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Corporation.
2012 - 11
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Rev. A02
Contents
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings...................................................................................................2
1 Important Information.................................................................................................................5
Multilingual Operating System Media For Windows Server 2012 .....................................................................5
Pre-Installed Virtual Hard Disks (VHDx).............................................................................................................6
Enhanced Logging Of Hardware Events In The Windows Event Logs...............................................................6
Utility To Switch System Between A Graphical User Interface (GUI) And Server Core Mode.........................6
Dell Support For Storage Spaces.............................................................................................................................7
Known Issues And Resolutions................................................................................................................................7
Matrox Video Device In 11th And 12th Generation PowerEdge Systems..........................................................7
Inbox Drivers Not Available For Devices...........................................................................................................7
Interactive Service Detection Service Disabled................................................................................................7
WoW64 Feature Cannot Be Removed................................................................................................................8
TPM Error Logged In Event Viewer....................................................................................................................8
System Unresponsive When Installing Dell MD Storage Software...................................................................8
Yellow Bang Seen On The Broadcom BCM 5708c Or BCM 5709c NetXtreme II GigE LOM...............................8
Unable To Update iDRAC6 And iDRAC7 Firmware Using Internet Explorer 10 Browser...................................8
No Korean Language Support In OpenManage 7.1 SBUU.................................................................................9
4
Important Information
Overview
This document provides important information about Microsoft Windows Server 2012 for Dell PowerEdge systems.
CAUTION: During initial configuration of your system, it is recommended that you download and install the latest
patches, hotfixes, and service packs from support.microsoft.com.
Minimum Supported BIOS, System Firmware, And RAID Controller
Driver Versions
For the list of minimum supported BIOS, system firmware and RAID controller driver version, see en.community.dell.com/
techcenter/os-applications/w/wiki/3868.dell-bios-support-for-windows-server-2012.aspx
NOTE: Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) S100, PERC S110, and PERC S300 software RAID adapters are not
supported with Windows Server 2012.
Dell Systems Management Support For Windows Server 2012
The Dell Systems Management version 7.1 provides limited support for Windows Server 2012, while the Dell Systems
Management version 7.2 provides complete support and carries the latest drivers for Windows Server 2012. To install
your operating system with Dell Systems Management, use the
media.
Dell Systems Management Tools and Documentation
NOTE: For more information on Dell Systems Management, see the Dell OpenManage documentation at
support.dell.com/manuals. For installing your operating system using the
Documentation
media, see
Installing Microsoft Windows Server 2012
Dell Systems Management Tools and
on support.dell.com/manuals.
Dell Value-Adds
The following section lists the additional value-adds provided when the product is shipped.
Multilingual Operating System Media For Windows Server 2012
With Windows Server 2012 release, Dell systems are shipped with a multilingual operating system interface that
provides a list of languages. When you power on your system for the first time or re-install the operating system using
the Dell provided media, you can select the required language.
With the new multilingual operating system media, you have the flexibility to re-install the operating system in any
language of your choice.
To deploy the operating system using the multilingual DVD media:
1. Boot to the operating system media.
The Language Selection screen is displayed.
2. Select the language of your choice and proceed.
NOTE: Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese are provided in separate DVDs.
5
Pre-Installed Virtual Hard Disks (VHDx)
If you select enable hyper-v role at dell.com, you are provided with a pre-installed operating system virtual hard disk
(VHDx) file. You can use the VHDx file with Hyper-V to create virtual machines (VMs) on the physical system, subject to
Microsoft's normal licensing restrictions (two for Standard and unlimited for Datacenter). For more information on the
terms of licensing, see the
To activate the VM created using the sysprepped VHDx file, use the virtual product key on the Certificate of Authenticity
(COA) sticker afixed on the system. You can perform security updates using standard methods before placing the system
into production.
NOTE: It is recommended that you create a backup copy of the VHDx file. Dell does not provide a replacement file
in case of loss or damage. The file located at C:\Dell_OEM\VHD allows you to select the appropriate language
during the setup process. If required, the VHDx can be converted from dynamic to fixed type.
For more information on VHD/VHDx files and how to use these files as part of a Hyper-V configuration, see the article
Windows Server 2012: Convert VHD to VHDX using Hyper-V Manager
Virtual Hard Disk Format Overview
End User License Agreement
at technet.microsoft.com or other relevant articles at support.microsoft.com.
shipped with your product
at blogs.technet.com and the article
Hyper-V
Enhanced Logging Of Hardware Events In The Windows Event Logs
For additional monitoring, the system is configured to retrieve hardware events from the BMC System Event Log. These
events provide hardware related information within the Windows event logs.
NOTE: This option is not available with the Windows Server 2012 Essentials and the Windows Server 2012
Foundation editions.
Select the Hardware Events Log located under the Applications and Services Logs in the Windows Event Viewer to view
the hardware events. This feature requires the Windows Event Collector service to be started and managed from the
Subscriptions folder in Event Viewer.
For more information about the event log hardware logging feature, see the article
to pull BMC SEL events into the event logs in Windows Server 2008
at support.microsoft.com.
How to configure event subscription
Utility To Switch System Between A Graphical User Interface (GUI) And Server Core Mode
A PowerShell module DellTools.psm1 is located in the C:\Dell_OEM folder to assist with common tasks. The module
includes a function that allows you to configure your system in Server with a GUI mode and then convert to Server Core
mode and place the system in production. Also, it can be used to switch back to GUI for configuration and
troubleshooting.
The detailed steps on using this add-in is provided at the first boot of your system.
For security reasons, PowerShell script execution policy is set to
scripts to run on the system. It is recommended to set the execution policy back to
scripts. For more information about how to change the execution policy, see the article
technet.microsoft.com or other related articles at support.microsoft.com.
•To use the provided module, at an elevated Windows PowerShell command prompt, type the following
command and then press <Enter>: Import-Module –Name C:\Dell_OEM\DellTools.psm1
•To view the list of available commands, type the following command and then press <Enter>: Get-Command
–Module DellTools
•To convert from Server with a GUI mode to Server Core mode, type the following command and then press
<Enter>: et-GUI –Mode Core
restricted
by default and must be modified to allow
restricted
after completing your
Set-ExecutionPolicy
at
6
NOTE: This script must be tested with all your applications and supported Server Core roles before using it in a
production environment.
NOTE: This script is not available with Windows Server 2012 Foundation and Windows Server 2012 Essentials
editions.
Dell Support For Storage Spaces
It is not recommended that you configure Storage Spaces on your Dell hardware as it is currently not supported.
CAUTION: Using Storage Spaces on unsupported hardware increases the risk of data loss because hardware
failure notifications and hardware failover may not occur as expected.
Known Issues And Resolutions
This section contains information about general issues, resolutions, and their workaround applicable to Microsoft
Windows Server 2012.
Matrox Video Device In 11th And 12th Generation PowerEdge Systems
Dell PowerEdge 11th and 12th generation servers are shipped with an onboard Matrox video device. For enhanced
display on your server, it is recommended that you use the latest graphics driver from
Inbox Drivers Not Available For Devices
support.dell.com
Description:Inbox drivers are not available on these devices:
•PCIe SSD in the 12th generation of PowerEdge systems
•PCI Simple Communication Controller for the Intel Romley Chipset device in the 12th
generation of PowerEdge systems
•Broadcom 57800 up to two 10Gb BT
•Broadcom 57810 up to two 1Gb and 10Gb BT rNDC
Resolution:For latest available drivers, see en.community.dell.com/techcenter/os-applications/w/wiki/