In production environments where every minute of downtime costs real money, encountering a 5+ minute UEFI boot delay on IBM System x3620 servers is unacceptable. Many admins report seeing this pattern:

// Typical boot sequence timeline
1. Power On → UEFI Initialization: 1.2s (normal)
2. Hardware Detection: 4m30s (abnormal)
3. Option ROM Processing: 45s 
4. OS Loader Transition: 15s

Before attempting fixes, gather diagnostic data:

# Collect boot performance metrics
ipmitool sel list > boot_metrics.log
dmesg | grep -i "uefi" >> boot_metrics.log
systemd-analyze blame >> boot_metrics.log

These configuration changes often resolve prolonged UEFI initialization:

# Via IPMI (example for x3620)
ipmitool raw 0x00 0x08 0x05 0xe0 0x08 0x00 0x00 0x00 # Disable redundant PCIe scans
ipmitool raw 0x00 0x08 0x05 0xc4 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x01 # Fast Boot Mode

Essential settings to modify in the Setup Utility:

• Advanced → PCI Configuration → PCIe Gen Speed: Set to Gen3 (not Auto)
• Server Management → BMC Network Configuration: Disable if not using
• Boot → UEFI Optimized Boot: Enabled

For cases where configuration changes don't help, try this hardware isolation procedure:

#!/bin/bash
# Hardware isolation diagnostic
for slot in {0..7}; do
  ipmitool chassis power off
  ipmitool raw 0x00 0x08 0x05 0x18 0x00 $slot 0x00 0x00
  ipmitool chassis power on
  time ( until ping -c1 $SERVER_IP; do sleep 1; done )
  echo "Slot $slot boot time: $SECONDS seconds" >> hw_profile.log
done

Always verify firmware versions match the hardware generation. The x3620 often needs:

# Check current levels
dmidecode -t bios
ipmitool mc info

# Required minimum versions:
# - UEFI: xxxx.86B.1.40.20190821.1
# - BMC: 1.92.10

After implementing changes, validate with:

# Continuous boot time monitoring script
#!/bin/bash
while true; do
  reboot_time=$(systemd-analyze | grep "firmware" | awk '{print $2}')
  if [[ $(date +%H) -eq 3 ]]; then  # Run at 3AM daily
    echo "$(date) - Firmware Boot: $reboot_time" >> /var/log/bootperf.log
  fi
  sleep 3600
done

Many administrators working with IBM System x3620 servers (and similar x86-based systems) encounter painfully slow UEFI initialization before the OS loader takes over. This 5+ minute delay becomes particularly problematic during unplanned outages when every second counts.

First, let's identify common culprits through the UEFI shell (accessible via F1 during boot):

# Check initialization time breakdown
shell> perfstats -b
# List all connected devices
shell> devices -l

Common findings include:

• Legacy RAID controller initialization
• Excessive PCIe device enumeration
• Unnecessary network boot attempts
• Redundant storage scans

Through the UEFI setup (F2 at boot), implement these changes:

# Sample settings for faster boot (via ipmitool)
ipmitool -H  -U  -P  raw 0x30 0x91 0x1A 0x00  # Disable splash
ipmitool -H  -U  -P  raw 0x30 0x91 0x1B 0x01  # Fast boot mode

Essential menu options to modify:

• Boot Manager: Set "Fast Boot" to Enabled
• PCI Configuration: Disable unused controllers
• Network Stack: Disable if not using PXE
• Storage: Configure static HBA mode instead of auto-negotiation

For multiple servers, automate configuration with this PowerShell snippet:

# PowerShell script to apply boot optimizations
$cred = Get-Credential
$servers = "x3620-01","x3620-02"

foreach ($s in $servers) {
    $session = New-PSSession -ComputerName $s -Credential $cred
    Invoke-Command -Session $session -ScriptBlock {
        bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy Standard
        Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control" 
            -Name "ServicesPipeTimeout" -Value 3000
    }
    Remove-PSSession $session
}

For systems with outdated firmware, consider:

1. Upgrading to the latest UEFI firmware (v2.10 or later)
2. Replacing legacy SAS controllers with newer HBAs
3. Migrating from spinning disks to SSDs for the boot volume

Here's how to check and update firmware:

# Check current firmware version
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SMBIOSBIOSVersion

# Example update command (Lenovo-specific)
.\lnvgy_utl__biosutility_x64.exe /quiet /norestart

Measure boot time before and after changes with:

# Windows event log query for boot duration
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{
    LogName='System'
    ID=100
} | Select-Object TimeCreated,Message

Typical results after optimization show 60-70% reduction in UEFI initialization time, bringing total boot time under 90 seconds in most cases.