topic Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server. in Windows Server 2003

Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

jcaamano — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:00:36 GMT

I'm trying to install Windows Server 2003 on a Proliant ML110G3 server, equiped without a floppy drive. The disks for this server are SATA configured by the BIOS as a level 1 RAID, so Windows needs the RAID controller driver to be able to recognize the disks. The installer looks for the driver on the floppy disk, but there is no way to install one, because this server has no floppy disk controller. Is there a way for the windows installer to read the drivers from another source?

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Phil.Howell — Fri, 05 May 2006 02:38:58 GMT

Does it have an ILO card?
also known as "Lights-Out 100 Remote Management"
This has a pseudo-floppy, and you can load a number of disk images.
Phil

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

jcaamano — Fri, 05 May 2006 08:05:21 GMT

No. It does not.

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Phil.Howell — Fri, 05 May 2006 08:24:15 GMT

I presume you are booting from cd?
Can you burn the files to cd, and swap out the boot cd for the driver cd
http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/
also has some options for boot cds
Phil

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Ivan Ferreira — Fri, 05 May 2006 08:25:38 GMT

You chould try with an USB floppy disk. Another option is to run the installation via network using RIS. This is not too easy as you must modify the installation tree to add the drivers that you need.

http://labmice.techtarget.com/windows2000/install/RIS.htm

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Ivan Ferreira — Fri, 05 May 2006 08:29:52 GMT

Did you get some cd media with the server? Normally, servers come with "installations wizards", like Smart Start for proliants. These cd media install all drivers prior the installation of the operating system.

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

jcaamano — Fri, 05 May 2006 09:02:02 GMT

I'm booting from CD. I've read that I can burn a new instalation disk with the drivers on it, but I don't know where in the disk to place them.

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Ivan Ferreira — Fri, 05 May 2006 10:11:06 GMT

Maybe, I don't know about that option. I just found these:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/254078/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B816299&x=6&y=16

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Igor Karasik — Fri, 05 May 2006 12:51:53 GMT

>> I've read that I can burn a new instalation disk with the drivers on it,

"In order to avoid the need to press F6 during Windows installation in order to install onto your SATA/RAID Mass Storage Device (MSD), you may slipstream the drivers needed into the Windows Distribution. Following is a step by step example ....."
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/36/

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Terri Harris — Sat, 06 May 2006 19:05:09 GMT

If you are going to create your own installation CD with the HP drivers on it, I would also slipstream Spk1 if you are planning on using it. Otherwise if you install Spk1 after the OS is installed, the default install (with no switches on the update.exe file) typically overwrites OEM drivers (like HP drivers).

Re: Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

Alan_152 — Mon, 08 May 2006 14:39:12 GMT

You shouldn't need a floppy or any the more esoteric methods if you have an ATAPI-compliant drive and an original copy of the win2ko3 installation media (the stuff ms provides is self-booting).