i am putting a hard drive in the server now BUT, is there an inexpensive way to do it?

do i buy the hard from raqware? $250 for a 80GB HDD with the raq4 software installed and tray?

BUT i do have windows 2003 windows(with exchange server 2003)

i prefer to get the hard drive and the tray for it (it had no tray too....)
and install the windows 2003 server on it but how? i don't have a cd-rom drive :(

do i need and external cd-rom drive and a monitor to install it?

here is a list of things i need or don't need:
1. the hard drive tray
2. the hard drive (what hard drive type do i need and do you recommend a
30-40GB and a cheap price and what site or store?)
3. an adapter for the monitor for the back of the server? (or can i use the LCD screen and where could i find this?)
4. an external USB cd-rom drive?

italics means do it need it?

i prefer windows server 2003 because i want some exe applications on the server..(when not using wine or crossover)

Thank you in advance!
nandina

nandina,

I'm not sure what you're asking here?

Do you have an existing RAQ4 and you want to put in a bigger HDD?
- if so you'll need to reload the Cobalt OS once the new HDD is fitted. You might also want to look at Strongbox or Bluequartz.

If you want to install a new HDD and run Windows Server on a RAQ - I don't think you can. Windows is Windows and a RAQ is Linux.

o ya forgot to tell you.... :(

i bought one (a cobalt raq4) from ebay and it didn't come with a hard drive...

well the guys is sending a 18GB HDD so how do i get the software on it?

The operating system

You could try looking here:

http://www.zeffie.com/cobalt_restore_cd.html

I've always found Zeffie very helpful.

how do i do it if i dont have a cd-rom drive?
Do i need an external one?

or does it say in the link

thanks :)

Try reading the link first, then asking questions...

alright...... thankyou so much! :D

i will ask you anymore questions if i cant find some thing out that is in the link!

:)

Here's a little bit more information for you:

1) You can buy Raq drive trays at www.raqware.com (US$22);

2) Any 5400 RPM IDE drive bigger than 20Gb and smaller than or equal to 120Gb should work; eBay tends to be the cheapest place to find them -- they aren't widely available new. Another alternative is to use a 2.5" IDE laptop drive with an adapter -- people have reported good results with this;

3) The Raq does not use a monitor, or have any capability of driving one. The ports on the back panel are serial, not VGA ports. You can connect these to a PC (with a null modem cable) to load software and/or monitor the boot process. Otherwise all access to the Raq is over the network;

4) An external CD-ROM will probably do you no good. The OS Restore CD is available directly from Sun here: ftp://ftp.cobalt.sun.com/pub/iso/ (see the README to get the right one). This process is done from a compliant PC over the network (or in a pinch the serial line) to the Raq using a PXE/netboot process. Here is another link on how to perform an OS restore: http://www.cobaltfaqs.com/index.php/How_to_perform_an_OS_Restore

If you are going to the trouble to reload the OS, you should at least consider StrongBolt (http://www.osoffice.co.uk) and RackStar (http://www.rackstar.net), both of which have an updated Raq-compatible OS with a newer Linux kernel and modern implementation of PHP, MySql, Apache, and so forth. There are pluses and minuses to this. Additionally, with a ROM update, the Raq 550 OSRCD will install on a Raq3 or Raq4.

Hope this is helpful.

http://www.zeffie.com/cobalt_restore_cd.html

ok, so.....i follow the instructions and it doesnt work boot to net, etc.
start up the computer counnected to the router. and it says loading kernel.....
and then starts to boot it says nothing about turn the switch off when done installing....

is there a a router port i need to open on the router?

please help!

Thank you in advance,
Nandina

Do you have DHCP running on the router ? If you do then you need to turn off DHCP.
Why not just connect the raq4 server to the PC running the Restored CD (SERVER) using a crossover cable.

That's good advice from gigzone.

I always just use a simple crossover cable from the PC with the restore CD in it to connect it to the RAQ server.

Depending on the size of your new hard disk in the RAQ the restore can take a little while as part of the process is formatting the RAQ HDD.

just an ethernet cable your saying? (as in crossover cable?)

yes, just plug in a crossover cable and then start the pc running the cobalt restore cd, make sure the network card you have into the pc is compatible as req. by sun/cobalt.

ps. you may want to make sure you don't have a hdd running into the pc, you can have on just unplug the ide cable until you finish the install.

A regular ethernet cable is not the same as a crossover cable.

A crossover cable is usually clearly indicated, but it has the Transmit and Receive lines reversed. See http://www.makeitsimple.com/how-to/dyi_crossover.htm for details.

A normal cable connects an ethernet sender to a receiver, such as a router or switch. To connect two senders directly, you need a crossover cable. Many switches will auto-detect, but to connect a Raq (or Qube) directly to (e.g) a laptop or desktop for OSRCD restore, you need a crossover.

a crossover cable is a special ethernet cable and not a standard one. if you only have standard ethernet cables I would suggest you use 2 cables and a switch or hub.

Sounds to me like you might have a network card problem with your "restore server"