Dell Poweredge 840 Setup

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by Denco, Dec 15, 2013.

  1. Denco

    Denco MDL Novice

    Dec 14, 2013
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    #1 Denco, Dec 15, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2013
    Does anyone here know how to go about setting up a Dell Poweredge 840 Server?
    I purchased one off of ebay and there is no startup disk. (well maybe there's not supposed to be)
    But looking at the bay, I suspect that there is supposed to be a caddy in there, but it seems to be missing.

    Here's the Specs.

    1x Intel Core 2 Dual Core 2.20ghz CPU
    4x 1gb DDR2 ECC Memory
    2x 750gb SATA 3.5" Hard Drives
    SAS5 RAID Controller
    DVD-Rom/CD+/-RW Optical Drive
    1x Onboard Gigabit Ethernet
    16mb Onboard Video (VGA)

    I keep trying to install Windows Home Server 2011 but it fails.
    I can't seem to find the setup guide for installing an OS on the server.
    I'm completely lost on this. If anyone could point me in the right direction it would truly be appreciated
     
  2. Mutagen

    Mutagen MDL Addicted

    Feb 18, 2013
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  3. Denco

    Denco MDL Novice

    Dec 14, 2013
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    #3 Denco, Dec 15, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2013
    (OP)
    Mutagen,

    Ok, I managed to get Windows 2008 server foundation installed. But what's confusing me now is a couple of things.

    1st both Hard drives are not showing up in the device mgr. 2nd, the hard drive that does show up is called "Dell Virtual Disk". That's all I have for now.

    As for the setup Guide are you referring to : poweredge-840_Setup Guide_en-us?

    Also, Please keep in mind that this server was manufactured in 2006. So, Of course the manual would say Windows 2003. I believe it's capable of running a newer OS than that.
     
  4. Mutagen

    Mutagen MDL Addicted

    Feb 18, 2013
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    #4 Mutagen, Dec 15, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2013
    I apologize, what was I thinking? I have two laptops that came with Vista installed and they run Windows 8 just fine, so it certainly is feasible that the Poweredge could support a newer OS.

    Not sure what the "Dell Virtual Disk" is, but it seems to be something similar to a virtual CD/DVD.

    As for both hard drives not appearing, that could be because of the raid controller being configured for "raid 1". I would check the raid controller configuration and see if it matches what you thought it was. Generally speaking, you should see a message at power up stating what keys to press to configure the raid setup.
     
  5. Denco

    Denco MDL Novice

    Dec 14, 2013
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    So, I'm guessing that it is setup for Raid 1. And if so, That would explain why I'm only seeing one disk in the device
    manager. So the question is "How do I break the raid?" I see something at start up called SAS Setup but I not sure if that has anything to do the with the raid. Going into the BIOS seems to be long and treacherous as there are 2 options at start up. 1 being "Setup" the other is "Utility Set up" it's probably in there. But like I said, I'm a newbie, so it's going to be all trial and error.
     
  6. Mutagen

    Mutagen MDL Addicted

    Feb 18, 2013
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    Seeing as how your Poweredge has a SAS5 raid controller, I'm certain the "SAS Setup" is the raid configuration utility. You can enter it and "look around" without making any changes. I'll assume the "5" means it handles raid configurations from 0 thru 5. There are a ton of places to learn about the various raid configurations. However, you may not care for any raid to begin with. If that is the case, enter the SAS Setup and delete the existing configuration. That should allow both 750GB drives to appear as two independent drives in Windows.

    Keep in mind that, for the most part, breaking or making a new raid set means losing all your data and starting over. So make sure you have all of your "software treasures" backed up on other drives/DVD's, etc.
     
  7. Denco

    Denco MDL Novice

    Dec 14, 2013
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    Mutagen,
    Thanks for the Info. I completely forgot about the implications of breaking the Raid. Never the less, It has to be done. At this point in time I have no use for it. There is no data on this box as it stands right now, so that isn't a problem. One thing that keeps bugging me though is that there is a IDE cable/channel inside this box. But, looking at the chassis, I can't imagine how one would mount a drive in the cage. There must be a caddy or drive sled that goes in that spot. My guess is that the previous owner just pulled out the Hard drive along with the caddy. Hmmm ... more detective work.