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November 18th, 2011 14:00
Help with SAS 5 controller and Windows Server install
Hello. I just purchased (out of my own pocket) a second-hand PE 840 for use by a very poor non-profit organization. I also purchased a Windows Server 2003 license. But when I attempted to install the OS, it sees no hard drives. I assume I need a driver for the SAS 5 controller to be installed via the F6 option at the beginning of setup. But I have a couple of problems: first, I am not sure what driver I need and what format it should be in, and second it seems like the driver must be installed from a floppy disk, and this system doesn't have one. So I am hoping someone can tell me what I need, and how it can be installed so I can get the OS installed. Thanks very much for any help you can offer!
Dave
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theflash1932
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November 18th, 2011 14:00
You do indeed need a driver for the SAS 5.
You should always use the Hard Drive version of the driver for use with OS installation (Update Package for Microsoft Windows when updating the driver from within the OS).
XP/2003, as primitive OS's, can only obtain a third-party driver from a floppy, so you can either use a USB floppy drive/disk and load it at F6, OR use nLiteOS.com to integrate the driver into your installation media. nLite will create a new CD to install from. This second option is much easier. When using nLite, choose Multiple Drivers and TextMode (these will make sense once you walk through using nLite).
You could also use SBUU to assist you with installing the OS. You will boot to SBUU first, answer the installation questions (RAID configuration, boot partition size, etc.), then when prompted, insert your 2003 CD. This utility is nice, as it installs all the drivers needed for the system, but it will require SP2 media (if you don't have SP2 media, you can use nLite for that too):
Up-to-date, but DVD format:
Older, but CD format:
Also ... do you have a SAS 5/iR (capable of hardware RAID, and do you plan to use RAID) or do you have a SAS 5/i (not capable of RAID)? The driver is the same, but if you want to configure RAID, you need to do so BEFORE attempting to install the OS (if installing directly from the 2003 CD).
Dkreines
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November 18th, 2011 16:00
Thanks a lot - that is great information! One follow-up question: how do I tell which SAS 5 I have? On boot up it just says SAS 5.
theflash1932
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November 18th, 2011 21:00
Go into the SAS 5 utility (CTRL-C during POST) ... it should tell you there. If you don't spot the name, look for a way to configure an Integrated Mirror (IM) or an Integrated Stripe (IS) - if those options are present, it is the 5/iR.