Problems Installing Win 2003 Server on Proliant DL380

[jo8t1]

Hi,

I just got a server and got handed a mass of disks by my boss one of which happened to be windows 2003 server and i need to install it on to a proliant DL380, unfortunately i used compaq's smart start cd and it only allows you to install up to windows 2000 business server, has anyone got any suggestions as to how to install win 2003 or am i just being dumb??

Thanks!

[nichomach]

The CD's bootable - just make sure you have drivers etc to hand.

[jo8t1]

erm, it keeps coming up with a non system disk error

[Moby-Dick]

is it a "proper" disk ?

ideally get hold of the new smartstart disks ?

or you could put 2k in and upgrade it.

[Jiff Lemon]

What version of Smartstart are you using?

V7 includes 2k3 support. See here

[jo8t1]

well the only smart start disk i had was an original but it's v5.2, i've found something that i think might be smart start version 7.10 but i'm not entirely sure how well it's going to work.. :-|

[jo8t1]

that still throws up the "non system disk or disk error" message

[nichomach]

OK, are you setting the CD-ROM to be the first boot device in the BIOS? If not, it will try to boot off the hard disk, which I presume is unformatted, so will produce the non-system disk or disk error message. Once you've sorted out the boot order, ensure that you boot off the 2003 CD. Depending on your internal hard disk arrangement, you may need to have drivers handy for a RAID controller if you're using one, that sort of thing.

[jo8t1]

right, here's the bad news, i've never set up a server before and i got no idea how to get into the BIOS oh and where would i get drivers for a RAID controller (all i got was literally the box cos it's second hand)

[Jiff Lemon]

Nope, proliants don't have a Bios as such that you can get into.

Essentially you use smart start to set the server up. When it installs it creates a small section on the HDD to store several programs and settings. All the drivers for the machine get loaded when you configure smartstart. You then look for the latest rompaq for your server on the HP site. Any idea if it's a G1, G2, G3 or G4 proliant?

You got a 2k disc you could use to get the server up and running, then drop the 2k3 disc and do an upgrade? Not the cleanest method, but it'll get you up and going.

[nichomach]

Hokey cokey; first question - do you know whether you're using IDE or SCSI disks? Sceond, if SCSI, whether they're off a RAID controller? You should be able to tell from the POST screens. Entering setup should be easy - you'll see a prompt like "Press Del to enter to setup" - the key will vary. Any SCSI devices (like SCSI controllers or RAID controllers) will report their presence during startup, and will show whether they have devices like hard disks, tape drives or optical drives hanging off them. Drivers for your Proliant DL380 may be found at http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/fi...eriesId=254889 - just make sure you know which ones you need. Setup information can be found at http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...odTypeId=15351.

Any use?

[jo8t1]

i'm going to hazard a guess and say it's a G1, i've managed to find a win 2000 server cd, so hopefully that should work

[Jiff Lemon]

A DL380G1 is beige and 3U. A DL380G2 or G3 is charcoal and 2U

Smartstart should make your life easy, just a shame you didn't have the up to date version to begin with.

[jo8t1]

Yeah i thought it was gonna be a simple job when i started this morning! ah well you live and learn, thanks for all your help, oh and i'm going by the colour now, its a G1
Nichomach i'm guessing it's scsi and i've no idea if it's off a RAID controller (how could i find that out?) oh i couldn't get into the BIOS because i couldn't see anything like press "x" key to enter setup

[nichomach]

Yep, Jiff's right - checking on Compaq's site, all configuration is done via Compaq's bootable utilities. Good news is you can get the latest SmartStart stuff at http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/fi...startinfo.html. Should help.

[Jiff Lemon]

Tis probably a SCSI Raid controller - You're in the big boys league now!

Probably got 4 hot swap trays on the front with Drives in yes?
During bootup you should see the card initilise the drives, probably says "smart array xxx" and report the drives it's found.

Once you've got 2k installed, get online and grab the 2003 rom pack from Here . You want the single zip file (no java VM installed) version.

Insert your 2k3 disk and perform updgrade. Then after that install the downloaded rom paq - it's essentially all updated drivers/Bios's for all the server. Don't be surprised if some updates don't install - just means you've not got that particular peice of hardware installed.