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I have a new server we bought from dell, a DELL EMC PowerEdge T440 that has VMWare ESXi 7.0.3 VMKernel Release Build 19482537 on it. Basically looks like a yellow/white/black bio's screen when I turn it on.

I need to change the IDRAC password so that a coworker can remote into our office vpn and work on it. I can't figure out how to do this from the screens though I don't see menus named anything related to IDRAC.

Can any one point me in the right direction to be able to do this? I am brand new to setting up servers.

Edit: I ended up talking with tech support from Dell, luckily we have a support contract with them for this machine. The way they had me do it (since I was on site and had direct access to the physical machine) was to boot it up with a mouse/keyboard/monitor, when it was loading there was a F2 option to load the system configuration. From there I went to IDRAC Settings, and from there Network let me change the IPv4 address and User Configuration let me change the password.

I appreciate all the answers.

Edit: I marked an answer as the solution but I will outline how I actually did it with the help of Dell Tech Support. I turned on the server with a monitor/keyboard/mouse attached. When it was loading, there's an option to press F10 to get to the settings. From there, you can go to iDRAC settings and then User and from there you can modify the password.

2 Answers2

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(Obligatory legal note - I work for Dell)

To allow the operating system to talk directly to the iDRAC you have to use the iDRAC Service Module. Through the iDRAC service module you can access the iDRAC from the OS just as you would through the iDRAC port itself. I have written some instructions on setting it up here

See this link for the VMWare Download: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=06wcc

Here are the official docs: https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000178050/support-for-dell-emc-idrac-service-module

Through the OS you can then hit the iDRAC and change the password. Though if you're going to do this from ESXi you may have to do it over the API as you won't have a web browser/GUI: https://github.com/dell/iDRAC-Redfish-Scripting/blob/master/Redfish%20Python/ChangeIdracUserPasswordREDFISH.py

Grant Curell
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    I did not know this! fantastic answer! I work for one of your larger customers and may well bother you in the future about VMw DPM setup :) – Chopper3 Nov 09 '22 at 16:59
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Download the appropriate iDRAC tools from Dell's website. You will find 7.0, 6.7/6.5 and 6.5 releases of iDRAC Tools.

Enable SSH on the ESXi host.

I use WinSCP to copy the package (don't unzip it) to /tmp on the host.

SSH to the host.

To install iDRACTools, modify the command line to reflect the name/version of your download:

[root@localhost:/tmp] esxcli software vib install -d /tmp/DellEMC-iDRACTools-Web-ESX70i.VIB-10.2.0.0-4631_A00.zip
  Installation Result
  Message: Operation finished successfully.
  Reboot Required: false
  VIBs Installed: DEL_bootbank_racadm_10.2.0.0.4631-DEL.700.0.0.15843807
  VIBs Removed:
  VIBs Skipped:

Then reset the password

[root@localhost:/tmp] racadm set iDRAC.Users.2.Password Calvin!
  [Key=iDRAC.Embedded.1#Users.2]
  Object value modified successfully

Now the administrator password is Calvin!

Dacid Salin
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  • Now if I could find a release of RACADM for ESXi 6.0, I'd be a happy camper. – Dacid Salin Nov 29 '22 at 21:09
  • ESXi is End of Life since 2020. You will not find any support for it. Upgrade to a supported release. – Gerald Schneider Nov 30 '22 at 06:20
  • @GeraldSchneider, yes I'm quite aware of that. We have clients with older hardware and software. We cannot simply update them at our whim, it's their $$ and their choice in that matter. – Dacid Salin Nov 30 '22 at 17:07
  • We sent someone onsite and found that the defaults were in place for iDRAC. on the pull tab on the Dell server, so didn't end up having to reset. But did fine a way using OpenManage to reset iDRAC for 5.5 and 6.0. – Dacid Salin Nov 30 '22 at 17:08