Well, duh...

[altivo]

So after I managed to get the boot problem for the Poweredge server solved by setting up a PXE network bootstrap, and got the OS installed on it, I discover (with some prompting) that it does have a CDROM drive after all, cleverly camouflaged to make it really inconspicuous. Bleah

Comments

[avon_deer]

If your devices are PXE enabled, it might be worth your time getting a RIS server sorted out. One of the few MS products that actually DOES work quite well. I dunno how many machines you have at the library, how identical they are, and how often they need rebuilding but I find remote network imaging a huge time saver.

[altivo]

We were set up to use Symantec Ghost images to restore machines whose drives become toast. I've gotten out of the habit of using it, though, because it takes so much network storage to hold the images.

The newer Dell stuff is PXE capable, but 80% of what we have is older than that. In most cases it's just as easy to do a plain reinstall. I'm the only one who has extensive peculiarities on the HD of my machine.

[altivo]

Just looked at a summary of RIS capabilities and it probably is no improvement for us since we continue to more toward more Linux and less Microsoft. Ghost does Linux as well as Microsoft, though you still have to have a Microsoft server to run it on.

[avon_deer]

Ghost is good as well. That's what we used before RIS. Albeit with the images burnt to disc, rather than being pulled over a network. We were running 98 systems with Novell infrastructure in this days. *sigh* Ahh..happy days.

[schnee]

o/~ And isn't it ironic... o/~

Ah well, at least you can take solace in the knowledge that you know how to install an OS even on boxen without optical drives. :)

[altivo]

Yeah, it wasn't that much of a waste. Probably would have taken me about as long to download a net boot ISO and burn it to a CD-R, so it comes out even. And now I have a PXE setup I can use again if I need to, say with a machine whose CDROM drive is bad.

[schnee]

*noddles* Yeah, that might be useful in the future.

[corelog]

That's mainly what I use PXE for, in my home farm. Some machines simply don't have working disc drives. But even the ones without PXE BIOS can boot from a PXELINUX floppy, and then off the network. :)

[shadow_stallion]

I would laugh but it's really not all that funny when you have to deal with this sort of thing. :P

[altivo]

You can laugh. I did. No harm done in this case, as I learned a new technique that I can use again and it took about the same amount of time as if I had downloaded a netboot iso and burned it to a CD anyway.

[shadow_stallion]

Nah, karma is a bitch and if I laugh then something will turn up to give me a similar problem. ;)

Actually, I am pondering a similar problem with my neighbors desktop. CD player seems to be non-functional (at least after booting. I have not tried to boot from it) and the PC really needs a clean install of Windows. Also, no Windows CD.

I have been putting this little project on the back burner for some time as I just really don't want to deal with it. ;)

[leopanthera]

Haha. Sorry, that's unexpectedly hilarious. :D

Stealth optical drive. ;)

[altivo]

Yeah, it really is. It's less than a quarter inch thick, has no activity light, and the eject button is recessed. It's squeezed between a hot-pluggable hard drive unit and the metal top plate of the rack mount. I'm guessing that this type of drive was designed for use in notebook computers. ;p

[marzolan]

Dell often does that when they try to save space, use notebook drives I mean. So it most likely was.

[altivo]

It's pretty flimsy. On the other paw, the CD drive in this type of server is likely to be used all of three or four times during the life of the server, so it probably makes sense. It really is hidden in a trim strip along the edge of the front, though, like some secret compartment.

[soanos]

D'OH!

Oh, well... At least you got it working, and you will be able to just not worry if the thing has a CD-drive or not. :)

It happens, and I wouldn't beat myself up over it.

[altivo]

Oh, I'm not worried about it, I'm just amused. :D