DL380G5 & SmartStart 8.50

[Dan Blake_1]

Trying to use SmartStart 8.5 to install Windows 2008 R2.

On the first boot from the HD I get this error.
"c:\hpssbem.exe is not a valid win32 application."

It won't proceed beyond this error.

Any suggestions?

[Michal Kapalka (mikap) · Accepted solution]

hi,

Windows 2008 R2 is only 64 bit so did you deployed the 64 bit smartstartcd 8.50 x64 ??

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib2/software1/cd/p1760479716/v58802/smartstart-8.50-0-x64.zip

if this problem is still there i would recomend to use the 8.40 version.

mikap

[Dan Blake_1]

Yes, I've been using the 64 bit version. I thought it odd that I was getting a Win32 error.

I will try SmartStart 8.4

[Jimmy Vance]

You can also just boot from the 2008 R2 media and install the OS without using SmartStart

[Dan Blake_1]

Jimmy,

Would it find all the drivers or would I have to download and install them afterwards?

What about the raid driver for seeing the HDs during the initial install?

[Jimmy Vance]

Server 2008 R2 has drivers that will work with the DL380 G5. You can load the PSP after installation to get the most up to date drivers

[Vaibhav Gandhi]

Hi Dan!
Could you try using "Erase Utility" from 64 bit smartstartcd and try re deploying OS again?
Or Load OS without using Smart Start CD like Jimmy said, and later once OS is up, you can download the Latest Proliant Support Pack from the link below;
(PSP 8.60)
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=1121516&prodNameId=3288134&swEnvOID=4064&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-32389bda81e94bc3b62dae3b22

It will install all the required drivers and HP Utilities and agents.
Also we have smart start 8.60 avaialble here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=1121516&prodNameId=3288134&swEnvOID=4064&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-3f97b02184724797ac2827ebdc

Please assign points if you think information provided was useful!

Cheers!
Vaibhav

[kln]

I received this error under the same circumstances- smart start 8.4 64 bit, HP dl360 G6. Some other posts suggested a firmware update, which I did but that did not change the result. However, I was able to solve the problem and get past the error as follows.
When the error occurs, click OK and you will be left at the command prompt. The problem I discovered is that the hpssbem.exe file is 0 bytes... empty. I inserted the smart start CD and from the console window I copied the correct 64-bit file (...\compaq\install\w2k8...\hpssbem.exe)from the smart start CD to the C: drive on the server, then executed the hpssbem.exe program again from the command line. Windows install continued without error and completed. I hope this helps.
Kevin

[Trevor Wright]

I had this error also (hpssbem.exe 0 bytes)so I tried again and when the cd tray opened for the first time I grabbed it and put the Windows cd in and it ran through perfectly. Can't understand why HP just do not eject the smartstart cd rather than opening and closing the tray.

T

[brentb]

---

kln wrote:
I received this error under the same circumstances- smart start 8.4 64 bit, HP dl360 G6. Some other posts suggested a firmware update, which I did but that did not change the result. However, I was able to solve the problem and get past the error as follows.
When the error occurs, click OK and you will be left at the command prompt. The problem I discovered is that the hpssbem.exe file is 0 bytes... empty. I inserted the smart start CD and from the console window I copied the correct 64-bit file (...\compaq\install\w2k8...\hpssbem.exe)from the smart start CD to the C: drive on the server, then executed the hpssbem.exe program again from the command line. Windows install continued without error and completed. I hope this helps.
Kevin

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Yes got me going again. Many thanks!

[Albert Gostick]

Hi all,

Thanks for posting this thread as I tried to get around this same error and the techie from HP (even though he was good) did not have a clue at the time.

I got the error using the SmartStart ver 8.70b trying to setup an HP DL 380 G7 (lovely machine by the way) for the first time.  It choked on the same hpssbem.exe file.  I tried to copy that file off the CD (that I had created after downloading the .iso image) and it would not copy (it came back with "Data Error (cyclic redundancy check)") off of the CD.  Going to a PC, neither could I copy the file to that machine from the CD.  I guess the file was somehow corrupted when creating the CD (which seems funny though since others have had the same error - is the .iso image corrupted)?

Anyhow, after being on tech support for some time, I got the brainwave that since this file was somewhat old (03/03/2010) that I might have a copy on an older SmartStart CD (ver 8.60 from earlier in the year) and so I copied the file off that CD into the spot that was open (via the command prompt that was left open after the startnet.cmd batch file choking) - which is to say, into x:\windows\system32 (just in case anyone needs to know) and then I typed in hpssbem.exe and the install finished properly (at least it seems to have done so).

I was a bit  worried that there might have been something else in that startnet.cmd file that did not get executed but upon further reflection, that was probably not the case - because I would have seen that next line(s) fly by after cancelling out of the error dialog.

The one thing the techie said that might be helpful is he suggested taking that .iso and creating a bootable USB key out of it - he says it is more reliable than the CD and runs faster to boot.  You can create the bootable USB key using the "HP USB Key Utility for Windows" found at the www.hp.com/go/foundation page.

Hope this helps someone else get through this even faster.

Albert

[srynix]

We had the same problem installing the OS Windows Server 2008 R2 with the SmartStart CD 8.70 x64 in a ML350 G6 Server with a RAID 1

It crashes after the first reboot and shows the message:

x: \ windows \ sytem32> wpeinit c: \ hpssbem.exe
The system cannot find the drive specified.

The input data file hpssbem.ini cannot be found

We tried installing the OS with Windows DVD but the progress bar stops

The solution was booting from the SmartStart CD, running the System Erase, Reset All Settings, swap out the 2 HDDs and create a new array in ORCA (F8) and we installed the OS without any problem after creating a fresh new array.

I hope this helps

[Sapo]

Hi, I experienced this problem with Smartstart 8.70B and Windows 2008 R2 with SP1, there was no way to install my server. I fixed my issue using a windows DVD with the R2 version without SP1 included and installing it after the first boot. Hope this helps.

Salvatore

[T-A-D]

HP Proliant DL385 G7 – HP Smartstart 8.70 & 8.70B – USB Pen – hpssbem.exe (64bit)

If it helps anyone looking for a slightly different approach....

This didn’t work for me. I had a DL385 G7, I downloaded latest version of HP Smarstart DVD 8.70B but still the same issue. I couldn’t find a compaq folder on this DVD 8.70B and for those who are not great with the cmd line this is how i fixed it a GUI. I clicked ok on the error (this is not a valid win32 application) .

I put in the HP Smarstart DVD 8.70 that came with server into my laptop and copied the 64bit hpssbem from the DVD onto a usb pen drive (E:\compaq\install\w2k8x64\hpssbem.exe   to   F:\hpssbem.exe).

Then back on the server at the cmd line I typed   "notepad.exe"   hit enter - using notepad as GUI interface (file - open) I renamed the hpssbem on C:\ to hpssbem1.exe.

I then copied the 64bit version directly from the usb pen drive onto C:\     closed notepad    typed "exit" on cmd line.    The server should automatically reboot.

The server should now complete the install and copies the files it needs from the Windows 2008 R2 SP1 DVD.  hope it helps.  Trevor

[Elumbis]

Found a working solution in another post (I switched from Chrome to  the download manager in Internet Explorer).

"I have just experienced exactly this problem, and have now found the solution.

The problem comes about when downloading an ISO from Microsoft which appears to complete successfully, but in fact is only a partial download.

When downloading an ISO from the MS website, instead of using the 'web browser' download option it is better to use the 'Download Manager' option. This ensures a complete download.

As soon as I did this the installation went ahead successfully."

Strange that MS does not have an MD5 check option.