Installing Windows Home Server 2011 on a HP X312 DataVault

The last weeks, I waited for the News, that the Windows Home Server 2011 is available. (on MSDN/Technet)

After I found the news (thx to Twitter) I started some hours later the download and searched for some Tutorials, how to install it. There are a lot of them out there, but nothing of them really helped me out, because I stumbled into some stupid User Failures and Hardware Limitations.

Installing WHS 2011 on X312 DataVault:
- download the ISO for the WHS 2011
- create a bootable USB-Stick with the Help of a Microsoft Tool (http://me.lt/9v1PD)
- create the necessary config file (cfg.ini) for the headless installation and copy it to your USB-Stick
- remove all hard disks from your HP
- put the hard disks which should be the new OS drive into Slot 4 (because my system doesn’t boot from USB Stick, if there is a HDD in Slot 1 with nothing on it)
- place the USB Stick in the Bottom Rear Slot
- start the HP (if you have a USB Stick with a LED it should start blinking after a while)
- the Server Installation will be started and the Installation Files will be copied to the OS drive
- the server tries to restart (in my case it booted again from the usb stick and nothing happened after that)
- remove the usb stick
- restart you HP
-> the Headless Installation starts
- check you Router for a new Server with an IP
- point your browser to http://IP
- follow the Web Site for the Installation

Attention: I had the problem that the Installation abort during the initial Partition creation. The Problem is, that Windows is extending your “cfg.ini” with the line “Processed=true”. This is a little tweak to save the system, that it doesn’t reinstalls every time.
So if the Installation aborts, take the USB-Stick from your HP and remove the Line to start again.

“cfg.ini” File:
[WinPE]
InstallSKU=SERVERHOMEPREMIUM
ConfigDisk=1
CheckReqs=0
DefaultServerName=YOURSERVERNAME
[InitialConfiguration]
AcceptEula=true
DefaultServerName=YOURSERVERNAME
PlainTextPassword=Passw0rd
#at least 8 chars with Upper-Case Letters, Numbers, Lower-Case Letters and Special Characters like #
PasswordHint=Password Hint
Settings=All

Hope it helps somebody