RogerDodger Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Hi everyone, I plan to re-purpose my HP Microserver Gen8 and really like the sound of unRAID. Unfortunately my server is a long way away from my physical location and I will not be anywhere near it for a while. Is it possible for me to do this without physical access somehow? It is currently configured with ESXi 6.0 which boots from an internal USB drive. I guess I can't use the unRAID USB flash creator app on a Windows guest VM. I have full iLO & remote console access to the server so can see the console at all times and make storage configuration changes etc. Any thoughts on the best way to achieve this, if it is even possible? Thanks! Quote Link to comment
JonathanM Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Can you back up and restore the boot USB using remote access? Quote Link to comment
RogerDodger Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 I've booted into some bootable ISO images and I can see the USB drive yes. The issue (I guess) is that I have to run the USB creator or at least the "make bootable" file from a Windows OS. I'm looking to see whether I can boot into Windows PE perhaps and run it from there. Failing that I suppose I could try installing Windows 10 directly on the server and do it from there. Quote Link to comment
RogerDodger Posted April 16, 2020 Author Share Posted April 16, 2020 Just by way of an update on how I solved this: I installed Windows 10 directly on the Server via iLO / mounted ISO and once installed I used the USB flash creator which correctly detected the internal flash drive. I'm now running the trial version of unRAID. So far so good! Quote Link to comment
JonathanM Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 7 hours ago, RogerDodger said: Just by way of an update on how I solved this: I installed Windows 10 directly on the Server via iLO / mounted ISO and once installed I used the USB flash creator which correctly detected the internal flash drive. I'm now running the trial version of unRAID. So far so good! Awesome! I was hesitant to coach further, as the possibility of remote bricking and the subsequent blame was not insignificant. I figured if you were savvy enough to get yourself into it, you could get yourself out if needed. I believe there are a few gotcha's with HP equipment, but as I don't run any I'm not personally familiar. I recommend searching the forums for other people using those HP microservers to get ahead of any possible issues. 1 Quote Link to comment
int0ku Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 I just stepped into the same boots. The best solution on this one would be an ISO version of Unraid, that could be mounted through iLO remotely, and everything else is straightforward, if you have iLO advanced. You boot from it, follow the instructions, and you're done. But unfortunately we have only the zip and the USB creator app on the download section of the site. I tried creating an ISO version of my usb (created with the USB creator) with ImgBurn. No luck. Since I have no physical access to the server, this would be easy way. Quote Link to comment
JonathanM Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 45 minutes ago, int0ku said: I just stepped into the same boots. The best solution on this one would be an ISO version of Unraid, that could be mounted through iLO remotely, and everything else is straightforward, if you have iLO advanced. You boot from it, follow the instructions, and you're done. But unfortunately we have only the zip and the USB creator app on the download section of the site. I tried creating an ISO version of my usb (created with the USB creator) with ImgBurn. No luck. Since I have no physical access to the server, this would be easy way. Yes, but Unraid uses the flash for licensing and configuration changes. It must be present at all times in the server. The Unraid USB is not an installation that installs the OS onto internal media, it IS the OS, and it loads into RAM to run each time the server is rebooted. Quote Link to comment
int0ku Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Yes, I figured it out. I just got an old hpe microserver gen 8 brought back to life on the top of the fridge, lol. (Yea, now I can put the flashdrive in. Actually I created an SD, it's in the internal slot, on the mobo.) And I figured out a lot of things. Got my unRAID running, and I absolutely love it. Cheers! Quote Link to comment
JonathanM Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 31 minutes ago, int0ku said: Actually I created an SD, it's in the internal slot, on the mobo That will make moving your Unraid license to a new machine problematic, as the GUID will be of the reader, not the media. There is a reason a USB stick is required. Quote Link to comment
int0ku Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Good tip! It has an internal USB port, too. Quote Link to comment
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