How do I partition hard drive on a new Dell T310 powerEdge server with no O/S
We ordered it with no OS. It has PERC H200 Raid controller with dual 450GB 15K RPM SA SCSI 6Gbps 3.5in Hotplug Hard Drive. I am installing Windows SBS 2011 Standard and want to partition the drive into 2 partitiions - one for the OS and application info and the other for data.
Dell sends a Systems Management Tools and Documentation CD that is supposed to help me to partition the drive but I cannot find where to do this.
Actually, I have tun the Dell Utilities multiple times - trying to install SBS 2003 R1 - and know that the partitioning came up before but now it does not.
Can anyone help me?
Dell sends a Systems Management Tools and Documentation CD that is supposed to help me to partition the drive but I cannot find where to do this.
Actually, I have tun the Dell Utilities multiple times - trying to install SBS 2003 R1 - and know that the partitioning came up before but now it does not.
Can anyone help me?
If the partitioning option is not available then it might be because teh RAID array has not been created. On boot look for the key to press to enter the PERC raid controller setup and check that the RAID array has been created and initialised. If in doubt try to delete anything there and set up as a new RAID 1 (if you want redundancy) or RAID 0 (If you want more drive space and like to risk data loss if a hard drive dies :).
If the RAID array is working then it should have been visible in the Dell utility. Failing that a partition tool like the one zazagor suggested or GParted (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php) should enable you to create partitions.
If the RAID array is working then it should have been visible in the Dell utility. Failing that a partition tool like the one zazagor suggested or GParted (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php) should enable you to create partitions.
If all fails you can install the server, then go to manage, and shrink the volume and then create a new partition from there. This will not be a problem if there is no raid setup on the drives if there is then, do not do it.
ASKER
There is a Raid setup on the server
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You can ignore zaza's post.
There is no harm (even on a RAID array) with shrinking the partition after installation. This is a feature built in to Windows 2008 and later. You should, however, be prompted to specify the size of the system/boot/C: drive during the OpenManage setup.
You can set up RAID one of two ways:
1. You can create the RAID array during the OpenManage Setup, regardless of any previous configuration.
2. You can create RAID and Initialize in CTRL-R during POST, then skip the RAID set up in the OpenManage utility.
There is no harm (even on a RAID array) with shrinking the partition after installation. This is a feature built in to Windows 2008 and later. You should, however, be prompted to specify the size of the system/boot/C: drive during the OpenManage setup.
You can set up RAID one of two ways:
1. You can create the RAID array during the OpenManage Setup, regardless of any previous configuration.
2. You can create RAID and Initialize in CTRL-R during POST, then skip the RAID set up in the OpenManage utility.
ASKER
During the installation of MS SBS 2011 with USB drive - there is a prompt for the partition to use. At that spot, I was able to click NEW - create a partition of the size I needed - and format the partition.
Thanks to all of you for the help.
Thanks to all of you for the help.
Partition it with another tool, like HIREN (hiren boot cd with tools).
//zaZagor