DL360 G7 unable to install Windows 2008 R2 or 2012 R2

[CoryIT]

Hi,

I have an old DL360 G7 and am trying to install either 2008 R2 or 2012R2 for some testing purposes. However, I am having a nightmare trying to get either installed.

I have reset the server and BIOS back to defaults, and cleared the smart array config. I have proceeded to create a 4 disk RAID10 using ACU, and then tried to install 2012 R2 via iLO virtual media. In this scenario, the smart array could not be found, so could not install. If I load the drivers from a USB key, it seems to install the driver, but still cannot find any disks/volumes to install on.

I then decided to try 2008 R2, but the same problem. I did eventually get it to detect the volume, however when creating a new partition, it would not create the system partition that Windows needs and would not proceed with the install.

I then resorted to trying smart start. I booted this from iLO virtual media, and then used a network shared for the 2008 R2 install location. Smart start was able to partition and format the drive, and seemingly install Windows. Upon a reboot however, I then get a BCD error and Windows fails to boot.

If I load recovery environment from the install media, I check disk part and again see there is only a single primary partition with no system partition.

Can anyone assist me in finding out why this is being such a nightmare for something so basic, and how I can get any method of install to work?

Cheers

James