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Netware 6.5 Installation problems

Hello,

I just tried to install Netware 6.5 onto a new AMD box. The installation seemed to work fine (Once I found the correct NIC driver). Once I got to the last step it required a reboot. Now, the server crashes on startup. It loads DR-DOS, tries to run server.exe and hangs. Any kepress causes a reboot.

I assume that this might be a driver issue. My AMD box is as follows:
ASROCK XP DELUXE MOTHERBOARD, SIS CHIPSET
AMD ATHLON XP 2400 SEMPRON, 512MB RAM
128MB VIDEO 256E 3D CHIPSET GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR

Do you have any ideas on how to get around this problem? If I need to install drivers for the motherboard or video card how the heck to I do this? Is there an option to change them during install?

Also, I bought the 6.5 Small Business Version of Netware and the install disks don't come with the service packs. Do you think this is a service pack issue?

Well, the last question is: A Novell support person suggested that I run server.exe with some additional switches. Since my server is set to automatically boot how do I stop this so that I can try out the switches.

Thanks in advance,

John

ShineOn

Are you using a NetWare 6.5 Overlay CD, or is it a retail CD? You should use the Overlay CD. The ISO can be downloaded from Novell at http://support.novell.com/filefinder/18197/index.html.

You should at least use the SP2 overlay images. I see that SP3 has been released, but I haven't heard much about it. If you feel a tad adventurous, download the SP3 overlay CD images.

jhieb

ASKER

Hi ShineOn,

Thanks for the info. Since I am using the Small Business Version can I use the same Overlay CD or do I need a spayshul version?

Thanks,
John

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ShineOn

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jhieb

ASKER

Thanks again. I would still like to know if there is a way to load video and motherboard drivers during installation. Is this possible or are we dependant on Novell to decide which drivers to use?

jhieb

ASKER

BTW: Do you have the links for the latest Client32 and GroupWise patches, too? They came with the SBS version. From what I am learning about Novell, you should upgrade everything at the same time.

Thanks again,
John

Bud Durland

Your server will be starved for RAM. 1GB is the realistic starting point for NW6.5, especially if you are loading services like iFolder, apache, MySQL, DNS/DHCP, etc.

I saw this type of behavior once with a workstation that had been pressed into services as a temporary NW6.0 server. The machine was using a USB keyboard. Switching to a standard PS/2 keyboard fixed it..

What type/size hard drives are in the box? If SATA, do you have NetWare specific drivers for the controller? If IDE, there were some problems with the out-of-box IDE drivers that will be corrected if you install from an overlay CD.

ShineOn

To change the boot process, you need to get to a DOS prompt so you can enter the SERVER.EXE command yourself. The best way to do this is to edit autoexec.bat and comment out the line that executes SERVER.EXE. That way, it will boot to a DOS prompt and will have the appropriate config.sys values set. Then you can enter "SERVER -NA" to prevent the autoexec.ncf from running, or SERVER-NS to prevent the STARTUP.NCF from running, if you want to do a loadstage diagnostic startup, or even enter "SERVER -NL" to prevent the splash screen from hiding any of the startup activity. I believe if you do a search of this TA's previously answered questions, you'll find a pretty good tutorial on how to do startup diagnostics, including a loadstage startup.

BudDurland has a very good point about the USB keyboard, especially with an unpatched install set. ACPI can cause startup problems too, if the driver isn't compatible with the chipset.

To get the latest patches for any Novell product, go to the filefinder on the support site. http://support.novell.com/filefinder/