BIOS Will Display a Warning Message When the System Event Log (SEL) is Full for Boards and Systems

Documentation

Maintenance & Performance

000007230

09/27/2021

During boot, the BIOS may briefly display a red warning message indicating that the System Event Log (SEL) is full. This message appears after multiple reboots, due to the limited SEL storage space of the On-Board Platform Instrumentation. The SEL storage space of the mBMC allows for the storage of 92 SEL entries. A typical reboot adds several informational event messages to the SEL as part of the normal boot process.

The warning message displayed by the BIOS isn't an error. It's a warning message that:

  • The SEL is full.
  • No more system event messages can be logged until the SEL is cleared.

The System Event Log (SEL) of the On-Board Platform Instrumentation should be cleared regularly. There are several methods of clearing the SEL, including:

  • Go to BIOS Setup (F2) and clear the SEL.
  • Use the SEL Viewer.
  • Use the Clear Event Log option found in the Integrated Baseboard Management Controller (Integrated BMC) Web Console, under the System Health tab.