Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

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What is the best way to dual-boot...

Katherine Moss

11 Nov 2013 11 Nov '13

8:34 p.m.

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

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Katherine Moss

11 Nov 11 Nov

8:35 p.m.

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

8:35 p.m.

Andrew Hodgson

11:35 p.m.

Hi, I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on. When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is: - Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot. When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu. Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings. Hope this helps. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Andrew Hodgson

11:35 p.m.

Katherine Moss

12 Nov 12 Nov

1:25 a.m.

Thanks. The video isn't blank, it's just horribly dim because the lighting, frankly, sucks in here. I kind of figured that out, though on this model, F12 gets you into the options menu; seemingly F2 is system setup, F10 is system Services, F11 is the bios boot manager, but F12 gets you into those options to begin with, like you said. When I press F11, everything comes up but USB, so I'm wondering if it's not available since I didn't enable it in the Bios as suggested before? Or, I read something on the internet that if you select boot from the hard drive, though there are a ton of hard drives connected via USB to this server, you can right arrow and then there is another set of options, and USB is in there? What was that article talking about? -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Hodgson Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 6:35 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi, I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on. When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is: - Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot. When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu. Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings. Hope this helps. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

1:25 a.m.

John G. Heim

2:42 p.m.

Wow, I had no idea you had all these options. I'll have to try try F11 to PXE boot. That could come in handy. But I do know that you can just about lean on the F12 key to get the boot menu. Timing is not important. Some machines will beep when you've pressed the F12 key enough times and the boot menu is there, some won't. It does not depend entirely on whether the machine has a PC speaker. But I just keep pressing the F12 key over and over until I am pretty sure the boot menu is there. After a while, you get to know how long that is for different machines. Also handy is a light sensor. You can tell if the Dell logo is on the screen by putting a light sensore right on the monitor almost exactly in the middle and moving it around a little as the machine boots. At some point, you'll find a bright spot in the middle of the screen and then it will disappear. At that point, if you've been pressing the F12 key again and again, you should be in the boot menu. If it stays bright, you have done something wrong and you are probably either booting or you are in the BIOS setup program. Once you get into the boot menu, you can press the arrow keys to move to different boot options. Often, I press the down arrow once and see what happens. Maybe it will try to boot from the CD-ROM drive. If that's not what I want, I press Control+Alt+Delete to start over and try pressing the down arrow twice. Then try pressing the down arrow 3 times. This way, you can determined. determine how the boot sequence is configured in the BIOS. On 11/11/13 17:35, Andrew Hodgson wrote:

...

Hi,

I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on.

When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is:

- Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot.

When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu

You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu.

Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

Katherine Moss

4:47 p.m.

But what we don't want to do is to change the boot sequence permanently, hence using the F12 key. I'm only going to enable USb booting in the BIOS, not make it boot off there automatically; that's a pain in the butt once you're done with whatever you need to do. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 9:43 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Wow, I had no idea you had all these options. I'll have to try try F11 to PXE boot. That could come in handy. But I do know that you can just about lean on the F12 key to get the boot menu. Timing is not important. Some machines will beep when you've pressed the F12 key enough times and the boot menu is there, some won't. It does not depend entirely on whether the machine has a PC speaker. But I just keep pressing the F12 key over and over until I am pretty sure the boot menu is there. After a while, you get to know how long that is for different machines. Also handy is a light sensor. You can tell if the Dell logo is on the screen by putting a light sensore right on the monitor almost exactly in the middle and moving it around a little as the machine boots. At some point, you'll find a bright spot in the middle of the screen and then it will disappear. At that point, if you've been pressing the F12 key again and again, you should be in the boot menu. If it stays bright, you have done something wrong and you are probably either booting or you are in the BIOS setup program. Once you get into the boot menu, you can press the arrow keys to move to different boot options. Often, I press the down arrow once and see what happens. Maybe it will try to boot from the CD-ROM drive. If that's not what I want, I press Control+Alt+Delete to start over and try pressing the down arrow twice. Then try pressing the down arrow 3 times. This way, you can determined. determine how the boot sequence is configured in the BIOS. On 11/11/13 17:35, Andrew Hodgson wrote:

...

Hi,

I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on.

When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is:

- Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot.

When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu

You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu.

Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

John G. Heim

5:30 p.m.

In the BIOS, you can set both the enabled or disabled status for a particular media type and it's order in the boot sequence. So you can have USB stick after hard disk in the boot sequence and it won't boot from the thumb drive unless it doesn't find an operating system on the hard disk or unless you press F12 and then select USB drive from the boot menu. On 11/12/13 10:47, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

But what we don't want to do is to change the boot sequence permanently, hence using the F12 key. I'm only going to enable USb booting in the BIOS, not make it boot off there automatically; that's a pain in the butt once you're done with whatever you need to do.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 9:43 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Wow, I had no idea you had all these options. I'll have to try try F11 to PXE boot. That could come in handy. But I do know that you can just about lean on the F12 key to get the boot menu. Timing is not important. Some machines will beep when you've pressed the F12 key enough times and the boot menu is there, some won't. It does not depend entirely on whether the machine has a PC speaker. But I just keep pressing the F12 key over and over until I am pretty sure the boot menu is there. After a while, you get to know how long that is for different machines.

Also handy is a light sensor. You can tell if the Dell logo is on the screen by putting a light sensore right on the monitor almost exactly in the middle and moving it around a little as the machine boots. At some point, you'll find a bright spot in the middle of the screen and then it will disappear. At that point, if you've been pressing the F12 key again and again, you should be in the boot menu. If it stays bright, you have done something wrong and you are probably either booting or you are in the BIOS setup program.

Once you get into the boot menu, you can press the arrow keys to move to different boot options. Often, I press the down arrow once and see what happens. Maybe it will try to boot from the CD-ROM drive. If that's not what I want, I press Control+Alt+Delete to start over and try pressing the down arrow twice. Then try pressing the down arrow 3 times. This way, you can determined. determine how the boot sequence is configured in the BIOS.

On 11/11/13 17:35, Andrew Hodgson wrote:

...
Hi,

I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on.

When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is:

- Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot.

When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu

You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu.

Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

Andrew Hodgson

6:31 p.m.

Hi, Ok guys. Let's calm down. I was using one of these this morning and I suddenly realised, the boot menu is F11, PXE boot is F12. So you need to use F11 not F12. This was on a Poweredge R410, but it should be the same for the others. Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 12 November 2013 16:48 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? But what we don't want to do is to change the boot sequence permanently, hence using the F12 key. I'm only going to enable USb booting in the BIOS, not make it boot off there automatically; that's a pain in the butt once you're done with whatever you need to do. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 9:43 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Wow, I had no idea you had all these options. I'll have to try try F11 to PXE boot. That could come in handy. But I do know that you can just about lean on the F12 key to get the boot menu. Timing is not important. Some machines will beep when you've pressed the F12 key enough times and the boot menu is there, some won't. It does not depend entirely on whether the machine has a PC speaker. But I just keep pressing the F12 key over and over until I am pretty sure the boot menu is there. After a while, you get to know how long that is for different machines. Also handy is a light sensor. You can tell if the Dell logo is on the screen by putting a light sensore right on the monitor almost exactly in the middle and moving it around a little as the machine boots. At some point, you'll find a bright spot in the middle of the screen and then it will disappear. At that point, if you've been pressing the F12 key again and again, you should be in the boot menu. If it stays bright, you have done something wrong and you are probably either booting or you are in the BIOS setup program. Once you get into the boot menu, you can press the arrow keys to move to different boot options. Often, I press the down arrow once and see what happens. Maybe it will try to boot from the CD-ROM drive. If that's not what I want, I press Control+Alt+Delete to start over and try pressing the down arrow twice. Then try pressing the down arrow 3 times. This way, you can determined. determine how the boot sequence is configured in the BIOS. On 11/11/13 17:35, Andrew Hodgson wrote:

...

Hi,

I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on.

When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is:

- Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot.

When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu

You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu.

Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Andrew Hodgson

6:31 p.m.

...

Hi,

I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on.

When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is:

- Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot.

When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu

You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu.

Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

4:47 p.m.

...

Hi,

I am very familiar with these types of servers, unfortunately the Youtube video is blank so I can't see what is going on.

When you unplugged the drive the system was still in POST, it doesn't actually try and boot until after the remote access card has initialised. The sequence for all this is:

- Memory test - BIOS screen with Dell logo. - CPU and RAM information. - On some servers the SATA port status are displayed, this is what I think your friend was referring to. - NIC firmware initialisation. - RAID controller or disk initialisation - IDRAC/remote access card initialisation. - It then tries to boot.

When you get the Dell logo on the screen, in top right hand corner there is a BIOS function key map. This is something like: F2: BIOS setup F10: System Services (Dell's answer to SmartStart) F11: PXE boot F12: boot menu

You need to press the options when they come up after the Dell logo, once you press F12, the option changes to show you are entering the relevant option, you wait around 20-30 seconds after starting the machine up, and press F12 then, it will then go into boot menu.

Some other key combinations are: Ctrl+s at NIC initialisation: configure some NIC specific options. Ctrl+R at RAID initialisation: configure the RAID controller, get RAIDs configured etc. Ctrl+E at IDRAC initialisation: configure DRAC settings.

Hope this helps.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: 11 November 2013 20:36 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Oops. My YouTube channel is: http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Greg B.

11 Nov 11 Nov

8:44 p.m.

Katherin, I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed. Greg B. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Ben Mustill-Rose

12 Nov 12 Nov

6:16 p.m.

Hi, I have absolutely 0 poweredge experience, but unless I'm missing something completely obvious, would it not be a good idea to burn the installer to a DVD and attempt to boot from that instead? I know that it doesn't really solve the booting from USB problem, but it's surely better than waiting the best part of a day for help from people on the internet. Hope you get it sorted regardless. Cheers, Ben. On 11/11/13, Greg B. wrote:

...

Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

6:26 p.m.

I hate using DVDs with a passion; I won't use them. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 1:17 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi, I have absolutely 0 poweredge experience, but unless I'm missing something completely obvious, would it not be a good idea to burn the installer to a DVD and attempt to boot from that instead? I know that it doesn't really solve the booting from USB problem, but it's surely better than waiting the best part of a day for help from people on the internet. Hope you get it sorted regardless. Cheers, Ben. On 11/11/13, Greg B. wrote:

...

Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Jackie McBride

6:31 p.m.

Does it have a floppy drive? On 11/12/13, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I hate using DVDs with a passion; I won't use them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 1:17 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi,

I have absolutely 0 poweredge experience, but unless I'm missing something completely obvious, would it not be a good idea to burn the installer to a DVD and attempt to boot from that instead? I know that it doesn't really solve the booting from USB problem, but it's surely better than waiting the best part of a day for help from people on the internet.

Hope you get it sorted regardless.

Cheers, Ben.

On 11/11/13, Greg B. wrote:

...
Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- Jackie McBride Author of the Upcoming Book “Beyond Baffled: the Technophobe’s Guide to Creating a Website” Web Hosting & development: www.brighter-vision.com Jaws Scripting training www.screenreaderscripting.com

Jackie McBride

6:31 p.m.

Does it have a floppy drive? On 11/12/13, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I hate using DVDs with a passion; I won't use them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 1:17 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi,

I have absolutely 0 poweredge experience, but unless I'm missing something completely obvious, would it not be a good idea to burn the installer to a DVD and attempt to boot from that instead? I know that it doesn't really solve the booting from USB problem, but it's surely better than waiting the best part of a day for help from people on the internet.

Hope you get it sorted regardless.

Cheers, Ben.

On 11/11/13, Greg B. wrote:

...
Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

6:35 p.m.

Heck no. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Jackie McBride Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 1:32 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Does it have a floppy drive? On 11/12/13, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I hate using DVDs with a passion; I won't use them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 1:17 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi,

I have absolutely 0 poweredge experience, but unless I'm missing something completely obvious, would it not be a good idea to burn the installer to a DVD and attempt to boot from that instead? I know that it doesn't really solve the booting from USB problem, but it's surely better than waiting the best part of a day for help from people on the internet.

Hope you get it sorted regardless.

Cheers, Ben.

On 11/11/13, Greg B. wrote:

...
Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- Jackie McBride Author of the Upcoming Book "Beyond Baffled: the Technophobe's Guide to Creating a Website" Web Hosting & development: www.brighter-vision.com Jaws Scripting training www.screenreaderscripting.com _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

6:35 p.m.

...

I hate using DVDs with a passion; I won't use them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ben Mustill-Rose Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 1:17 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi,

I have absolutely 0 poweredge experience, but unless I'm missing something completely obvious, would it not be a good idea to burn the installer to a DVD and attempt to boot from that instead? I know that it doesn't really solve the booting from USB problem, but it's surely better than waiting the best part of a day for help from people on the internet.

Hope you get it sorted regardless.

Cheers, Ben.

On 11/11/13, Greg B. wrote:

...
Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

6:26 p.m.

...

Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Ben Mustill-Rose

6:16 p.m.

...

Katherin,

I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

6:25 p.m.

New subject: Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

Mine is definitely new enough; it's from 2011. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Greg B. Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:44 PM To: 'Blind sysadmins list' Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Katherin, I have worked with older power edge servers and those serverswould not boot from usb. The servers would only boot from harddrive, cd rom or a floppy drive if it had a floppy drive installed. Greg B. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 11, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before? Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine Moss

6:25 p.m.

New subject: Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

John G. Heim

11 Nov 11 Nov

9:13 p.m.

I don't know about your particular Dell but I think pressing F12 brings up the boot menu on every Dell I've ever used. Then you can press the cursor keys to select a boot device. The options you have and order they appear will depend on your BIOS configuration. If you press F12 and the boot device menu comes up but you do not have the option to boot from a USB thumb drive, you will need to edit your BIOS configuration I actually think this can be done by a blind person via impi. Or you can change it via a Dell Remote Access Card (DRAC) if you have one. It has been a long time since I've done that and I don't remember how. The easiest thing to do is to get sighted assistance. On 11/11/13 14:34, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

Hi all, I'm curious if this has ever been done by any of you guys. I'm trying to figure out how to do this with my server right now, and I can't. I have a video up on YouTube (my sighted friend is reading the options to me as we move along), so if anyone can offer feedback via the video, it would be great. I can only get the server to boot consistently from the hard drive; I don't see an option for USB. Any feedback is much appreciated.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

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Andrew Hodgson
Ben Mustill-Rose
Greg B.
Jackie McBride
John G. Heim
Katherine Moss

Has anyone around here booted a Dell PowerEdge server from USB before?

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