WDS and PXE
we have the following config:
Dell 2950 windows server 2008 sp2
sccm 2007 r3
DHCP
The issue I am having is every month after the updates are installed and the server restarts, PXE does not funciton. The following errors:
pxe-t01 the specified file does not exist
pxe-e3b tftp file not found
pxe-mof exit boot agent
What I have to do is:
uninstall WDS and PXE service point
restart
reinstall WDE and add PXE service point back in.
add the distribution points back to all of the images and boot packages.
Has anyone had the same issue and found a solution?
Thanks
Frnak
May 25th, 2011 12:20pm
Hi Frank,
Did you configure Option 66 and Option 67 on your DHCP server scope options? If not, please refer to
http://weikingteh.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/cannot-get-pxe-boot-from-sccm/
Regards,
Hau
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 25th, 2011 12:47pm
You shouldn't need to do this (configure DHCP Scope Options), nor should you per official Microsoft documentation. The PXE Point should be defined on your routers instead. This post has some good info on that
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/configmgrosd/thread/a83237d8-55d7-4b99-bc1c-10c3bbf5aef2/.
As for the original problem of WDS/PXE not working after applying updates, make sure your Windows Deployment Server service starts back up after the monthly reboot for applying patches. I've seen issues with this service across multiple customer environments
and have found it might start up successfully about 50% of the time after a server reboot. The other 50% requires a manual start instead. You can use SCOM to monitor the service and automatically start it if necessary. I have also found if
I set the service to Automatic (Delayed Start) it *usually* starts successfully and should continue operating without re-installing the PXE point and WDS.
-Jeff
May 25th, 2011 1:17pm
Are you mean you received error message above from a client computer?
If so, this behavior can occur if files in the RemoteInstall\Boot\X86 or the RemoteInstall\Boot\X64 folder are missing or damaged. please make sure the following files exist in this folder:
wdsnbp.com
pxeboot.com
bootmgr.exe
If these files do not exist or are damaged and need replacement, you can copy and replace them manually from other WDS servers.
In addition, please try this on the same subnet as the DHCP server and WDS server, and you needn't to configure the DHCP options manually once you have configured the IP Help Tables and if you are using Microsoft DHCP servers.
Hope it helps.Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 31st, 2011 2:38am
Sometimes it's enough to just restart the WDS service. Otherwise follow this steps:
1) Stop the WDS service (2) Delete files in C:\Windows\Temp (there will be folders for PXEBootFiles and BootImages in here) and (3) Start the WDS service again.
When this works put the steps in a batch file for monthly usage.
My ConfigMgr blog: http://henkhoogendoorn.blogspot.com Follow me on Twitter: @henkhoogendoorn
May 31st, 2011 4:12am
Try to set a delayed start of WDS, like this
http://blog.coretech.dk/kea/wds-service-stopping-after-system-restart/
Michael Petersen http://blog.coretech.dk/mip/
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 31st, 2011 4:46am