CompTIA Server+ (SK0-005)TroubleshootingMedium
A server administrator is trying to install a new operating system on a server, but the installation repeatedly fails during the disk partitioning phase. The server's BIOS/UEFI recognizes the hard drives, and the drives pass individual SMART tests. The server is configured with a hardware RAID controller, but the administrator suspects an issue with the RAID configuration itself, as no logical drives are presented to the OS installer. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
- AIncorrect boot order in BIOS/UEFI.
- BInsufficient RAM for the OS installation.
- COutdated BIOS/UEFI firmware.
- DThe RAID array has not been properly initialized or configured.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. The RAID array has not been properly initialized or configured.
If the hardware RAID controller is present and the physical drives are recognized, but no logical drives appear to the OS installer, it indicates that the RAID array itself has not been created or properly configured within the RAID controller's management utility. The OS installer only sees logical volumes presented by the controller, not individual physical drives.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Incorrect boot order would prevent the installer from booting, but the question implies the installer starts and then fails at partitioning because it can't see disks.
- B. Insufficient RAM would likely cause the installer to crash or run extremely slowly, not specifically prevent it from seeing logical disk volumes.
- C. Outdated firmware could cause various issues, but typically wouldn't prevent the RAID controller from presenting logical drives if the array was configured.
Hardware RAID Configuration
Hardware RAID controllers manage physical drives to present logical volumes to the operating system; these logical volumes must be created and initialized in the controller's utility before OS installation.
- OS sees logical volumes, not physical drives, with hardware RAID.
- RAID array must be configured in the controller's BIOS/utility.
- Unconfigured RAID means no storage for OS installation.
Memory trick: If the installer can't see the disk, check if your RAID took a risk.