Acer Server Install

[BatchFile]

Erm... I've hit a little impass

 

Just unboxed a brand shiny new Acer Altos G540 server and I'm trying to install Windows (Server 2003) (R2) on 3 HDDs in RAID 5, as a single partition. But here's the rub:

 

With the bios set to SATA enhanced Mode, I can activate the RAID and the hot swappy bit and setup the RAID 5, but Windows setup fails with a BSOD (Stop 0x7b) at the first "Starting Windows" part (just before you choose partitions etc). Driver problem you may think? Well, no, because neither version of Acer Easybuild V8.0 (2 copies supplied with the server, one "Build 100" the other "Build 200") ALSO doesn't fire up either - it just runs straight through then wants to reboot

 

Put the BIOS in compatability mode and the RAID won't work (it's switched off - it only seems to be switch on-able in enhanced mode), but both Windows and Easybuild work fine.

 

So how the heck are you supposed to install Windows on the RAID?

 

I'm probably being thick - I've spent the last week doing the timetable and my grey matter's frazzled, but has anyone else hit this or anything like it?

[BatchFile]

Update: Just booted a Ubuntu Live CD with the RAID switched on, just to see if it would shed any light on what was going on..... and it saw the three individual HDDs, rather than the RAID:confused::confused:

 

Have I got a dodgey RAID controller?

Edited May 21, 2009 by BatchFile

[ServersPlus]

Hi Tony, all I can suggest is giving Acer tech support a try - Their number is 0870 853 1006

 

Hope this helps

[Guest richard_s]

We had the same problem here recently with an Altos. Let dig out my notes and I'll get back to you. The only thing I can tell you off the top of my head is that we didn't use the Altos build disk as it is useless.

[Guest richard_s]

Hi Tony, all I can suggest is giving Acer tech support a try - Their number is 0870 853 1006

 

Hope this helps

 

Acer Tech Support is useless as they said that there is no problem with the Altos. Their answer to me was that the machine is not designed for RAID.

[BatchFile]

Hi Tony, all I can suggest is giving Acer tech support a try - Their number is 0870 853 1006

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks for that - it's plan "Z" but nice to have the number handy

 

We had the same problem here recently with an Altos. Let dig out my notes and I'll get back to you. The only thing I can tell you off the top of my head is that we didn't use the Altos build disk as it is useless.

 

Cheers - Baited breath and all that

 

Just booted a Windows PE disk... and Diskpart sees it correctly:D pity I don't have a Server 2003 Imagex image lying around or we'd be away

[Butuz]

I'm probably being thick - I've spent the last week doing the timetable and my grey matter's frazzled, but has anyone else hit this or anything like it?

 

Sounds to me like you need to download the drivers for the particular RAID controller and do the old Press F6 right at the very beginning of windows setup to manually load the Raid driver into Windows 2003.

 

Butuz

[BatchFile]

Sounds to me like you need to download the drivers for the particular RAID controller and do the old Press F6 right at the very beginning of windows setup to manually load the Raid driver into Windows 2003.

 

Butuz

 

I did try that - got the oemsetup.inf driver off the dvd and put it on a floppy disk (having raided the "computing through the ages" display case to find one ) - I suppose I could have got the wrong one but it seemed to be accepted ok... and that still doesn't explain why the "EasyBuild" CDs behave like that

[Butuz]

The driver is usually more than just one file?

 

What happened when you did press F6 and point it to the floppy disk - did it come up with the Make and Model of Raid controller and prompt you to accept?

 

Butuz

[BatchFile]

yeah, sorry should have been clear - it was a bunch of files, and it did display the choice of windows 2000 or windows 2003 32bit (which I chose as that's what I'm installing )

[Guest richard_s]

Right I have had a dig through my notes and what we did was to make a driver floppy from the Easybuild disk and then do a standard install without using the Easybuild disk to prep the machine.

 

Boot from your Windows 2003 disk and then use F6 to add the driver from the floppy. The driver you want is the 631xESB/632xESB SATA RAID CONTROLLER (Server/Workstation ESB2).

 

Hope this helps