Installing Windows on a floppyless server.

[jcaamano]

I'm trying to install Windows Server 2003 on a Proliant ML110G3 server, equiped without a floppy drive. The disks for this server are SATA configured by the BIOS as a level 1 RAID, so Windows needs the RAID controller driver to be able to recognize the disks. The installer looks for the driver on the floppy disk, but there is no way to install one, because this server has no floppy disk controller. Is there a way for the windows installer to read the drivers from another source?

[Phil.Howell]

Does it have an ILO card?
also known as "Lights-Out 100 Remote Management"
This has a pseudo-floppy, and you can load a number of disk images.
Phil

[jcaamano]

No. It does not.

[Phil.Howell]

I presume you are booting from cd?
Can you burn the files to cd, and swap out the boot cd for the driver cd
http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/
also has some options for boot cds
Phil

[Ivan Ferreira]

You chould try with an USB floppy disk. Another option is to run the installation via network using RIS. This is not too easy as you must modify the installation tree to add the drivers that you need.

http://labmice.techtarget.com/windows2000/install/RIS.htm

[Ivan Ferreira]

Did you get some cd media with the server? Normally, servers come with "installations wizards", like Smart Start for proliants. These cd media install all drivers prior the installation of the operating system.

[jcaamano]

I'm booting from CD. I've read that I can burn a new instalation disk with the drivers on it, but I don't know where in the disk to place them.

[Ivan Ferreira]

Maybe, I don't know about that option. I just found these:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/254078/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B816299&x=6&y=16

[Igor Karasik]

>> I've read that I can burn a new instalation disk with the drivers on it,

"In order to avoid the need to press F6 during Windows installation in order to install onto your SATA/RAID Mass Storage Device (MSD), you may slipstream the drivers needed into the Windows Distribution. Following is a step by step example ....."
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/36/

[Terri Harris]

If you are going to create your own installation CD with the HP drivers on it, I would also slipstream Spk1 if you are planning on using it. Otherwise if you install Spk1 after the OS is installed, the default install (with no switches on the update.exe file) typically overwrites OEM drivers (like HP drivers).

[Alan_152]

You shouldn't need a floppy or any the more esoteric methods if you have an ATAPI-compliant drive and an original copy of the win2ko3 installation media (the stuff ms provides is self-booting).