W2000 boot failed after Veritas is installed

This is a critical posting

One of our windows 2000 servers, MC on the domain (only controller on its domain!), which is a part on a larger forest, and where user files are also located (several GBs) does not boot after Veritas 8.5 was installed.

After restart, it states: <<Attempting to boot from hard disk>> and freezes.

The server (hp) uses a scsi controller for a RAID 5. The RAID5 has two partitions C: (with the OS) and D: with data files.

After booting with W2KSrv CD (loading a SCSI driver recovered fom the Compaq Smart Start CD - F6) and reaching the Recovery Console, we notice that the two existing partitions on the RAID have switch their drive letters (C: is now D: and viceversa), so we have to logon to d:\winnt (originally c:\winnt).

Is there any possibility to switch back the drive letters so d:\winnt becomes c:\winnt? Hopefully this change will allow the system to reboot. Any other idea?

Note that we can only use the Recovery Console (so it seems).

Zanx a lot for any help!!!

 

More information

Some more information:

We have tried to install a fresh windows 2000 version on the C: drive (it was D: before) and the installation procedure stops after its first reboot. With the Recovery Console we can see that the inst. proc. created the new winnt folder but after the reboot the server states <<Attempting to boot from hard disk>> and then freezes.

Any help? Zanx.

 

Not sure exactly what is going on here but if the Veritas install triggered the problem then their tech support would be a good place to check before you do any more 'fixing'.

They may well be familiar with the problem and have specifics for you to get back to normal.

RAID5 for the OS partition - interesting. If you have the drives and need to reconfigure the server, RAID1 for the OS and RAID5 for the data drives might serve you better.

 

Veritas TS already tried

Zanx NewT for your post.

We have already tried with Veritas Tech Service: still waiting.

Good idea MIRROR + RAID5... not enough money this year, though, zanx for the advice.

 

Bummer about the delayed tech support. I think I'd be looking for a different backup solution. Server class software needs better support than that.

There may be an easier way but I think if this server were mine and I needed it operational I'd scrub the thing and start clean. Hopefully you have a recent backup of the data.

This sounds like one of those situations where you can spend hours/days trying for a fix (and hope it really is a fix) or just start over and save time & trouble.

 

Bad situation

Well this is indeed a bad situation as no copy of the data exists (Veritas was being installed to create those backups).

Maybe the start-fom-sctratch solution is the better move, but first I would like to understand what has happened here, why a $6K machine with redundant-everything can go down-for-good this way installing a well-known backup software... what could a virus do??

The facts: 1) we know this is some kind of a problem related to the raid / scsi driver. 2) we are seeing the data through the Rec. Console after manually load hp raid / scsi drivers. 3) a by-the-book re-install (using W2K Srv Bootable CD) is not working. 4) this is an important server in the domains forest and the are several GBs of information in it.

One way or another we are taking further steps tomorrow. I'll post any solutions that we may find.

Zanx to all anyway.

 

Can you post the exact model of server (I'm guessing its a ProlIant MLxxx) and also the RAID controller, likely to be SMART 641 or 6402 if this is a new box

Backup Exec 8.5 is relatively old now as we have had 8.6, 9.0 and now 9.1 since then. Because Backup Exec uses windows drivers for the tape drive (unlike ARCServe which uses its own) there may be an issue there..

What is the backup device (if its really modern like an SDLT or an Ultrium460 this may not be recognised correctly)?

 

fixmbr ---> succeeded

Zanx a lot to all of you for your help.

A fixmbr at the RC promt resolved the puzzle (an several minor changes after first reboot). Everything is in place now as it were (except for the veritas software, to hell with it! ).

NOTE: we installed Veritas 9 (upgraded from v8.6 last summer) and the tape (and +- IBM older model) didn't work; we uninstalled v9 and installed v8.5 to try again (maybe an older version detects an older machine). It has been a nightmare, really.