Install or Reinstall Userful On-Premise Servers

Before you Begin

If you are migrating to Userful 11 from previous versions, use this page.

If you still have access to Userful Control Center, you may want to create a backup of your configuration. If your system is registered with Userful Manager, you can perform a backup there as well.

If you are re-installing an existing Userful server without an Internet connection, send an email to support@userful.com so that we can send you a copy of your license file. Please include details that will help us locate your license quickly, such as your organization's name, partner name (if applicable), phone number, or email address.

You will need a blank USB drive of at least 4GB in size.

You must connect a keyboard and mouse to the server, and a display to the onboard video (only on Standard servers) or to the GPU on all other types of servers, to run the installation process.

Creating the Installer

This part of the process is done on your PC.

Download the latest ISO image, an .ISO file is around 2GB in size:

It is recommended to verify the MD5SUM of the downloaded file to ensure you have a valid image. The MD5 is available at the same download location as the file. To check the MD5SUM of the downloaded ISO, open the MD5SUM file with Notepad, and then run the following command in the Windows command prompt to check the disc:

cd Downloads
certutil -hashfile (filename)

The resulting output should match the contents of the MD5 file. If it does not, re-try the download.

Download Win32 Disk Imager and run it. It should immediately recognize the USB drive when connected to your computer.

You may need to change the .IMG preference to all files.

Click Write and allow some time for the process to finish, then remove the drive.

Installing the Software

Insert the USB drive into the Userful system and start or re-start it. It should be configured to boot from the USB automatically. If not, you will need to enable USB booting from the BIOS or EFI of the system or select USB as a temporary boot device.

Userful does not support Secure Boot. If you are installing Userful on a server for the first time, Secure Boot must be disabled in the BIOS or EFI, or the system will not boot after installation.

You will be presented with this screen. It's recommended to select the default Test this media & install Userful. Wait while the test completes and the installer starts.

Select language options to use during the install process. This does not affect the installed product.

Select date/time, keyboard, and language settings for the system. Automatic partitioning and network settings are recommended. Click Begin Installation once ready.

The network may not automatically connect. If it does not, clicking Network & Host Name should allow you to enable and customize the adapter settings, but this is not required for the install to complete.

This process should take less than 30 minutes. Once finished, you will be prompted to reboot. Do so, removing the USB drive once you see the system start to boot up.

Licensing

If you are re-installing an existing Userful server with an Internet connection, the server will download and re-install its own license automatically.

If you are re-installing an existing Userful server without an Internet connection, send an email to support@userful.com so we can send you a copy of your license file. Please include details that will help us locate your license quickly, such as your system ID, organization's name, partner name (if applicable), phone number, or email address.

If you are installing a new Userful server for the first time, contact us to get set up with a trial license.

If your server does not have Internet access, proceed to Initial Setup.

Errors during Install

The below error appearing during installation indicates bad install media.

Re-try the download and Rufus process. If the error continues, try a different USB drive.

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