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 Post subject: Easy Install for WHS2011
PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:00 pm 
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I recently purchased the WHS2011 System Builder Pack as it was the only WHS2011 software I could find available for purchase. My intentions were to use it to upgrade my HP Media Smart EX490 Server.

Let me start by saying if you're not an experienced system builder with at least intermediate software programming knowledge, you are in for a big challenge trying to use the OEM System Builder Package. I will not go into detail except to say it is a nightmare trying to get all the configurations set and get this thing to a USB disk to install the way it was intended.

Here's my shortcut:

Note: My server is equipped only with the original server storage drive it came with. If you have more than one hard drive in your server, since WHS2011 doens't have the management software for multiple drives like WHS v.1, you will have to find and install a disk management add-in after this upgrade in order for the server to be able to manage all your hard drives. Since I have not gotten to this point yet with my server, I don't have any experience past one hard drive in the system.

First of all, buy Charles Kalapati's Gen 3 debugging board (ref http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2010/05 ... available/ ) and have it installed before you ever start this upgrade. Also, you will need to have upgraded the RAM memory in your WHS to at least 2GB and preferably 4GB prior to updating your software to WHS2011.

If you have not already done so, be sure to back up all your server files to an external USB drive for reinstallation later. There are instructions on how to do this in another area of this forum.

Next, insert the Windows Home Server 2011 DVD into a computer and copy its contents to a USB external drive or thumb drive capable of 5GB or greater. The DVD has all the install stuff you will need to install WHS2011 on your server without having to remove and repartition or format any hard drives from your server. It has the bootable .ini files needed for the server to boot from the USB drive without having to create any cfg.ini files or anything else.

Boot the server and go into the BIOS. Make sure the server BIOS is cofigured to boot from the USB drive. Save and exit.

Plug the USB dirve into the bottom USB port on the back of the server and restart / reboot the server the server. WHS2011 software will start automatically. When the menu comes up, select NEW INSTALL. This will format the hard drive on the server before installing the WHS2011 software.

Once the server hard drive has been formatted and the install software copies all the install files to the hard drive, the computer will reboot. When it does, be sure to catch it and go back into the BIOS to tell the computer you want it to boot from the hard drive now. If it reboots to the USB drive, it will go back to the original install menu which is where you don't need to be. If you wind up here, exit out of the install and the computer should reboot itself.

Once the computer restarts and boots from the hard drive, the install will continue just like any other Windows OS install. Be sure you have the server connected to the internet so it will activate your WHS2011 software and download any updates it needs to download from Microsoft.

This should simply things a heckuva lot and remove some unnecessary steps included in other WHS2011 install guides others have authored.


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