How to install windows on a server with no CD or DVD drive

Posted by user29266 on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by user29266
Published on 2010-02-26T17:46:26Z Indexed on 2012/07/08 15:17 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 174

Filed under:

boot

|

iso-image

|

usb-boot

I've found a few posts on this site, however my situation is different.

I have a new Dell server with no OS installed. I would like to install Windows 2008 Web Edition. I have a few USB ports and Ethernet. No CD or DVD drives.

Is this article the best & only way to proceed? Installing Windows 2008 via USB thumbdrive or should I just get a external hardrive and hook it up to a usb. Once the OS is installed I'll never need a DVD drive again - so that's idea is a waste of money.

© Server Fault or respective owner

Related posts about boot

Dual Boot issues with Windows 7 and Ubuntu

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I'm finding myself in a rather unique situation. I've read through just about every resource I can find about this and while things have helped me understand some background, I haven't yet been able to find a solution. So I'm asking here. I originally had just a Windows 7 64-bit OS installation on… >>> More
Windows 7 wont boot from any boot loader except for 'Windows Boot Manager' after partition resize

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have a triple boot system on a single SSD. OSX, Windows 7, and Ubuntu. I use Chimera (basically another version of Chameleon) as my boot loader. Usually I can boot all 3 without any issue, but after using GParted to make my Ubuntu partition 2 Gigs larger, Windows 7 throws me an error when trying… >>> More
Unable to boot Windows 7 after installing Ubuntu

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I have Windows 7 on my machine and then installed Ubuntu 12.04 using a live CD. I can see both Windows 7 and Ubuntu in the grub menu, but when I select Windows 7 it shows a black screen for about 2 seconds and the returns to the Grub menu. But if I select Ubuntu it's working fine. This is the contents… >>> More
12.04 upgrade broke grub? (not wubi related)

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I just updated from 11.10 to 12.04, with no major problems (it took a while to get past a request to restart ssh, mysql and some other services, but I did no fiddling by myself, everything was done by the installer). However, after restarting, grub can't do anything. Picking the new linux installation… >>> More
Another "Windows 7 entry missing from Grub2" Question

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
Like many before me had the following problem that after installing Ubuntu (with windows 7 already installed), the grub boot loader wouldnt show windows 7 as a boot option, though i can boot fine if I use the "Choose Boot Device" options on the x220. The difference is that I try using UEFI only so… >>> More

Related posts about iso-image

How to mount an iso image on linux?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I need to mount an ISO image on linux. On Windows I use Daemon Tools, but how is this done on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4? Thanks in advance >>> More
Install windows xp from USB using the iso image

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I've got the windows xp ISO image on my computer and i want to install it on a computer without cdrom. The only way to do it is using usb flash drive. I don't know how to do it - i need to burn the iso to usb, make the usb bootable, install windows xp from the usb onto the hardrive (the usb should… >>> More
Install windows xp from USB using the iso image

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've got the windows xp ISO image on my computer and i want to install it on a computer without cdrom. The only way to do it is using usb flash drive. I don't know how to do it - i need to burn the iso to usb, make the usb bootable, install windows xp from the usb onto the hardrive (the usb should… >>> More
How to mount an iso image on linux?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I need to mount an ISO image on linux. On Windows I use Daemon Tools, but how is this done on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4? Thanks in advance >>> More
How do you Upgrade Ubuntu from an ISO Image By Mounting as Loopback (without burning)

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I'm trying to upgrade 9.10 without burning the ISO image to a disk. What are the steps to get this to work? I am using the ubuntu-9.10-desktop-amd64.iso image. There are a few postings around on this, but none of them work for 9.10. Thanks. >>> More