IDR Restore problem with Win 2003 SBS - Setup does not find HDD's

[Keith_Langmead]

We've got a new Dell PowerEdge 2900 on which we've installed Windows 2003 SBS Premium Edition, and Backup Exec 10d, and I'm trying to ensure that I can get IDR working before we finish setting it all up (eg while I can still happily trash it and start again).

I've gone through the instructions within the Administrators Guide, have done a full successful backup of the entire system, run the IDR Prep Wizard to create the bootable CD image ISO, selected the option to include the ASR files within the ISO image, and then burnt the ISO to a CD (on another computer as the server doesn't have a CD-R in it.

When I boot the server with the CD inserted, it goes through and starts the IDR process, and I press F2 to enter the Automated System Recovery (ASR) mode, and it proceeds to load the various drivers etc, then after a while it comes up with the following error :

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Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer.

Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program.
---

I then just get the option to press F3 to restart.

I've tried running the IDR process with pressing the F6 key as well as F2, but that fails to identify any devices and prompts me to insert a manufacturer supplied driver disk, however the server doesn't come with any.

The server has three SAS Disks running in a hardware RAID-5 config through a Perc RAID controller, and was supplied as a bare bones server, which was simply detected as having one big disk by the SBS installation without needing any driver disks or anything.

The SBS OS didn't come on a SP1 integrated CD so it can't be http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/283367.htm

I've been through http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/284394.htm to no avail.

Has anyone else seen this or have a suggestion for where I'm gone wrong?

OS is now SP1 with all the latest patches, BEWS has the latest service pack installed.

Thanks
Keith

[padmaja_rajopad]

Hi,

If you did press F6 when the OS installation part started, did you get a chance to install the RAID drivers during the later part of the recovery.

The RAID drivers are not installed automatically but should be saved on a floppy and should be manually installed when prompted to..

Regards
Padmaja

[Keith_Langmead]

Yes, looks like you were right, I downloaded the RAID device drivers and put them on a floppy, and it was able to see the RAID disk, and proceed. Don't understand why the IDR install needed the drivers, when the normal Windows install didn't (the system started off as a bare bones machine), but at least that part of it works.

Problem number 2 however...

I get through to the Windows installation part where it detects the tape drive, and it comes up saying that it can't find a device capable of restoring the data. I tried downloading the drivers for this and adding them to the floppy disk, then starting again in the hope that I could install those drivers as well after the F6 part of the installation, but there is no option to do so at that point. I can't see any point where there is an option to install the tape drivers, it seems like it just expects to recognise it and proceed. I'm fairly sure when we setup the system initially we chose to use the Symantec device drivers, but it looks as if the IDR setup doesn't include them, or isn't installing them or something.

Can anyone suggest where I'm going wrong? Even if it's a case of I've missed out a step in the preparation and need to just re-setup windows etc, and start again from scratch doing the preparation phase of the IDR setup differently (the server doesn't have anything important on it yet, so I can just nuke it and start again if required).

Thanks
Keith