Deployment Solution

 View Only
  • 1.  WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 05, 2008 04:38 AM
    I've been working on trying to get the Dell Latitude D630 imaged. I finally gave up on using DOS and am now trying to to use WinPE. I've loaded all the WinPE files and have configured the boot option for the d630 to boot from WinPE. As the D630 boots from the NIC, it briefly sees that it has a job then closes down the PXE boot and goes into the native OS on the hard drive without ever downloading WINPE. I'm using WinPE2005 and it's configured to autodetect the network driver. I'm new to WinPE so it's probably something simple, but I can't seem to fiure it out. Thoughts?


  • 2.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 05, 2008 06:40 AM
    Is this machine in the database, appearing in the console? If not, it will, I believe, try to boot to the installed OS to have its aclient save configuration data to the server before making the image. This has been my experience with DOS PXE boot. It then would reboot to PXE and whatever OS you are using to make the image. You can, I believe, under the advanced image job, tell it via a check box, to NOT boot to the operational OS first.


  • 3.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 05, 2008 07:04 AM
    Thanks Don. Yes, I have manually configured it into the console. I also have the checkbox de-selected so that it does not boot to production first.

    For what it's worth, it starts the PXE process, gets the DHCP address, the schreen clears and then the following two lines come up:

    Altiris pre-select automation processing
    PXE-M0F: Exiting broadcom PXE ROM

    The second line comes up a second or two after the first. I've tried different drivers with the WinPE bootimage including XP dirvers, etc.

    Thanks. Jim


  • 4.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 06, 2008 04:55 AM
    Are you assigning a job to it? Do you get an error in the console?


  • 5.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 06, 2008 05:05 AM
    yes, I'm assigning a imaging job (a restore) to it. Oddly enough, some of the first D630's we got in a few months ago worked fine with the DOS bootfile. At that time we created and uploaded an image. I'm trying to download the image to these newer D630s. The only thing I see in the console is "sending wake on Lan".

    Thanks.


  • 6.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 06, 2008 05:16 AM
    It sounds like its never connecting DS to find that it needs to boot into automation.


  • 7.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile
    Best Answer

    Posted Nov 06, 2008 08:41 AM
    Problem solved. Rebooted server and d630 now images with NDIS driver and WinPE seems to download ramdisk as well. Not sure why it would re-image other types of hardware and not these d630' sbut its working now. Thanks for the help. Jim


  • 8.  RE: WINPE not downloading bootfile

    Posted Nov 06, 2008 10:13 AM
    Glad you got it working.