Comments on: How To: Create a Slipstreamed, Unattended Windows Home Server Installation DVD

By: John

John — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:27:36 +0000

This has been an awesome guide. I read it with the posts and have managed to get this installed first time on the intel SS4200-ehw.

I now have a USB stick loaded with all the drivers and am tempted to put it online somewhere to save people the hassle. If people would like it I may try to image it as getting all this setup was a lot of work!

Also note, that after installing and guessing when it was finished (little HDD activity), my network could not pick it up. I ended up connecting my lappie direct to the NAS without any switch and then I could RDP in from there. The problem then was to activate it with no internet connection but go there in the end.

Thanks to everyones posts here!

By: DrJEnterprises

DrJEnterprises — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:35:57 +0000

Are there any other Quick options that work with this i would like to use the qs.ini file for reinstall possibly in the future. As some of you have found out that this method is not good for a reinstall as it wipes out the drives and data on the server. As I found out today when I used my USB stick to reinstall with the qs.ini file on it. =:(

By: Simpsojo

Simpsojo — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:02:01 +0000

Have tried to run this twice and not able to get past GimageX. getting. Error: unable to mount image Error: A required privilege is not held by the client. I’m logged in as an admin and have set to run as admin still no go. Has anyone else run into this? I’ve already spent 2 nights working on this getting a little axtiouse to get this up and running.

By: NeO-AZN

NeO-AZN — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:21:40 +0000

If the automatic installation worked for your desktop, then likely you've likely messed up something with regards to the slipstream of the Intel drivers. Good luck with your rebuild.

By: n00ber

n00ber — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:57:11 +0000

Thanks for the response. Maybe i'll try rebuilding the USB install. It's odd though – it works perfectly on an old desktop where I can see what's happening but on the Intel server, it appears to stall after the first reboot. I'll try again over the weekend.

By: NeO-AZN

NeO-AZN — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:32:01 +0000

I used WD Green drives in mine. Try installing with just 1 drive, and add the second drive once your installation is complete. Make sure to disconnect your DOM (Onboard Memory) if yours came with one. Check your qs.ini file.

If everything still fails, I can only suggest you try rebuilding your USB installation from scratch again. Follow the guide carefully, and you shouldn't run into any problems. I was able to install mine the first time following the guide exactly.
-Make sure to slipstream the Intel drivers properly.
-Lastly ensure you format your USB key using VISTA or Windows 7.

Read the comments in this thread:
http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php?/topic/120…

By: n00ber

n00ber — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:53:55 +0000

I'm having the same issue. Boots off USB and seems to be working until it restarts. Then all i see if the blinking blue power button, sold blue drive light and no activity. I've left it overnight as well and am not able to connect or see it on the network. I tested it on an old desktop and it works perfectly so I'm at a loss at what to do and I'd rather not buy the parts just to see the install work once.

also, I put in a 1tb WD Caviar Green drive to start. I noticed you used a WD green as well. There shouldn't be issues with the right?

By: Chance

Chance — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:37:03 +0000

Thanks for the reply. I'm sure my qs.ini file is correct, I have checked it several times. I am going to get my retail copy of WHS tonight, so I will retry the process with that.

By: NeO-AZN

NeO-AZN — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:31:36 +0000

I would suspect its your qs.ini file. Is it in the root directory (the directory that contains autorun.inf, bootmgr, win51il.sp2). The qs.ini file should contain the following:

[Q Setup]
ProductKey=00000-00000-00000-00000-00000
ServerName=INTEL-WHS

Make sure the file extension does not end with *.txt, as that can happen when people edit and save the file provided in the package.

By: Chance

Chance — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:23:38 +0000

I did finally get it to boot off of the USB (needed to format it in NTFS not FAT32. The screenshot vs. the guide show different things), but now I believe I am stuck where some others are. It appears to do something for a few minutes, then hangs. I left it overnight and it did not complete the installation.

By: Chance

Chance — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:53:50 +0000

I finally got all the pieces together tonight and am having some trouble installing WHS on my Saleco Home server. I have one WD Caviar Green 2tb drive installed and followed the guide posted very closely. It does not seem to want to boot off of my USB key however. After resetting it and getting the Amber light it simply sits there with a solid Amber light (not blue as other have suggested) and has zero HD activity. Has anyone had this problem?

By: NeO-AZN

NeO-AZN — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:49:20 +0000

I saw this thread searching for some information regarding the Intel SS4200 server and thought I'd contribute. While I'm not an expert on the topic, I have successfully installed WHS unattended. There was no need for video cards or need to burn DVDs. There's been so much good information out there, particularly in the responses from various SS4200 owners. I've since decided to include a PDF guide (with the pictures provided from the original guide written by Gamer), with additional pointers as well as necessary files to get the installation working.

I hope this will help out future SS4200 owners looking to install WHS on the system.

The link to the guide is below:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M9MBIE18