Thinking about retiring your system or transforming it into a brand new server? Whether you're doing an overhaul of your Dell server or preparing to put it to rest, you'll need to do a full system reset. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use Dell's Lifecycle Controller to do a full system reset on your server.

Step-by-step Tutorial

Let's get right into it.

Start by booting the server.
After the initialization process, select F10, the lifecycle controller.
You’ll be shown the initial setup wizard. Hit cancel, and then yes, and you will be taken to the default Lifecycle Controller menu.
From there, go into the Hardware Configuration menu.
Select “Repurpose or Retire System”.
Select the server features you’re planning on resetting. To do a full system firmware reset, you’ll need to select BIOS, i-DRAC, and lifecycle controller data.
Once you’ve checked the right boxes, hit next. Make sure that only those 3 features are selected on the screen.
When you hit finish, you will be prompted with two system warnings. Accept both to launch the system configuration request.

(The first warning is a reminder that everything will be wiped, and the second warning is a reminder that this action is final and cannot be undone.)
The configuration task is automatic, but if you’re curious, the menu on the left of the screen will show you what process is underway.
As soon as the task is finished, your server will reboot.