I feel for you, because I had all of these problems and more setting up Win2k on the Netserver.
The first thing that you should do is pull every PCI board this is in your server that you don't absolutely need. Don't pull any of the large RAID boards or the network cards, but pull any PCI cards that you can remove reasonably easily. The reason is that the original install is going to be insanely unstable. When I say insanely unstable, I mean if you move the mouse too fast then Windows 2000 will crash. I'm not kidding.
The first step is to identify every firmware update for your computer and install it. You MUST update the System BIOS, the NetRAID card, and anything else for which new firmware is available. Don't even think about trying to install Windows 2000 without doing these firmware updates -- it is a hopeless endeavor. Trust me.
The next thing you should do is to enter the BIOS setup for your NetRaid configuration, and take every drive offline except a single drive. Do not try to install Windows to a RAID array. Format the drive using the HP Netraid tools.
The next thing you should do is to make a set of Windows 2000 Server boot floppies. Do not try to boot off the CD -- it won't work.
You can get the boot disks here:
http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htmThen you have to make a set of floppies that contain the specific RAID drivers that you will use in the Windows setup. I believe you hit F6 at the beginning of the Windows Setup process to install specific RAID drivers. My Netserver has a Netraid 3si -- yours may have a different board. Figure out what board it is and then find the specific installation info and drivers for it. It is usually listed under the system that you have. HP Server drivers for different systems are listed here:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Product.jsp?locale=en_US&prodTypeId=15351Once the firmware is updated for all your system boards and you have all your floppies ready, you can begin the install.
Boot from the floppies, and then use the Win2k CD to enter the setup mode. Press F6 to install the 3rd party RAID drivers so that your NetRaid card and hard drives will be recognized in the setup process. Once Win2k goes through its setup process, it will show you the available drive and ask you to partition/format it. Do this.
You should then be able to install Windows to this drive. Once Windows 2000 is installed, it will be very unstable without the service packs. Your goal will be to gain network access by setting up your internet connection, and then using Windows Update to update windows. Alternatively, you can run service packs from CD, but I found it easier to try to get the networking running and use Windows Update. Either way, be prepared to have Win2k crash an insane amount of times while trying to do this. I think I must have restarted at least 10 times trying to install the updates. The good news is that each successive update makes the system more stable, so you will have exponential returns for your investment of time.
Once you have the Windows Updates installed, the system should be stable enough that you can download all the other Netserver driver updates and diagnostic tools. I wouldn't suggest using anything from the CD's if you don't have to. Try to get the latest versions.
Hopefully this helps. I should note that I consider myself pretty proficient with computers, and it took me 2 full days to get Win2k running on my Netserver. The system stability is literally zero unless you update the firmware, and then windows stability is terrible until the service packs are installed.
Let me know if you need any further help. I hope this guide has been somewhat helpful.
-Jon
jonathandrosen@yahoo.com
