Compaq Smart Array 431

What is the best way to migrate an NT installation from a single SCSI drive booting off the embedded controller in a Proliant 1600 to a RAID 5 array on a Smart Array 431 in the same server? No answers involving bulldozers or leopard tanks, please.

I have updated the server ROM and the RAID card ROM. I have installed the RAID card in NT 4. I can configure an array either with the ROM array utility or the online array utility. Everything works, except that I cannot move the system/boot disk onto the RAID controller and boot to it. The controller is set as the boot controller. The drive is properly configured as an array. I have made an NT boot disk and edited the boot.ini file so that the configuration is correct for adapter, drive and partition information. Nothing seems to work. Ghost does not recognize any volume on the RAID controller -- driver problems no doubt.

Anyway, I seem to be doing something very wrong here.

Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Might want to have a look here. Specifically, look at the SCSI section on how to use the correct driver in your boot disk. You may have to change the arc path to SCSI and place cpqarray.sys (or cpqarray.sys) on the floppy and name it ntbootdd.sys.

Sounds like you've done everything else there is to do...

If you're concerned about your drivers, go here for ProLiant Smart Array 5x Controller Driver for Windows NT 4.0. It is version 4.30.2.32 (12 Feb 03).

Go here for drivers and downloads for NT 4.0.

You might also check out StorageWorks Support. Lots of links there to chase down...

Just a couple of suggestions...let us know how it all ends up. Good Luck!

Hi,

The first problem is that the integrated SCSI controller and the SMART ARRAY 431 see the drives as having different geometries, so when you simple pull the system/boot disk from the integrated controller and install it as a an array on the RAID card there are no partitions.

The second problem is that if you don't install the Compaq system partition on the array, nothing is going to happen ever.

So I have managed to take a drive and install it on the RAID card as an array and then install the Compaq system partition to it. Once this was done Ghost could see the drive on the RAID card so I was able to clone the NT system/boot partition from the original drive on the integrated controller. I could not Ghost the partion onto an array of three drives because the original partition is FAT 16 (Don't ask!).

Now I can create an NT floppy boot disk with NTdetect, NTldr, and boot.ini and boot the system off the RAID controller by using the floppy. However, I cannot boot from the partition itself, even though the boot.ini file is identical to that on the floppy.

What happens in the boot process is that the F10 Compaq partition utilities prompt comes up for its prescribed length of time and then the cursor just sits in the top left corner of the screen and the system goes nowhere no matter how long you wait.

Any ideas?

Nice to see you are moving to RAID.

I could have sworn the 1600 had only 32 bit slots and the 431 was a 64 bit controller?

Why are you using ghost though?

What is the real issue? Restoring the data or the user accounts?

Build a temp BDC to suck in the accounts, backup your shares, backup the data on the server and blow it away. Rebuild the server and promote to PDC to bring back the accounts, restore the shares, restore the data and be done with it. WINS takes secs to redo, DNS is a file you can back up and DHCP is a snap.

Don't monkey with the servers, I have 6 Proliant 1600 that I haven't touched in 2 years now.

My 2 cents, your looking for a headache.

Spyder,

Yes, the 1600 has only 32 bit slots, and yes, the 431 is a 64 bit controller..... but this is what I have to work with. It wouldn't be my first choice for a marriage made in heaven.

The server is not a domain controller. It is a terminal server -- more setup involved, Citrix, applications, etc. Still, it is my feeling that I could have done a clean re-install already, but that is not what the powers-that-be want.

Hi,

The starting point:

NT 4.0 TSE installed on a 4 Gb SCSI drive off of the embedded controller. A single FAT16 partition.

3 more 4 Gb SCSI drives

Two cages

The end point:

Migration to NTFS on an 8 Gb partition on a RAID 5 array off of the 431 Card.

Problems:

Forbidden to do a clean re-install

Not enough free space to convert 4 Gb drive to NTFS

Ghost won't resize the FAT 16 partition beyond current size because it is FAT 16

Not enough memory to resize partion on an array using Partition Magic

Can't move the original drive onto the RAID card because it reads the drive's geometry differently and thus no partition are seen on it.

Etc... Etc,

The solution:

Clone the original drive onto one of the other 4 Gb drives using Ghost by plugging it into the orignal 3 slot double height cage now lying outside the server, thus preserving the original installation as a safety net.

Boot to the clone drive using an NT boot disk (wouldn't boot without the floppy)

Ruthlessly eliminate all surplus files, including many user profiles (better to beg forgiveness....), until there is enough space to convert drive to NTFS -- then convert -- resulting in over 1 Gb of free space

Install all Service Packs and Hot Fixes necessary, along with RAID card drivers and utilities

Create 8 Gb stripe set on the 431 controller using the other 2 4 Gb SCSI drives -- new 5 slot single height cage installed in server

Create Compaq system partition on the stripe set

Clone the NTFS partition from the 4 Gb drive on the embedded controller onto the stripe set, using Ghost, partition to partition, resizing the 4 Gb NTFS partition to 8 Gb

Pull 4 Gb NTFS drive from original cage. Unplug cage from server.

Boot to NT from the stripe set using NT boot floppy (wouldn't boot without the floppy)

Add 4 Gb NTFS drive to 5 slot cage.

Using RAID card utilities, add 4 Gb NTFS drive to the two drive array and migrate the array to RAID 5.

Mysteriously, the boot problem disappears once the array is converted to RAID 5 -- the floppy boot disk is no longer needed.

Original FAT 16 drive retained as either spare drive or quick recovery point in case of either drive failure in the array or massive unrecoverable OS disaster, whichever might come first.

Finished.

Mis-steps and misadventures along the way:

Don't ask. You don't want to know.