PowerEdge 2950 - USB Boot Option missing

I have a load of 2950's without any optical drives at all. It is possible.

Power off, insert USB, power on, boot to BIOS Setup (F2), Boot Sequence, and set USB to the top position (may need to do this in the Hard Drive C: sequence, since USB typically emulates HDD from BIOS perspective).

What BIOS version are you running?

Boot setup on this one was F11.  USB not listed.

BIOS 1.5.1 (original)

Not sure what you mean when you say "may need to do this in the hard drive sequence".

I can retry with USB inserted.

What OS would you install on the USB?  DOS, 2003 Server?

Thanks for the help on this.
Bob

Ha ha ... good luck!

BIOS 1.5.1 (original)

You will likely need to update the system firmware before 2012 will run on this. Most drivers are native, but they require a minimum firmware version. Update BIOS first, then ESM/BMC, then PERC, NIC, DRAC, etc.

Not sure what you mean when you say "may need to do this in the hard drive sequence".

Most BIOS have a Boot Sequence and a Hard Drive sequence. The Boot Sequence usually has an option for Hard Drive C:, which can mean an onboard SATA drive, an add-in controller, or a device emulating a hard drive device (USB), so you may not have the USB option in the Boot Sequence, so you would need to check the Hard Drive sequence (if present) to set the order of Hard Drive devices.

What OS would you install on the USB?  DOS, 2003 Server?

You need to create a bootable installation USB for Server 2012. The process is the same for all versions of Windows since 2008/Vista. You can use Microsoft's USB tool:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool

Or you can simply run the following from the command prompt:

• diskpart

• select disk 1
• clean
• create partition primary
• active
• format fs=fat32 quick
• assign
• exit

• xcopy d:\*.* /s/e/f e:
• exit

Make sure that "disk 1" is your USB drive ("list disk" will show current disks).
Make sure that d: is your Windows DVD or mounted ISO file.
Make sure e: is your USB drive.

Great information.

Thank you very much.
I was planning to look into 2012 requirements once I got past this problem.

This will keep me out of mischief for a while!

Bob