Dell Remote Access Controller 4 Firmware Version 1.30 manual Booting From the Virtual Media

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Booting From the Virtual Media

On supported systems, the system BIOS allows you boot from virtual CD or virtual floppy drives. You need to enter the BIOS setup window to ensure that the virtual drives are enabled in the boot sequence menu and that bootable devices are in the correct order.

To change the BIOS setting, perform the following steps:

1Boot the managed system.

2Press <F2> to enter the BIOS setup window.

3Scroll to the boot sequence and press <Enter>.

In the pop-up window, the virtual CD and virtual floppy drives are listed along with other regular boot devices.

4Ensure that the virtual drive is enabled and that it is the first device with bootable media present among the listed devices. If it is not the first device, you can change the boot order by following the on-screen instructions.

5Save the changes and exit. The managed system reboots.

The managed system attempts to boot from a bootable device based on the boot order. If a virtual device is connected and a bootable media is present, the system boots to this virtual device. Otherwise, the system skips it, just like a physical device without bootable media. The DRAC 4 will accept a Virtual Media connection to a disabled virtual drive, which allows you to connect to the system and enable the virtual drive for the next boot. (The enable/disable feature for Virtual Media does not take effect until the next boot.)

NOTE: You have to connect the Virtual Media before the IDE option ROM runs in order to boot from the Virtual Media.

Installing Operating Systems Using Virtual Media

NOTE: The two virtual drives work simultaneously only when the operating system is running. During the operating system installation using the virtual CD drive, the virtual floppy drive is not available.

1Ensure that your operating system installation CD is inserted in the management station’s CD drive.

2Ensure that you have selected your local CD drive and that you have connected to the virtual drives.

3Follow the steps for booting from the virtual media in the "Booting From the Virtual Media" section to ensure that the BIOS is set to boot from the CD drive that you are installing from.

4Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

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Configuring and Using Virtual Media