Restore a Hyper-V Server to an Optiplex 960, Take 3

Mark Berry April 6, 2013

This is the third in the series of almost annual articles about my experiences testing a Hyper-V restore. I’ve done this successfully in 2011 and 2012. Why repeat? To make sure disaster recovery is still possible, and to try a new approach.

Restore a Hyper-V Server to an Optiplex 960, Take 2

Mark Berry March 12, 2012

In January 2011, I wrote about my experience restoring a Hyper-V Server to an Optiplex 960. That article is exhaustive (and exhausting). I’ve done the same test again and wanted to write up a somewhat shorter procedure. If you get stuck in this procedure, refer to the original article for details.

Restore a Hyper-V Server to an Optiplex 960

Mark Berry January 7, 2011

Recently I upgraded a small server to run Windows Server 2008 R2 as a Hyper-V host, with Server 2008 R2 as a guest as well. I’ve read that Windows Server Backup can restore to dissimilar hardware. That could be especially helpful in a small environment where no other servers are available. Can I restore the entire Server 2008 host and guest to an Optiplex 960 desktop? How long will it take?

Re-Create Dell Utility Partition after Windows Server 2008 Bare Metal Restore

Mark Berry July 3, 2010

So you’ve used Windows Server 2008 bare metal restore and it wiped out your Dell Utility Partition. What to do?

Background:  I’m setting up a Windows Server 2008 R2 machine as a Hyper-V host on a Dell PowerEdge 2900. I originally configured two RAID arrays (0 and 5). Starting with the Dell Systems Build and Update DVD and the companion Windows OS install support pack (required for Server 2008), I created the Dell system utility partition and installed Windows Server 2008 R2.

Diskpart Does Not See Volumes on OEM Partitions

Mark Berry July 3, 2010

As I worked today on recreating a Dell Utility Partition, I encountered this factoid:  Diskpart, when run inside Windows, does not see volumes on OEM partitions.