Issues setting up a PowerEdge 2900 iii

Question

I just got an unused PowerEdge 2900 iii Tower server with all its discs, still wrapped in box.I never set a server or a dell up before so I'd like some help being walked through this. I've encountered some problems that upon a thorough search on the internet, there were very few other sources on it, and not really much help.First off, the computer boots beautifully, no errors. I can get into the Raid card (PERC6II) and I set up my raid and BIOS to boot from CD. Posts obviously. After, due to lack of knowledge of dells or servers I attempted to install my copy of windows server 2003 r2. Loads up, then gets to the installation screen and says no disk drives detected, basically. Upon boot/setup the 2 virtual drives are clearly detected (2 virtual drives found on host adapter, 2 virtual drives handled by BIOS) however so naturally I realized one of the Dell discs must be installed prior to windows.I located the 'Installation and Server Management' bootable CD ver 5.1. Booted it up, got to the install screen get another message mentioning disks. 'Unable to determine the boot device. Drivers may not be initialized. Initialize using the BIOS utility, or check if the disks are connected properly.' Again I checked my raid set up, all is well, virtual drives are detected on boot up screen. So I went online and it seems this 'Installation and Server Management' is out of date for my PERC6II. Why Dell would provide a set up disc that cannot set up a computer is beyond me...So after some forum reading a lot of people were saying SBUU is what's needed to boot the server and get the drivers up to date (and allow me to install windows). So I downloaded this ISO :http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=NF1CT&osCode=WNET&fileId=2731102793Then using windows 7 I right clicked the file, went to burn, and wrote it to a DVD-RW. I checked the disc and it had serveral folders in it and a large image file. Seems fine, it was also verified.I tried booting it in the 2900 (which has a DVD drive) and nothing loads for this disc. The boot device menu when attempting to boot the DVD simply says 'Missing Operating System'.And that's where I'm at now. It seems incredibly complicated to set this machine up. I've built many personal computers before and normally after hardware is together all that is needed is to boot a windows disc.This system did not come with a floppy disc drive. Just Dell CDs and Windows Server 2003 R2 still wrapped. I assume I need to update the Raid controller's drivers. How can this possibly be done on a system that came with windows 2003 r2 and no floppy?A HUGE forward thanks for replies. I really hope we get this resolved soon.

theflash1932 · Answer

First, I'd advise against using 2003. It is end-of-life, and it is a huge pain in the rear when it comes to installing ... anywhere (not just Dell).

Second, you need drivers. You can do this in one of two ways:

1) Use the SMTD/SBUU disc - either that came with the system or download the latest from support.dell.com. This will install drivers as you go. Boot to SMTD/SBUU and choose Install OS and follow the prompts. For the latest versions, your 2003 R2 media MUST have SP2 on it.

2) Install directly from the OS CD. For this, you will need to load the RAID drivers at F6 during the installation.

Keep in mind that ISM is obsolete and should not be used any more, and it is very likely that your version of Windows is too new for ISM to support. SBUU would be the best option for assisted installation.

If you browse the SBUU disc you burned, what do you see as its contents? The ISO file or several folders?

Threshold1 · Answer

Thats how the disc looks above^. Its on a DVD-RW. The 2900's drive is also a DVD (RW) drive. When booting that SBUU disc I get this:

SBUU downloaded from this link:
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=NF1CT&osCode=WNET&fileId=2731102793

Threshold1 · Answer

Ok, I'm 1 step further. My raid drives were not initialized. Its my first RAID setup, but still cannot get this disc to boot. Absolutely nothing happens. Just an eternally blinking underscore. Tried burning another disc using different software and verified it. All the same exact files and the same results when attempting to boot it. Nothing happens.
It is certain capable of booting since windows 2003 and installation and server management discs both boot, I even threw in a windows 7 DVD to test it and that works.
Using cdu_1.6_core_173_A01.iso seems useless anyway, since my windows server 2003 r2 32-bit that came with the computer is SP1 and cdu_1.6_core_173_A01.iso requires sp2.
Still doesn't explain why it won't boot the disc. Ultimately it should do that. Perhaps there is a version with support too.

Do you have recommended software for writing the iso?

theflash1932 · Answer

Can you boot the ISO on another machine? It will tell you it is unsupported (unless you do it on another Dell server), but it should at least boot. You could try downloading the ISO again, and/or using an older version. You could also try the full SMTD ISO.

Using cdu_1.6_core_173_A01.iso seems useless anyway, since my windows server 2003 r2 32-bit that came with the computer is SP1 and cdu_1.6_core_173_A01.iso requires sp2.

You could use nLiteOS.com to integrate SP2 into your installation media, but SP2 is required for SBUU/SMTD.

I never use third-party software for burning ISO's. I only ever use Windows' built-in functionality - just right-click, Burn Disc Image.

PowerEdge OS Forum

Was this post helpful?