It does sound like part replacement is needed. There is not a way to export the BIOS configuration. The fee for a tech replacement is usually $299 for servers, plus the cost of the system board. I am not sure what a one year extension on the warranty would cost. 
We have a PowerEdge R420 running an VMware ESXi 5.1 server in RAID mode. We had a power outage that resulted in the R420 getting a "SWC0700: iDRAC Not Ready" error.  Our iDRAC setting version is 1.30.30.27.  I found the report about resetting the iDRAC and updating the iDRAC firmware with this version and error state.  Following the suggestions to unplug the power cables, USB cables and then holding the power button for 15 seconds did not clear up the problem.  The boots following this process had the same SWC0700 error.I created a OSMA7.1 boot DVD, and I tried to install, from a USB drive, various iDRAC versions newer that 1.30, but everytime the system reported /proc/ipmi/0/: file not found (or something similar as I'm going on my memory here).I needed the system up, so I pressed F1 to continue running.  The sytem seems to run fine except that the fans are running at high speed.I saw another post about holding the iDRAC button for 15 seconds to reset the iDRAC, and I tried this with the system up and running normally.  This didn't do anything to the fan speeds so I am assuming it had no effect on the iDRAC.I installed the Dell Administration COnsole VM on the ESXi hoping to run an iDRAC firmware upgrade from this VM, but, I couldn't connect to vCenter, which is probably beacuse I don't have a VCenter server, just two ESXi 5.1 servers -- I think I misread the DELL site thinking this might somehow work for me.Now, I'm thinking about running the bootable ISO I found on this webpage: www.dell.com/.../SLN296511My fear is that something might go wrong and I'll lose my server installation.Should I put my trust in the bootable updating ISO?  Should I call Dell support -- I'm about 4 months out of technician on-site repair warranty -- and plan to replace my motherboard as I've read in other posts on this forum?  Can the motherboard be replaced without corrupting my ESXi installation?I'm worried running the server with an "iDRAC Not Ready" error is going to burn out the server, or do something else that will ruin the server.  Should I even worry about this?Thanks for any advice and suggestions in advance. Jeff
How do I solve my "iDRAC Not Ready" problems?