Monday, August 30, 2010

Target booting an Xserver to install from another computer

We found ourselves in a situation where we were unable to install from the optical drive on an Xserver.  We used the following steps to resolve the problem:
  1. Attach a FW cable between the Xserver and another Mac (we used a Mac Book Pro)
  2. Insert the Server Install DVD into the remote computer
  3. Turn off both devices
  4. Restart the remote computer in Target Disk Mode (holding down the "T" key)
  5. Restart the Xserver holding down the Option (alt) key and select the remote install drive as the startup disk
  6. Continue with the install normally
It is VITAL that you do not target boot the Xserve onto the client: put the client into Target Disk Mode first!

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