Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Turn an IBM X3100 M4 Server into a workstation
Turn an IBM X3100 M4 Server into a workstation
This is a neat little server that comes from IBM that officially doesnt support Windows 7. In this post I will guide you through making it run Windows 7 using the built in LSI Raid controller and a RAID mode.
If you decide to use AHCI mode however, it becomes easier (as it is supported by Windows 7), but you will be missing a performance (or stability) increase youll get with the RAID.
The LSI raid controller on this server does not have drivers that support Windows 7 - only Windows Server 2008 (R2). Theres also a great many driver packages available from IBM for this controller, so choosing the right one is quite time consuming. After 4 different failed driver packages I finally found the right one that would enable the RAID controller inside the Windows 7 installation PE. I have uploaded it HERE.
Just unrar and copy it onto a flash drive and browse to it during the installation (when it fails to find any hard disks).
Once the system finishes installing - most of the drivers will be installed, the only ones that wont be are the Chipset and the onboard video (Matrox G200ER2). Download the driver for it here.
Chipset drivers are available here.
Available link for download
