Trial os expired. 3hd raid config no bootable os can find the hd's. need to wipe and reload os. bios is set for cdrom, floppy etc. 100g found during post. boots to windows login. no key.

Is the HD SAS/SCSI/SATA on a raid controller?

If so you need to enter the RAID config (not the bios, but there will be a RAID config option during the boot process CTRL+M I believe.. but it will say on screen.) Then you need to set up the raid config, then initialise, then the drive will be detected for loading the OS.

Either that or the drive(s) shafted.

What sort of disks are you using?

PLS....give me some of this because my OS was expired and idon't have any back-up so pls may i barrow that windows ultimate OS..??? whom It may ConCern T_T

First of all, which do you want on the thing, Vista or XP?

Second, if you want XP, most likely you didn't install the Sata drivers for the OS disk from a floppy (must be downloaded in advance), and you should do that at the F6 prompt.

Third, do you have your boot order set to:

CDRom - 1st
Floppy - 2nd
Sata Boot Drive - 3rd


Fourth, do you have your boot order initially set the Boot Device Priority setting under the hard drive area to have the Sata you are using to boot as the first in boot order?

Fifth, clear up the raid issue for us, do you plan on using raid, or do you not. If not, then you must turn off the Raid controller in the Bios.

These are some common must-do things before we get too far

Save yourself some trouble. Pull a CD/DVD drive out of another computer or just buy one. They are very cheap. Connect the CD/DVD drive to the server and install the OS as usual.

If you are lucky WS2008 will already have a compatible SCSI/RAID driver. Otherwise, you will need to press F6 and install the driver from the floppy.

If this helps please vote for my solution.

if you have taken the HDD out, perhaps the Compaq adapter they use with sata drives isn't seated or connecting properly or (as I have done myself) is on backwards
Try taking it out, remove the adapter, place the adapter back on HDD, place HDD back in.. On start up check bios to ensure it detects the HDD
If yes problem solved
If not, try same with known good HDD to establish if IDE controller has 'given up'

NVIDIA RAID does not support > 2TB (18xxGB) arrays. It will NOT show up properly in Windows.

This problem is very simple.... Using RAID in booting in cd/dvd cannot be done in this kind of processing. you have to change the setting of Hard Disk and CD/DVD to IDE in BIOS . To change the setting in the BIOS you need to press the Delete After you power on the computer.. In Main menu in the bios you will find the hard disk or cd/dvd settings to IDE, SATA, and RAID. change both hard disk and cd/dvd to IDE configuration. make sure the first boot in the Boot menu is the cd/dvd, where your windows cd installer is inserted. Save the settings by pressing F10 key in the keyboard.. I have the same problem as of you because i try it to change SATA, RAID but cannot boot to cd and cannot detect the hard disk when installing OS, but in IDE settings its okay.. and it works perfect.. after you installed the windows properly, you can change the Hard Disk or cd/dvd configuration to SATA or RAID. TY

HOPE I CAN HELP

Check the following:

1 make sure that the cdrom is okay. if not sure then try cleaning the cdrom lense which can be found in the cd tray,

2 make sure that the cd disc you are trying is a bootable one

some motherboards and processors are compatiable with certain hd's only. Here is a list:

Pentium: 2GB through 5GB
Pentium 2:5GB through 20GB
Pentium 3: 20GB through 40GB
Pentium 4: 40GB through 500GB
Pentium D: 40GB through 1TB
Celeron: 2GB through 500GB
All AMD's: 300MB to whatever.

so, that's probably your problem. I suggest

When you say "it isn't bootable from the cd", do you mean the cd isn't a bootable cd?, or the computer isn't configured to boot from a cd? If the latter, I suggest obtaining a bootable ME cd, but if the computer isn't configured to boot from a cd, depending on the computer motherboard, you will need to access the bios setup, either by pressing the 'DEL', 'F1', or 'F10' key during boot, then under a section called 'boot' or 'advanced-->peripherals' should be the settings on changing the boot sequence, if it's set to this sequence:- 1........REMOVABLE DEVICE 2........HD 3........CDROM 4........NETWORK (not available on some systems) You will need to change the sequence to:- 1.......CDROM 2.......REMOVAL DEVICE 3.......HD 4.......NETWORK (Not available on some systems) Then press the relevent key to 'save & exit', this will enable you to use an ME bootable cd to re-install ME on a clean hard drive.