Cannot install W2003 on SCSI disk

[MichaelD]

I'm stumped. I'm trying to install Server 2003 on a 18GB Fujitsu SCSI drive, which is on a LSIU160 HBA.

LSI's site only has drivers for this card up to W2K. I put them on a floppy, just in case.

Windows preinstall starts, I hit F6 to load the driver. It reads the disc and says "The driver you are trying to load is OLDER then the driver Windows has for your system."

So, I use the windows driver. Windows SEES THE DRIVE, but instead of saying "Unformatted Space" it says "New Partition - RAW".

I tried deleting the partition but it keeps coming back. Windows setup says "This is not a Windows compatible partition."

The drive was working fine as my system drive a few months ago. It had WinXP on it.

Any ideas?

 

[sunase]

Why not try partitioning and formating it ahead of time?

 

[mechBgon]

Try not pressing F6. You might also try a low-level format in the LSI's own BIOS but make sure you have enough snacks... it'll take a while

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks guys. I'll do try the no press F6 first.

To format it...would be a bitch PITA.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Thanks guys. I'll do try the no press F6 first.

To format it...would be a bitch PITA.

Tried that. Same problem.

Possibly it's something with the controller? It's a LSI Logic U160 (Mech, you know this card well!) but Windows calls it a "SymBios SCSI 3 controller."

 

[mechBgon]

I've even installed WinServer2003 trial version on an LSI Logic U160 with my crummy Quantum Atlas 10k, actually. It was a while ago, so all I recall for sure is that it had native drivers and didn't kick up a fuss.

In your LSI's BIOS, is it set to boot from the SCSI ID that the drive's using? I'd expect it to pick its only drive as the boot drive automagically (mine does), but never hurts to nose around in there for clues.

Fujitsu MAS... hmm... you know, you might want to just send the drive to me for some testing. It'll only take two years, three at the very worst :evil:

 

[Steve]

The LSI U160 card uses the Symbios SCSI-3 chip. See, years ago there was NCR, who became Symbios, who became LSI.

Is it possible you could put the card and drive in another system, or just the drive in another SCSI system, and make partitions and format them in Windows' Disk Management?

 

[MichaelD]

Thank you. I need to nose around in the controller's bios, as I DID go in there and reset everything to factory default. Kind of like "clearing the CMOS" on a mobo before a fresh install, in my mind.

It's got to be something I DID b/c the drive and the HBA were working just freakin' fine before.

 

[sharkeeper]

2003 will *not* work with native drivers on E1600 HBA. Not sure about non intelligent HBA. It should work though. I've installed XP on them and it works.

Probably a default policy that's preventing the MS driver from hooking properly. You may have to do some SIF editing!

Cheers!

 

[MichaelD]

Well, after fiddling and fiddling...and a few choice words thrown about....I gave up.

I installed 2003 Server on an IDE partition, went into Disk Management, formatted the SCSI in NTFS, rebooted, formatted the SCSI AGAIN in NTFS ( I like to be thorough!) and installed the OS onto the SCSI drive. It's working great now. It's freaking FAST on just a single drive.

Granted, I have not made it a DC yet, installed DNS, IIS, etc. But so far, so good!!!

Thanks for the help. I have no idea if a "fix" for my original problem is even possible.

That's what I get for trying to install an Enterprise-level OS on a Home Enthusiast HBA.

 

[n0cmonkey]

That sounds like a "fix" to me.

Win2k3 is working fine on an IDE disk for me.