Hi Basil !

>Would you have a copy of the boot Floppy licience diskette one uses on a Server 500
>to kick start the Server Guide Main CD.

Uhm ... which version of ServerGuide ?
The 2.0x has a different scheme as 3.xx - which again differs from 4.x which does not use a boot floppy anymore since it was not intended for "our" systems ..


I'd appended the License Disk Image for the 3.01 version. It is an *EXE* file - but I'd renamed it to .DAT to avoid that it gets sorted out in firewalls or suchlike. Rename it back to .EXE, then run a DOS-prompt and type LIC_DISK.EXE A: /S with a 1.44MB floppy in A:

>I know the request is not exactly correct but the thing is over 10 years old now so I do
>not think IBM would complain.

If it comes to boot the ServerGuide itself - No. Most likely at least.
They tend to have an elephant memory and come back to the oddest stuff, when you least think of it ...

But for installing the operating systems (NT 3.5x, OS/2, SCO etc.pp.) you are hopelessly stuck, since it requires a special code from a -no longer existing- IBM fax / phone number along with the system serial number etc.pp.

I'd never tried to hack the scheme open ... might be worth a shot ... ?

>Got my Server 500 with the Manuals and CD, but frustratingly cannot use them.

There's nothing special with it.

You need a CD-ROM driver from off a DOS boot floppy (IBMCDROM.SYS with /i parameter probably for Non-IBM CD-drives). If you have the Raid controller you need the RAIDASPI from the Passplay / Cheetah option diskette. Should work normally. I'd booted my 9595A with Raid fairly often into SGuide.

Alternatively:
- put the SGuide CD in the CD-ROM
- start into Reference / Setup
- put the CD ROM into the startable devices list (at Number 1)
- include the SGuide boot catalog
- save it all
- reboot ... 

... and the S500 should boot from off the CD directly.

If you're done with installation don't forget to remove the CD from the startables or you get a silly I999 error all the time when the SGuide CD is *not* present ...



Peter from Germany
http://www.mcamafia.de