Installing IDE hard disk on a Proliant server

[dysmas]

We got a Proliant 3000 server which is working fine, with 40GB total SCSI hard drives. Since I have a 250GB IDE drive available, I wondered if it would be possible to install it as addional storage. Perhaps this is heretic for a Compaq server ? The integrated IDE controller does not recognize a IDE hard drive (tried with older smaller disks). I would not like to purchase a PCI IDE controller if it is sure it will not work. I tried to install the disk as a USB2 external, but the server does not seem to like it too much. The disk is visible from time to time and most of the time unavailable. We are running Windows 2000 Pro.
thanks if anyone has an idea.

 

[TheLad]

There are plenty of older posts on the subject and most of them agree that Compaq/HP do not support such a configuration but it may be possible to connect the disk to the internal IDE channel that the CD-ROM usually sits on, however you cannot boot from it. I guess it is a case of trial and error because some people can get it to work and others have issues

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[dysmas]

Hello thanks for the answer. I had found different posts, but always unfinished, this means : the author didn't indicate if in the end it worked or note. I found pasts from you telling it should be tried, so I wanted to know if some definitive answer had been found. So you say : test. I tested and it works.

I tried with a PCI IDE controller, but the system answered PCI parity error and hanged. But it was a curiously featured controller, so this is not definitive. I will try again next time I find a controller.
So I connected directly to the internal IDE controller.
My Hitachi 250GB drive was not recognized.
My Maxtor 80GB drive was recognized and worked in Windows 2000 Pro without any intervention. So it works but it is SLOW : 1MB/s only with a drive which transfers 12MB/s on a ATA 133 controller. No big trouble for me, it was only for storage.
Perhaps one reason for which the 80GB Maxtor drive worked was that it was previously installed on a bios which did not support more than 8GB and for this reason the Ontrack overlay was installed to break the barrier. I am trying to install it on the Hitachi 250GB drive.

Conclusion : partial success.
When I have news I will post again.

 

[Mezlo]

I have a Proliant 5500 server, which from what I understand is similar to the 3000. Using a Promise Ultra100 TX2 controller, both Windows 2000 and CentOS Linux recognize the IDE drive without error. However, I have not been able to get the server to boot from the controller.

Not sure if this provides any additional information or not.

Mez

 

[dysmas]

Thanks for the answer, Mezlo, yes it helps because I don't want to boot from the IDE disk, and your answer confirms that I should try to install an IDE controller.

Dysmas