Re: How long should it take to re-install SBS 2003 & updates?

Thanks, everyone. You've offered some helpful suggestions. I'll see if
I can shed some light on things from my end....

The mobo has USB2 ports, and the system can be configured to boot from
an external drive. I'd considered that as an option for creating my
initial drive image. I'll just grab an 8 GB USB drive or two, and back
everything up to that before starting. Once everything's in, I was
planning to use Acronis or StorageCraft to make a disk image to DVD.

Now that I know how bad the dust/silt situation is, I'll consider
external floppy and DVD-R/-RW drives for the server. This is the first
time they failed, and the client didn't know why until I showed him
how bad the grease in the CD-ROM drive's gears had gotten. It's to the
point where the CD-ROM drive won't open. It lights up when you try to
open the drive, and you can hear it trying...but nothing happens. The
"emergency release" hole doesn't do much, either, since the tray is
basically "stuck in the mud".

Thanks for an idea of how long SP1 might take, Larry. I've told my
client that I will be able to work on other things while I'm there,
but I'm still trying to give him an idea of how long the project might
take in the first place. I'd estimated 16 hours (though I'm now
considering 18), and most of it will be done over the weekend. The
drive replacements would be first, followed by the OS re-install. I
just need to be sure he understands it might take a full 16 hours (or
more), and that I wouldn't be there just playing Solitaire!

As far as the dust and silt, I vacuum out the fans and blow out the
case (and everything else) as often as I can. I also recommend the
client do that, too. I've used other material to cover openings in the
case, but haven't tried vacuum cleaner bags. I didn't know if they'd
obstruct too much air flow if I put them over the intake fan area.
That's where most of the silt comes in, but I don't want to restrict
the air flow too much. I'll try the vacuum cleaner bags, though, and
keep an eye on the temps.

The client isn't struggling for money, though that's a good point.
He's just cautious, and rightfully so: the person who sold him these
systems overcharged him for machines he didn't really need in the
first place, and left him with a somewhat handicapped network. It's
also why he doesn't want to just buy a new machine. He knows the dust
and silt will kill the new one, too, and that most warranties won't
protect him from "abuse".

The server won't shut down due to something hanging, I'm sure. It
comes up fine, even after you kill the power, but it just won't shut
down. Since this is just a file server (no printing, no apps), I can
put the files somewhere else and have everyone get their e-mail from
the Web if the server completely dies. I've used "backup servers"
before, though, and that's a good idea.

I was going to troubleshoot why the server wouldn't shut down, but
since it also won't take any service packs or updates (for many
reasons), won't run the SBS backup or most of the wizards/reports, and
won't run a proper NT backup (among other things), I tried to explain
to my client that it would probably be cheaper for him to "start over"
than for me to spend a week on-site, trying to figure out one problem
after another. And after I'd figured out most of them, there might
still be one that required a re-install, anyway.

Thanks again, everyone. I guess I'll just estimate this project at
"not to exceed 18 hours", but explain to my client that if other
things happen that are out of my control (bad replacement drive, CPU
fan failure, etc.), well...that's why they call these things
"estimates"! I just wanted to be able to show him that others in this
field think that the estimate is reasonable and not excessive.
Frankly, I'd feel the same way he does if I'd contracted him to build
a house for me: It's not something I do, I have no idea how long it
should take (since I'm not really sure what's involved), and I have no
idea how much it should cost. I'd just hope he was being honest, and
I'd try to get a second opinion, if I could.

Thanks again!

Steve

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Relevant Pages

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