HP ML350 Gen 8 – Can’t install any OS

hpwindows-server-2016windows-server-2019

Good afternoon,

I recently got myself an HP ProLiant ML350 Gen 8 server (with 6x3TB configured in RAID 5).
I intend to use this server for file storage and light CAD work.

My issue is that I can't manage to install any OS on this server.
Here's what I have tried so far:

  • Use the Smart Provisioning utility
    • Windows server essentials 2019 ISO on an NTFS USB drive : ISO not detected
    • Windows server essentials 2019 on a bootable USB drive : installer executable not detected
    • Windows server essentials 2016 ISO on an NTFS USB drive : ISO not detected
    • Windows server essentials 2016 on a bootable USB drive : installer executable not detected
  • Boot override to USB drive
    • Both windows server essentials 2019 and 2016 won't partition the drive, giving me the error at the partitioning step :
windows cannot be installed to this disk. this computer's hardware may not support booting.
  • Change SATA controller mode to AHCI: no difference
  • Installation of Ubuntu server 2018: Installation complete, but unable to boot ubuntu server.

I am really ripping my hair off on this one… Any idea on how I could get it to work?

Thanks in advance.

Best Answer

After searching for a while, I finally found the solution.

In the SSA utility > RAID controller > Properties > Advanced, you need to select a drive boot.

It was configured but not selected.

Now, Ubuntu server boots correctly, so I tried installing Windows Server Essentials 2019 and it worked.

Thank you all for your help!

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