Windows Home Server 2011

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BinaryLimited

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#132264 15-Oct-2013 10:27

Morning All

Have been trying to install windows home server 2011 for the past 2 days now...at a point of just dumping the pc in the middle of the motorway or off a big cliff!

Process :

Disconnect all addon hardware ( graphics cards etc etc etc )
Boot from usb --- Fine
Plugged in network cable
Select New Installation --- Fine
Then asks me to install drivers...so i download all the drivers for my motherboard onto usb.
I take it that its looking for the onboard nic drivers....so browse...find....drivers are not compatible!!

error : No new devices could be found. Make sure the Driver files are correct and located on the driver installation media.. BLAH!

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#915269 15-Oct-2013 10:35

What brand NIC is it? (Realtek ones can be a serious PITA)

How is the OS drive connected?

What motherboard is it?

timbosan

2161 posts

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#915271 15-Oct-2013 10:38

If you can I seriously suggest a decent NIC such as an Intel one - they are compatible out of the box.

Are you installing from USB or DVD?

BinaryLimited

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#915277 15-Oct-2013 10:43

yeah big PITA!
driving me mental!

AndrewNZ : gigabyte ga-990fxa-ud3 , connected with sata drives.

timbosan : yeah you would think it would be out of the box. its an onboard realtek i think. Got all the drivers but no luck. Installing it via usb as i don't have a cd/dvdrom on the machine yet.

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andrewNZ

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#915285 15-Oct-2013 10:55

Assuming it is the NIC that's causing this. Using an Intel NIC instead WILL solve this.

Other than that, you need to find the correct drivers, which can be a real challenge. As I understand it, the card needs to be detected as "Realtek Gigabit family network adapter" or similar.

BinaryLimited

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#915287 15-Oct-2013 10:59

andrewNZ: Assuming it is the NIC that's causing this. Using an Intel NIC instead WILL solve this.

Other than that, you need to find the correct drivers, which can be a real challenge. As I understand it, the card needs to be detected as "Realtek Gigabit family network adapter" or similar.

dont have an intel one lying around.... i do however have a TP LINK .downloaded the drivers and same errors...
the nic is on the motherboard....cant take it out...
how can i confirm that its the nic drivers that its looking for? there's no indication as to what drivers are missing?

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shanes

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#915293 15-Oct-2013 11:10

Where are you getting the drivers ?

I think WHS2011 is based on Win Server 2008R2, which don't appear to be on the Gigabyte site.

BinaryLimited

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#915295 15-Oct-2013 11:15

shanes:
Where are you getting the drivers ?

I think WHS2011 is based on Win Server 2008R2, which don't appear to be on the Gigabyte site.

Gigabyte site and Realtek : Windows 7 Drivers would work ( mentioned on the gigabyte site )

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Sharesies

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Inphinity

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#915297 15-Oct-2013 11:29

WHS2011 can use drivers for Server 2008 R2 (preferred), or Win7 64-bit. At which point is it asking for drivers? Is it prompting you first for which drive/partition to install on? if not, I would assume SATA controller drivers it is after.

BinaryLimited

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#915305 15-Oct-2013 11:38

Inphinity: WHS2011 can use drivers for Server 2008 R2 (preferred), or Win7 64-bit. At which point is it asking for drivers? Is it prompting you first for which drive/partition to install on? if not, I would assume SATA controller drivers it is after.

Apparently its requires a cd/dvd rom drive.....blah!!!!!
iv put in the dvd/bluray drive but still get asked for drivers.... iv hada look at the LG site...http://www.lg.com/us/support-product/lg-BH14NS40

and no such drivers exist? this cant be normal?

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Klathman

301 posts

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#915314 15-Oct-2013 11:59

Been through that one before with an Intel motherboard which was desktop class and therefore didn't have Windows Server drivers. In the end I had to resort to modifying the driver INF so that it thought that the driver was supported on Windows server.

andrewNZ

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#915316 15-Oct-2013 12:01

I didn't think an optical drive was a requirement. it's common for people to install of USB, especially on the likes of the OEM WHSv1 boxes that don't have optical drives.

This page may prove helpfull http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/install-configure-2.aspx

The troubleshooting section states you may need to install storage controller drivers. It also says, if you don't have the correct NIC drivers, you won't have network connectivity after installation. That suggests the NIC drivers aren't actually the issue.

CYaBro

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#915320 15-Oct-2013 12:09

You sure it's not wanting drivers for the SATA ports?

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

BinaryLimited

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#915321 15-Oct-2013 12:11

CYaBro: You sure it's not wanting drivers for the SATA ports?

iv gone through every single driver from my motherboard....gunna try them all again

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BinaryLimited

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#915323 15-Oct-2013 12:17

andrewNZ: I didn't think an optical drive was a requirement. it's common for people to install of USB, especially on the likes of the OEM WHSv1 boxes that don't have optical drives.

This page may prove helpfull http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/install-configure-2.aspx

The troubleshooting section states you may need to install storage controller drivers. It also says, if you don't have the correct NIC drivers, you won't have network connectivity after installation. That suggests the NIC drivers aren't actually the issue.

you are right...apparently microsoft believes a cd/dvd drive is anything.

actual error : a required cd/dvd drive device driver is missing. If you have an driver floppy disk, cd, DVD, or USB flash drive . please insert it now...

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BinaryLimited

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#915329 15-Oct-2013 12:26

ok something new....
the only driver that installed was the usb 3.0.... once the driver installs it moves to the next screen and get an awesome "installation failed, please reboot " message

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