How to create an install CD with integrated RAID drivers?

[Massimo]

I'm having lots of troubles installing Windows 2003 on some HP Proliant
ML110 servers, which have an embedded SATA RAID controller and *no* floppy
drive, nor any floppy connector on the motherboard; I've already tried
attaching an USB floppy drive to them, but for some reasons (i.e. HP trying
to sell their outrageously overpriced floppy drive "option") Windows doesn't
seem to be able to load drivers from it.

So I thought I could just to create a Windows 2003 setup CD with the needed
drivers already in it.

I've done some searches around the web (and newsgroups), but it just seems
there are *many* ways of adding drivers to Windows installation CDs, and
none of the guides I found seems to agree with the others on just about
anything.

I decided to try asking here: can someone please give me a step-by-step
guide to integrate a SATA RAID driver (or any other mass storage driver, for
that matter) on a Windows 2003 setup CD?

I'm already used to slipstreaming service packs and create bootable CDs, I
just need some guidance on the driver part; I already have the driver, of
course.

Thanks


Massimo


P.S.
I'm posting on the windowsxp.setup_deployment newsgroup too because I guess
the way to do this is the same on both systems; sorry if I'm guessing wrong.

 

[Dave Patrick]

Look at doing an unattended installation

http://technet2.microsoft.com/Windo...e6ff-4664-8425-28ec740474b11033.mspx?mfr=true
http://technet2.microsoft.com/Windo...2542-43f6-b03c-e928917d0b3f1033.mspx?mfr=true

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

 

[Massimo]

Look at doing an unattended installation

Thanks for the links, but I still don't get the big picture :-(

Where do the driver files go?
Which text files need to be customized?
What need to be modified and/or inserted into them?

I'm getting the impression there are lots of dependencies scattered around a
bunch of different files, and they all must match, otherwise the CD won't
work correctly.
A full guide would really be useful here, but, as I said, there are some
around... but every one of them tells a whole different story.


Massimo

 

[Dave Patrick]

Some further reading.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816299

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I'm having lots of troubles installing Windows 2003 on some HP
Proliant ML110 servers, which have an embedded SATA RAID controller
and *no* floppy drive, nor any floppy connector on the motherboard;
I've already tried attaching an USB floppy drive to them, but for
some reasons (i.e. HP trying to sell their outrageously overpriced
floppy drive "option") Windows doesn't seem to be able to load
drivers from it.
So I thought I could just to create a Windows 2003 setup CD with
the needed drivers already in it.

I've done some searches around the web (and newsgroups), but it
just seems there are *many* ways of adding drivers to Windows
installation CDs, and none of the guides I found seems to agree
with the others on just about anything.

I decided to try asking here: can someone please give me a
step-by-step guide to integrate a SATA RAID driver (or any other
mass storage driver, for that matter) on a Windows 2003 setup CD?

I'm already used to slipstreaming service packs and create bootable
CDs, I just need some guidance on the driver part; I already have
the driver, of course.
P.S.
I'm posting on the windowsxp.setup_deployment newsgroup too because
I guess the way to do this is the same on both systems; sorry if
I'm guessing wrong.

Idea is the same:
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/

Specifically:
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/36/

If you cannot make the changes (if any) required to use the instructions in
Windows 2003 - you probably do not need to be making the unattended
CD/DVD... ;-)

 

[Massimo]

Some further reading.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816299

I already found that article, but I don't know how to use an unatted.txt
file; there's a sample one on the standard Windows 2003 CD-ROM, but it's not
being used by the standard installation, so how can I force the Windows
setup to use it, if this is the right way to go?


Massimo

 

[Massimo]

Idea is the same:
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/

Thanks, I'll give it a look.

Specifically:
http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/view/web/36/

That's quite strange... I already found that article too, but it's the only
one saying you need to compress the files and put them into the i386
directory! Also, this one is using a winnt.sif file, which I still can't
understand in which way is different from an unattend.txt one...

This is exactly what I was meaning when I said that every guide I found is
giving quite different instructions :-/


Massimo

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Thanks, I'll give it a look.


That's quite strange... I already found that article too, but it's
the only one saying you need to compress the files and put them
into the i386 directory! Also, this one is using a winnt.sif file,
which I still can't understand in which way is different from an
unattend.txt one...
This is exactly what I was meaning when I said that every guide I
found is giving quite different instructions :-/

I've utilized that particular article many dozens of times on Windows
2003/XP - no problems. Integrates fine every time.

 

[Massimo]

I've utilized that particular article many dozens of times on Windows
2003/XP - no problems. Integrates fine every time.

I've just finished building a CD from the instructions there; looks like it
loads the driver gracefully in a VM, but of course the real hardware isn't
there, so I can't actually test if it works. I'll try it tomorrow.

Thanks for every tip.


Massimo

 

[Massimo]

I've just finished building a CD from the instructions there; looks like
it loads the driver gracefully in a VM

....no, it didn't.

The "[Data]" section in WINNT.SIF was missing, because the page said only
the "[Unattended]" one was needed... so I got the infamous "Internal Setup
data structures are corrupted" error message as soon as the GUI portion
started.

I added it, and now it works OK... or at least it seems to do so, I'll still
need to test it tomorrow.

I'd like to tell the author of that article about this errata, but it just
seems there isn't any way to contact him...


Massimo

 

[Massimo]

I added it, and now it works OK... or at least it seems to do so, I'll
still need to test it tomorrow.

It worked, thanks to everyone


Massimo

 

[Hank Arnold]

If you can get your hands on the appropriate Proliant setup CD, (Smart
Start?), it will install all the necessary stuff and install the OS from
your W2K3 CD...

Regards,
Hank Arnold

 

[Massimo]

If you can get your hands on the appropriate Proliant setup CD, (Smart
Start?), it will install all the necessary stuff and install the OS from
your W2K3 CD...

Maybe, but there wasn't any of them in the server packaging :-/


Massimo

 

[Hank Arnold]

Check out the HP web site. I it's not a really old server, they may
still have it available for download....

Regards,
Hank Arnold