Windows Server 2008 R2 stuck during installation - Dell R710

Question

We are trying to install Windows Server 2008 R2 on a brand new Dell R710 server with the following changes in the default hardware configuration: - RAID 1 configuration between 2x 300GB SAS discs using the on-board RAID controller - The addition of 4x Intel Gigabit ET Quad Port Server Adapter PCIe x4 When we run the installer from the DVD or over the network using the virtual console, the installation gets to the final step, 'Completing installation', but this step never completes. The server remains in this state indefinitely. If we try to install the operating system by using the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility (version 6.5.0), the installation begins and we are asked to insert the Windows Server 2008 R2 DVD. After inserting the DVD we are presented with the language setup and welcome screen, but after providing the information and clicking Install Windows, the installation gets stuck at the 'Setup is starting screen'. There is no disc or hard drive activity in either situation, and we have tried this with both UEFI and BIOS. The firmware on the box is the latest available. We were able to get VMware ESXi to install on the box with no trouble, but we are wanting to use this box for some Hyper-V testing. Has anyone ever had a problem like this before and if so, how did you solve it? Any ideas would be appreciated.

DELL-Rey G · Accepted Answer

I honestly haven’t tried the blade units, but I JUST remembered that in our testing (on rack units), if the nics are cabled and have link, the issue should also not appear.

bradje1 · Answer

Has it got an SD card in it that u don't need? If so, remove it and see what happens. (Or via Devices in BIOS disable the sd card) Cheers, John Bradshaw

stenorman · Answer

Hi John, The machine in question does not have an SD card or SD card slot.

DELL-Rey G · Answer

Remove all but 1 Intel card until the installation is complete. After the installation is complete, you should be good to go to install the other card. We (Dell) have an open issue with MS about this right now. I highly recommend getting the latest intel nic driver and installing it before adding the other cards back in.

bradje1 · Answer

Hi Rey,

Does the removal of the Intel card(s) also apply to M710's which sometimes have an Intel mezz card? We have noticed problems building these with 2008R2 or Linux and I had not given it much thought till I read the reply just now.

Thx,

John Bradshaw

bradje1 · Answer

Thx Rey.....Expalins issues we were having with the M710's. I now have a large box of Intel cards which I'm sending off to the North Pole for distribution on 25th December :emotion-2: JB

stenorman · Answer

Thanks for all the responses. We solved the problem by, as Rey said, ensuring that all the network cards had a connection. After speaking with Dell support, the issue is due to the Intel drivers on the machines (which Windows also uses during setup).

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