Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Remove OEMDRV Drive from Dell Server

I recently installed a Dell Server by using the Lifecycle Controller. This system uses a wizard to help with the installation of the operating system. In this case, I was installing Windows Server 2008 R2 to replace an existing Exchange 2010 server.

As part of the installation, an OEMDRV USB drive is created by the Lifecycle Controller that contains the drivers used during OS installation. OS installation went well, but I ran into an issue afterwards. The OEMDRV drive was using E:, which I needed for my Exchange data.

When you go into computer management, OEMDRV shows as a removable drive. However, you cannot change the drive letter or eject OEMDRV. By default the Lifecycle controller removes this drive after 18 hours, but I didn't want to wait that long.

To force OEMDRV to be removed earlier, restart the server and press F10 to enter the Lifecycle Controller configuration. Then exit the Lifecycle Controller and reboot again. You don't need to make any changes in the configuration. Just entering and exiting triggers the removal.
Posted by at

36 comments:

  1. Brad and LisaSeptember 2, 2014 at 6:07 PM

    Thank you! Exactly the information I was looking for!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 4, 2014 at 6:19 AM

    Thankyou too, this really helped me out. Appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 13, 2014 at 12:54 PM

    Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 16, 2014 at 1:37 PM

    Thank you. Worked right away!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nanda KishoreJanuary 20, 2015 at 11:32 PM

    you can remove it by doing cold reboot also . i.e. press the power button for long time to shut it down and then boot normally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Byron WrightJanuary 21, 2015 at 8:46 AM

      Thanks Nanda. Good to know. I'll try that the next time I get a new server in.

      Delete
    2. Byron WrightApril 9, 2015 at 3:16 PM

      As an FYI. I did test this today on a new server by doing a full shutdown on a server then restarting remotely via the iDRAC. For me, the OEMDRV was still there. Perhaps fully removing the power would do it, but I didn't bother to test that.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousJune 19, 2015 at 6:23 AM

      This doesn't work. Please remove this person's misinformation to save people time and frustration.

      Delete
    4. JustinMarch 18, 2016 at 6:20 PM

      Powering down worked for me too. I was working remotely with iDRAC basic (unable to access lifecycle). Prior to shutting down server, I was unable to change the OEM drive letter or eject it. After powering back up the OEM drive was there but I was able to right click and eject (W2KR12). Thanks for the tip, now I get to work over the weekend :)

      Delete
    5. Nanda KishoreAugust 8, 2016 at 10:18 AM

      When i meant Cold reboot, i actually meant full AC Power cycle, i.e. unplug the cable and connect back after min. 10 seconds. Not just cold reboot from idrac virtual console.

      Nanda Kishore

      Delete
    6. AnonymousFebruary 22, 2017 at 11:47 AM

      That was the solution for me. Turned off the R730, unplugged it for 30 seconds, powered it up, and was able to install using our customized install disk. No OEM drive. Thanks!

      Delete
  6. UnknownMarch 13, 2015 at 10:09 PM

    Thank You Very Much!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousApril 2, 2015 at 1:03 PM

    Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMay 1, 2015 at 10:13 AM

    Worked great on my Dell T430. Very helpful, thank you very much. You Rock!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 29, 2015 at 3:07 PM

    Thanks so much, worked today on my new R730 setup. Could not figure out how to reclaim my drive letter, glad I stumbled upon your site.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJune 30, 2015 at 7:16 PM

    Nice one! this helped me on my R730xd setup! Many thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2015 at 4:24 PM

    Thanks!

    But shame on DELL for qualifiying
    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/1466/p/19623926/20744665#20744665
    as "Verifed Answer"!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Byron WrightSeptember 26, 2015 at 4:48 PM

      I suppose in fairness to Dell, it looks like it was the person asking the question that marked it as an answer.

      Delete
  12. UnknownOctober 16, 2015 at 8:04 AM

    Thanks for the post. It works for me . I have faced this issue while installing a Dell R715 Server today.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousOctober 20, 2015 at 1:36 PM

    Add my thank you to the list. I know the last server I imaged it seemed to just disappear, but I couldn't remember how. Now I know.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 준범이의 블로그October 22, 2015 at 7:05 AM

    Thank you very much~

    ReplyDelete
  15. archerDecember 11, 2015 at 5:07 AM

    That was helpful, thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2016 at 4:10 PM

    Awesome, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousMay 12, 2016 at 8:17 AM

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Rickard BomanAugust 1, 2016 at 9:58 AM

    Saved me time and annoyancea. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownSeptember 30, 2016 at 8:37 AM

    Awesome Byron .
    It worked for me . Thank you.
    - Johny

    ReplyDelete
  20. Xone1May 26, 2017 at 10:29 AM

    Well done

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousMarch 30, 2018 at 10:09 AM

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  22. Matias AlmeidaMay 25, 2018 at 12:31 PM

    Just a quick tip... You can always open device manager and uninstall the hardware. That will release the drive letter on the current boot.

    ReplyDelete
  23. NayanaSysMarch 27, 2019 at 2:31 AM

    You are grate. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  24. RamylOctober 24, 2019 at 2:02 AM

    Thanks mate...

    ReplyDelete
  25. UnknownOctober 24, 2019 at 2:40 AM

    ITS WORKING.TX

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousJune 5, 2020 at 9:05 AM

    Computer Management>Device Manager>Disk Drives; Disable: "Linux OEMDRV USB Device"

    ReplyDelete
  27. Glen KratochvilOctober 18, 2020 at 5:33 PM

    Pretty great that this works on the PowerEdge T430 as well. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousMarch 14, 2023 at 11:25 AM

    Thank you! Worked Great

    ReplyDelete
  29. AnonymousOctober 31, 2024 at 4:26 AM

    Yes It worked. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)