hp raid array question

[Chris_268]

I hope somebody can help with this issue:

HP Netserver E50

Server boots on an HP Raid SCSI device, yesterday I restarted and the server would not boot.
The 'Press ... to access HP Partition Utility' screen no longer appears which led me to believe that the boot sector had been corrupted, checking the disks under the Ctrl-M option on startup confirmed that there was no hardward failure (I also called hp tech support just to be sure). I was told by HP to do an initialization, then re-install windows NT.

Sidenote: Because of an upgrade the machine that came with the netraid (HP Netserver E50) had been downgraded to a user workstation, and the netraid has been successfully booting & running in the new machine for the past 6 months, however when I encountered problems installing windows NT, I reinstalled the Netraid back into the E50 just for troubleshooting purposes.


Here's where the problem exists: NT will not allow me to install a parittion greater than 4GB (SCSI size is 8GB), and when I do install a partition 4Gb the server still won't boot and it appears to create a FAT partition????

I think I need to install the HP partition utility before installing WinNT, however I do not have the CD (Navigator) for installing this. HP told me that this CD or the partition utility are no longer available anywhere, and I didn't need it anyways???

I didn't do the initial install of this machine, however I do remember that under winnt the disk was partitioned something like:

16 or 32MB EISA partition
~8Gb NTFS partition.

So my question:
Do I need the Hp partition utility so that WINNT will see the drive correctly on installation, if so, does anybody have this CD???

(btw, I have 3 other navigator CD's, none work on this machine, they are for other netservers, if anybody requires them I am more than happy to share them)

Thanks

[CA719043]

You do not need a utility partion to install the OS. If you do want a utility partion, you will need a navigator cd. Paramount computers may have some available still (www.pmount.com). Usually they only charge shipping for those old ones. Tell them you need a navigator for the e-series servers.

As far as the issue with the 4gb fat partion, Microsoft has documented this.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;119497.
In the past I've also been able to create the smaller partion, then restart the install. On the 2nd install, setup will see the existing partion and you will be able to remove it and recreate a new 8gb partion. Doesn't always work, but worth a try.

I don't know if it will make a difference, but take a look at this document for instructions on installing NT on a netserver.
http://h200005.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/lpn11586/lpn11586.pdf
I like to use method 3.