I'm having a frustrating experience trying to boot an operating system on my old Proliant Gen9 server. Each time I attempt to boot using an ISO file through virtual media, the server appears to disregard the boot order and defaults to UEFI. The only method that worked was booting from an ISO image attached via the HTML5 virtual console, but it's painfully slow. After facing issues with the installer not finding a root disk, I tried restarting with Intelligent Provisioning, only to face the same problem of it ignoring my selection and reverting to UEFI. Despite resetting the RBSU to factory settings and using a script to configure ILO for ISO booting, I'm still stuck. This process shouldn't be this complicated—just insert a DVD, power on, and boot from the DVD, right? I'm beginning to think it's a skill issue. Any advice would be appreciated!
6 Answers
One thing you could try is installing Windows 10 via USB first to update your BIOS and ILO firmware. After that, attempt the ISO install again. I had similar issues with Proxmox, and this method worked for me!
In UEFI, the boot order can be tricky. Sometimes it all comes down to the UEFI NVRAM settings. Also, ILO booting from virtual media can be really slow; in my experience, expect it to take longer than usual. If you can, try using a live CD to configure your RAID controller. That might get rid of any leftover utility partitions causing issues.
Yeah, I hear you! My server took ages to POST as well. It’s super annoying.
When you start your server, make sure to select the boot order option (F11). This should let you choose the one-time boot source directly. It's a straightforward way to force it to boot from the ISO instead of defaulting!
It sounds like the server might not be able to find the ISO or is having trouble with it. Have you considered trying a different ISO file? Also, check if you can boot from an old USB-DVD drive instead; sometimes it's just a matter of hardware compatibility. Just make sure the ISO you’re using is intact—could save you a lot of time!
That makes sense; if the ISO is busted, it's worth trying another one first!
I faced slow ISO loading times too, especially being so far from the server. What helped was setting up a Windows VPS close to my data center and installing from there. It sped things up significantly for just a small cost. Definitely worth considering!
I had a similar issue—reinstalling Intelligent Provisioning via ISO resolved my problems. Sometimes the simplest fixes are the best!
Good point! But why go through all that when the Service Pack for ProLiant can be made bootable directly?