Any MS Server deployment Gurus in the house?

S

Stuart Truman

Lifer
 The Cotswolds
Microsoft, bless them, have removed the ability to slipstream drivers into a deployment image. I'm struggling with the ADK and fed up with Technet.

What I need is someone who knows how to either:
a) Get an EFI booted USB stick to look at the DVD for the remainder of the installation once it's booted and setup is running with 3rd party drivers preinstalled (it fails partway through having lost the optical drive)
b) Replicate the old "press F6 during boot and preload drivers" so I don't need to use the bloody EFI booted USB

Microsoft, I bloody hate them. :headbang:

And yes, I know Linux would be easier, it's not what's required.
 
I presume this is for Server 2012?

Can't you use System Image Manager and customise the PE environment to add the drivers?
 
It's the first 2012 server and will be my home server (replacing an elderly WHS setup) so I don't have an up and running server to take an image from. Simply a DVD install disk that doesn't recognise the SSD on my server board. I think it just needs updated sata drivers which are the ones I added. That gets a 2012 start setup screen, which is more than if you boot the DVD on its own.

I've added the drivers to a USB EFI boot stick using the ADK and dsim which allows me to see the DVD drive and SSD that's the target once it's booted. I can then access the DVD and run setup and it starts, but fails partway and loses the DVD. I suspect the way I setup the USB stick at the moment and I'm in the process of recreating it.

I don't know if there's a way to easily point it to the DVD from the booted USB, or simply copy the relevant folders from the DVD onto the bootable USB.

It's a complete PITA. Slipstreaming used to work perfectly and I could make unattended headless USB install keys for 2003 (which shows how long since I got my hands dirty with this crap)

No wonder Microsoft is in a mess.
 
As it's a one-off server install it's not worth the bother of customised PE via another workstation

Have you thought about cheating and installing windows 2008 R2 and then doing an in-place upgrade to 2012? *caveat - I've never tried it, but it's supposed to be supported

Other than that, if it's really the SSD causing the issue, install to an old SATA drive, add the drivers so you can see your SSD and then use (insert your favourite disc copying software here) from a bootable DVD to move the image to the SSD
 
Stuart Truman said:
I think its the sata controller driver as a mech spindle had the same issue.

Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
If this was at work, I'd have the resources to stick the image on a deployment server and produce a custom PXE/PE image to install it but, at home, it's not worth the hassle (even though I've a complete VMWare environment to do it in) - quick and dirty is the way to go at home, it's not a production environment and it hasn't got to be repeatable, consistent or conform to company standards - which makes life a bit easier :D

To get this done without too much farting about, I'd either
- go down the 2008R2 route add the drivers and then upgrade to 2012
or
- stick the SSD into another PC with an older SATA chipset, install 2012, add drivers for new SATA controller, move drive back to the new box and let it sort itself out with a couple of reboots
 
If it's just for one server and one install, can you not just put the SATA Controller drivers on a USB Stick and use the 'Load Drivers' option when selecting the install partition?
Or use drvload at the main setup screen to install the driver?

Maybe I misread, but it sounds like for one server you're going through a whole load of effort.
Alternatively - ESXi + 2012 VM :)
 
andywils31 said:
If it's just for one server and one install, can you not just put the SATA Controller drivers on a USB Stick and use the 'Load Drivers' option when selecting the install partition?
Or use drvload at the main setup screen to install the driver?

Maybe I misread, but it sounds like for one server you're going through a whole load of effort.
Alternatively - ESXi + 2012 VM :)
Click to expand...
I think Stuart said that he loses the DVD and usb when the 2012 pre-installation environment loads so he can't access the drivers - normally you'd slipstream the new chipset drivers into the image and burn a new dvd but it looks like this avenue has been closed in 2012 - I've never tried it but I have no reason to suspect his technical nous :wink:

As an aside, I'd agree with you and boot VMware from a USB stick and run (at least one) 2012 VM on the box - adding RAM (if required) is cheap and there are always spare cpu cycles on home servers
 
I'm only doing this to get up to speed with some of our latest technologies from work (the joys of being a hardware manufacturer and having to talk authoritatively about it)

I've got a couple of ideas to explore when I can be arsed with it, but SWMBO is glowering at a server in pieces in the spare room so some pressure to get it sorted.

Then it's time to experiment with Freenas on the old server box.

Who'd have thought someone would have 20TB of storage in a house? :o
 
I can't help with the server issues, but you might like to show your better half this pic of someone's coffee table in the front room.......
electrical2.jpg

........ and remind her to thank her lucky stars you're in IT and not vehicle servicing :wink:
 
Stuart Truman said:
I did have a motorbike engine in pieces on the kitchen table once. That was a long time ago though :)
Click to expand...
are you out of the doghouse on that one yet? or does it still get dragged up during 'negotiations'?
:violent1:
 
That is so far down the long list of misdemeanours, slights, perceived insults, mistakes and miscellaneous faux pas' that it's probably forgotten. :D
 
Stuart Truman said:
That is so far down the long list of misdemeanours, slights, perceived insults, mistakes and miscellaneous faux pas' that it's probably forgotten. :D
Click to expand...
Women taught elephants how to improve their memory - things may not be mentioned but they're never forgotten
 
Right at the top of the list (last time it was consulted) was

#1 Came home with #69 and proudly announced "look what I bought"
#2 Repeat for IMmie

I'm a bad bad bad bad man. :D
 
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