Add a RAID Controller to Dell PE 1600
Hello,
I am wanting to add additional storage to a Dell PE 1600 SC. I believe I can add an additional RAID controller and be fine. However, I attempted this about a month ago and had a heck of a time. I had a failing HD (1 of 2) on the existing RAID 1, which I am pretty sure contributed to my woes in attempting the new RAID controller install. This server is a secondary DC running at a remote site. It is running Windows Server 2003. I was able to boot into the new RAID controller's BIOS and set the parameters on the first boot after physical installation of the card and HD's. However, when I booted into the OS, the server crashed and AD was corrupted. After working on the server for an hour or so, I replaced the failed HD in the existing RAID with one of the ones I was going to use for the new RAID. I removed the new RAID controller card and she booted, rebuilt the existing RAID and everything has been fine since. However, I am needing to attempt this install again as the server is in desperate need of storage space. Does anyone know of the exact procedure needed to keep from having problems with this install? I believe I have the right hardware for the install and am aware of the boot sequence that needs to be addressed in the BIOS settings after the hardware is installed and configured. Is there anything else that might make this task easy-peasy with no issues?
Thanks,
Cheese
I am wanting to add additional storage to a Dell PE 1600 SC. I believe I can add an additional RAID controller and be fine. However, I attempted this about a month ago and had a heck of a time. I had a failing HD (1 of 2) on the existing RAID 1, which I am pretty sure contributed to my woes in attempting the new RAID controller install. This server is a secondary DC running at a remote site. It is running Windows Server 2003. I was able to boot into the new RAID controller's BIOS and set the parameters on the first boot after physical installation of the card and HD's. However, when I booted into the OS, the server crashed and AD was corrupted. After working on the server for an hour or so, I replaced the failed HD in the existing RAID with one of the ones I was going to use for the new RAID. I removed the new RAID controller card and she booted, rebuilt the existing RAID and everything has been fine since. However, I am needing to attempt this install again as the server is in desperate need of storage space. Does anyone know of the exact procedure needed to keep from having problems with this install? I believe I have the right hardware for the install and am aware of the boot sequence that needs to be addressed in the BIOS settings after the hardware is installed and configured. Is there anything else that might make this task easy-peasy with no issues?
Thanks,
Cheese
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ASKER
Right on man. I'll give that a shot in the next few days. Sounds pretty straight forward to me. I'm then going to move about 300 gigs of data to the new drive using robocopy. Any suggestions on that piece?
Thanks,
Cheese
Thanks,
Cheese
I'm then going to move about 300 gigs of data to the new drive using robocopy. Any suggestions on that piece?Yep, Robocopy would be the way to go. What I normally do when copying over large amounts of data using Robocopy is to create a batch file with the relevant robocopy commands and add in the /L switch, then run the batch file manually.
If the list that gets generated from the /L switch shows that it will copy over the correct files/folders then I create a scheduled task to schedule the copy after-hours.
ASKER
Okay, sounds like a plan. What happened to the Dell PowerEdge expert? I was hoping to get his 2 cents on this one. Sounds pretty straight forward though. I'll give this a shot this weekend. I'll report back if I live through it.
Thanks,
Mike
Thanks,
Mike
ASKER
Thank you.
Not a problem, glad I could help.
Hope this helps