Rebuild Netware 6.5 DOS partition
20/02/08 19:13 Filed in: Novell
So your NetWare server has been running flawlessly
for years, and you've just restarted it to find it
wont boot.
Boot loader not found...
or
No operating system found...
You know the error, I'm sure you've seen it all before.
You could go through and boot from a utility disk and try and repair the partition, or you can recreate it with the NetWare install CD. How you proceed will depend on your comfort level, how/if you've done it before, and how many pointy-haired bosses you have yelling at you at the time. I'll take you through using the NetWare install CD.
Things you'll need to know are:
a) Your current OS version and patch level.
b) Any new driver updates you may have applied and modifications to the STARTUP.NCF file.
Get these ready, tell your pointy-haired boss to back-off before you insert the CD up his ...
...and focus.
1. Insert your NetWare CD with the latest patch overlaid (you can download this from Novell).
2. Start the install and select "Manual" so you get to choose all the options.
3. At the screen that asks you for the Boot Partition you'll see the current FAT16 partition. Delete this taking note of the size.
4. Create a new boot partition of the same size and continue with the install.
5. At the screen that asks for the SYS: partition DO NOTHING. You only have two options... recreate the partition or format the existing one. YOU DON'T WANT TO DO EITHER.
6. Switch to the Console screen (Alt+Esc and screen 1)
7. Down the server by typing "Down" and pressing enter.
8. Power cycle the server.
9. When the server comes back up it will be sitting at a DOS prompt. This is because the AUTOEXEC.BAT file is not created till later in the install. Edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add the following:
@echo off
CD NWSERVER
SERVER -nl
(the -nl just turns off the splash screen so you can see any errors that may occur)
10. If you did NOT use an overlay CD at the same patch level as your server, you will need to copy the files from the patch CD. You will need the updated SERVER.EXE and any other updates. You can browse the patch CD for these files.
11. If you have a backup copy of your STARTUP.NCF file simply copy it back into C:\NWSERVER. You may be able to recreate it based on another server if you have another of similar hardware. If not, don't despair. Leave it alone and go to the next step.
12. Type AUTOEXEC and press enter to start the server. If you don't have a copy of your STARTUP.NCF file, once the server has started and is sitting at the console, type HWDETECT and press enter. Your NetWare box will go through and scan for new hardware and load the necessary drivers, or prompt you for them.
13. Once all the hardware is taken care of, reboot and you should be right to go.
As simple as that.
There are multiple ways of rebuilding your DOS partition and I think I've tried most of them. I didn't have any time constraints this time around so I thought I'd test out this method. It works a treat.
Last step.
Because you've had problems with your DOS partition, you should run a Pool verify over the NSS pools after you get the server back up. Regardless of the pressure you're under, don't put this off.
NSS /poolverify
Boot loader not found...
or
No operating system found...
You know the error, I'm sure you've seen it all before.
You could go through and boot from a utility disk and try and repair the partition, or you can recreate it with the NetWare install CD. How you proceed will depend on your comfort level, how/if you've done it before, and how many pointy-haired bosses you have yelling at you at the time. I'll take you through using the NetWare install CD.
Things you'll need to know are:
a) Your current OS version and patch level.
b) Any new driver updates you may have applied and modifications to the STARTUP.NCF file.
Get these ready, tell your pointy-haired boss to back-off before you insert the CD up his ...
...and focus.
1. Insert your NetWare CD with the latest patch overlaid (you can download this from Novell).
2. Start the install and select "Manual" so you get to choose all the options.
3. At the screen that asks you for the Boot Partition you'll see the current FAT16 partition. Delete this taking note of the size.
4. Create a new boot partition of the same size and continue with the install.
5. At the screen that asks for the SYS: partition DO NOTHING. You only have two options... recreate the partition or format the existing one. YOU DON'T WANT TO DO EITHER.
6. Switch to the Console screen (Alt+Esc and screen 1)
7. Down the server by typing "Down" and pressing enter.
8. Power cycle the server.
9. When the server comes back up it will be sitting at a DOS prompt. This is because the AUTOEXEC.BAT file is not created till later in the install. Edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add the following:
@echo off
CD NWSERVER
SERVER -nl
(the -nl just turns off the splash screen so you can see any errors that may occur)
10. If you did NOT use an overlay CD at the same patch level as your server, you will need to copy the files from the patch CD. You will need the updated SERVER.EXE and any other updates. You can browse the patch CD for these files.
11. If you have a backup copy of your STARTUP.NCF file simply copy it back into C:\NWSERVER. You may be able to recreate it based on another server if you have another of similar hardware. If not, don't despair. Leave it alone and go to the next step.
12. Type AUTOEXEC and press enter to start the server. If you don't have a copy of your STARTUP.NCF file, once the server has started and is sitting at the console, type HWDETECT and press enter. Your NetWare box will go through and scan for new hardware and load the necessary drivers, or prompt you for them.
13. Once all the hardware is taken care of, reboot and you should be right to go.
As simple as that.
There are multiple ways of rebuilding your DOS partition and I think I've tried most of them. I didn't have any time constraints this time around so I thought I'd test out this method. It works a treat.
Last step.
Because you've had problems with your DOS partition, you should run a Pool verify over the NSS pools after you get the server back up. Regardless of the pressure you're under, don't put this off.
NSS /poolverify
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