Is there any way to install Windows NT on G4 DL360?

[Simon Bell_1]

Okay so I have a legacy system that needs to stay on NT4 and have bought a DL360 without noticing that between G3 and G4 they've stopped supporting NT. Is it possible to install NT on this at all?

[Doug de Werd]

Well, is there any way to just try it? You are correct, there is no NT4 support for the DL360G4. You "might" be able to get it to work with the NT4 PSP

http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/20102.html

But I'm not sure if the right storage and network drivers are there.

If it is not possible to do a direct install, you may have another option. You could run an NT4 Virtual Machine from within either VMware of MS Virtual Server.

Here is some more info:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/default.mspx

http://www.vmware.com

Thanks,
Doug

[Simon Bell_1]

Thanks but NT setup is bombing early on in setup even if I hit f6 and specify disk drivers, so I can't get as far as installing the support packs. Think I'll buy a Dell instead..

[Sergio Ricci_1]

Similar thing happened to me on an ML330-G4.

I appreciate that the servers are quite different but I finally managed to get NT4 Terminal Server Edition to install.

I basically opened the server and examined all the critical components and the chipsets that they use (especially when it comes to the mass storage controllers and NIC). Using another PC I did some investigative work in trying to identify the exact type of controller/card and then identify and find suitable drivers from the website of the manufacturers of the components (not necessarily from HP's website).

It's not a quick thing and there's a lot of trial and error involved; it took me about 2 days but I got there in the end. Sorry I can't be more specific but hope it'll point you in the right direction.

Sergio

[Simon Bell_1]

Thanks, that's what I want to know that's it's actually worth spending a couple of days trying.

[Doug de Werd]

The main things that are different between a G3 and G4, and are most likely to cause you problems, will be the integrated Smart controller, the NIC, and the chip set (memory controllers, etc.).

Here are the main differences:

G3
Smart 5i Controller
HP NC7781 NIC
ServerWorks GC-LE chipset


G4
Smart 6i Controller
HP NC7782 NIC
Intel E7520 chipset

I don't know if this helps at all. Is the VMware/MS Virtual Server an option? This is a very common way to support NT4 apps. You run Windows 2003 (or VMware ESX) on the server, which has all of the support for the devices, and then you run NT4 virtual machines on top of that. This is supported by both VMware and MS. The nice thing about it is that you can actually run multiple virtual machines on a single server, so you could consolidate several NT4 servers onto one physical machine.

Thanks,
Doug

[Simon Bell_1]

Thanks but my app needs to run on a domain controller so I don't think virtual server is an option. I'm now stuck finding an NT driver for the 6i array controller, suspect there isn't one

[Pat Flanagan]

Simon,

This may not be on point because most of this thread is over my head, but we tried installing NT4 Server a few years ago on an old box we had converted from IDE to SCSI. It wouldn't install. After a lot of research, we discovered that the reason was our version of the NT4 Server install CD. We had SP1. NT did not begin to support SCSI until SP3 or 4 (don't remember exactly which). SP6a, of course, is best - has the most complete support for SCSI.

If you happen have an install disk with at least SP4 or later, or can get your hands on one, that might work.

Pat