....... 0.12.45
2. Ethernet Adapter ......... AMEA
3. MAC Address .............. 00:22:19:59:9d:8f

4. IP Address ............... 192.168.0.120
5. Subnet Mask .............. 255.255.255.0
6. Gateway IP Address ....... 192.168.0.1

7. TFTP Server IP Address ... 192.168.0.100
8. Image File Name .......... firmimg.d6

9. Enable DHCP Client
10. Execute Firmware Upgrade
11. Reset

12. Bypass Firmware Recovery
- This option reverts serial device 2 to be connected
to the external serial connector.

So I choose 9, get an IP, then 7, give it the TFTP server IP address, then 10. Right, it downloads the firmware and starts updating. But:

RECOVER> 10

Downloading image from TFTP server ...

Using AMEA device
TFTP from server 10.x.y.z; our IP address is 10.x.y.t
Filename 'firmimg.d6'.
Load address: 0x1000000
Loading: 52 MB
Bytes transferred = 55020600 (3478c38 hex)

Checking and flashing image ...

*** device is not ready ***

Erasing persistent storage ...

Un-Protected 12 sectors

Erasing Bank 0: 100%
Erased 12 sectors
Protected 12 sectors

Erasing bootloader environment ...

Un-Protected 1 sectors

Erasing Bank 0: 100%
Erased 1 sectors

Writing Bank 0: 100%
Protected 1 sectors

Hit any key to stop reset: 0

And it goes back to the firmware recovery menu. I have tried the newest and the oldest available firmware image.

Anything I try from the OS says it can't access the BMC, for example:

root@server ~ # /opt/dell/srvadmin/bin/idracadm racresetcfg
ERROR: Unable to perform requested operation.
If the operation attempted was to configure DRAC, possible reason may be that
Local Configuration using RACADM is disabled.
===============================================================================
IMPORTANT NOTE!
The RAC is unable to communicate with the BMC. This condition may
occur because of (1) no BMC is present, (2) missing or disfunctional
IPMI-related software components. Many RAC features depend on BMC
connectivity in order to work properly, and you may see failures
as a result.
===============================================================================

I also tried ipmitool without results.

I tried everything I could find, including leaving the server unpowered and removing the flea power by holding the power button for 20 seconds, before and after running the recovery procedure and removing the card from the server and putting it back in.

Any ideas appreciated.

Thanks,