Intelligent Provisioning and Server 2012R2 from USB

[FluxLegend]

This should work just supplement server for 10  Step 1 - Format the drive and set the primary partition as active

1. Connect the USB flash drive to your technician PC.

2. Open Disk Management: Right-click on Start and choose Disk Management.

3. Format the partition: Right-click the USB drive partition and choose Format. Select the FAT32 file system to be able to boot either BIOS-based or UEFI-based PCs.

4. Set the partition as active: Right-click the USB drive partition and click Mark Partition as Active.

    Note

   If Mark Partition as Active isn't available, you can instead use diskpart to select the partition and mark it active.

Step 2 - Copy Windows Setup to the USB flash drive

1. Use File Explorer to copy and paste the entire contents of the Windows product DVD or ISO to the USB flash drive.

2. Optional: add an unattend file to automate the installation process. For more information, see Automate Windows Setup.

Step 3 - Install Windows to the new PC

1. Connect the USB flash drive to a new PC.

2. Turn on the PC and press the key that opens the boot-device selection menu for the computer, such as the Esc/F10/F12 keys. Select the option that boots the PC from the USB flash drive.

   Windows Setup starts. Follow the instructions to install Windows.

3. Remove the USB flash drive.

Troubleshooting: file copy fails

This can happen when the Windows image file is over the FAT32 file size limit of 4GB. When this happens:

1. Copy everything except the Windows image file (sources\install.wim) to the USB drive (either drag and drop, or use this command, where is the mounted ISO and E: is the USB flash drive.)

   Copy

   robocopy D: E: /s /max:3800000000

2. Split the Windows image file into smaller files, and put the smaller files onto the USB drive:

   Copy

   Dism /Split-Image /ImageFile:D:\sources\install.wim /SWMFile:E:\sources\install.swm /FileSize:3800

   Note, Windows Setup automatically installs from this file, so long as you name it install.swm.

[DeeGreez]

Hey, guys.
I'm not aware of any copyright, so I'll tell you my dream.

In the dream I was updating the IP to version 1.67 in my DL380p g8.
I did this by downloading the ISO image and burning it to USB(fat fs). Then I decided to install 2016. Went to IP, reached the choice of the carrier, chose USB and pressed next. I saw that displays the wrong content and realized that did not change the USB stick. I went to server, took out USB with an image of IP and inserted USB C NTFS with an image of 2016 written through Rufus. Then he returned to his ILO pressed the rescan button but nothing changed. I clicked "back" then again" forward " appeared USB cMS 2016. I went inside it and.... "Hallelujah brother.".. IP showed me files on the interface with NTFS. The "next" button became active. And I installed the system. I checked this method with the substitution of the flash drive twice. Everything worked. Then I woke up.

p/s sorry? google translator

[davey1]

Yeah, I think claiming that Intelligent Provisioning not being able to support NTFS is a cop-out.  All flavours of Linux that I've used support NTFS, and have been able to since maybe 2003, since kernel 2.6 for read-write, and that is what Intelligent Provisioning is; Linux.

Either way, my solution was to format the pendrive exFAT.  Still failed until, with my ML310e Gen8, I used a USB 2.0 pendrive (as opposed to USB 3.0 pendrive in the server's USB 2.0.  <-- That didn't work.  Intelligent provisioning ignores my Pendrive in exFAT too.

I've tried USB Key Utility from HP.  It doesn't work.  Its intended use is with certain iso files provided by HPE like the reinstallation DVD for Intelligent Provisioning, turning them in to a bootable pendrive.  In that regard, it is like Rufus or UNetbootin.  I tried USB key utility 2.1.0.0 that Zuka007 linked, and latest 3.0.  So, don't try to use it with a Windows iso.  It. Won't. Work.

There's a reason I'm using Intelligent Provisioning; I have been given Server 2019 on DVD, and I have my pendrive prepped with 2016 on exFAT.  If I ignore Intelligent Provisioning, boot directly off either DVD or pendrive, then install the RAID driver to get a device to install to, I get this error:

Windows cannot be installed to this disk.  This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk.  Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.

And when I look in the BIOS or RAID configuration utility to check, I can't see a setting to allow for this.  Hence, I'm persevering with Intelligent Provisioning to see if that can overcome this basic installation fail.

This sucks.  I know more about web-hosting on Ubuntu than installing or using an MS OS on a server. Commandline configuring a LAMP stack was FUN!  A joyous and rewarding experience.

!!STOP PRESS!!  I think I've just read now that if you put your Windows install iso directly on the exFAT pendrive, instead of extracting all files from the iso, it might just work.  Also, I've seen that booting from pendrive without Intelligent Provisioning, installing the RAID driver from a second pendrive and then removing that pendrive before selecting an installation destination is a suitable fix.  Trying now, in the order I've presented them in.

UPDATE:  Using intelligent provisioning to install Windows Server 2016/2019 on an HP ML310e Gen8, using a DVD or a pendrive formatted in exFAT, either with the iso file or the contents of the iso extracted does not work.  If anyone can suggest a method, I'd like to know I am utterly beyond caring.  However, I've now got it installed.  One of two things fixed it for me.  Either, as I suggested earlier, removing the secondary pendrive immediately after installing the RAID driver, or it was caused by a quirk of my RAID config, in that I'm using two RAID1 pairs, and had them both set to be bootable.  Disabling the bootable option on the second RAID1 pair might've been the trick.  One or the other worked.  Either way, I'm installed, and not by using so-called Intelligent Provisioning.

If I could write emoticons here, it would be whale, oil drum, steak, fishing pole.