Unable to install Windows with iPXE and sanboot WinPE iso

[ccy]

I have a ready WinPE iso that may boot from network using syslinux.

I use the WinPE iso to boot machine into Window PE and perform Windows installation. It works so far but I would like to try iPXE solution for network booting and installation.

When boot from iPXE, I use

Code:

sanboot --no-describe http://lanboot/winpe.iso

to boot the winpe iso. The WinPE does boot and I try to perform windows installation as usual. However, I encounter

Code:

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk"

when trying to install Windows in my local hard disk.

If I boot into iPXE and using syslinux/memdisk:

Code:

kernel http://lanboot/syslinux/memdisk iso
initrd http://lanboot/winpe.iso
boot

I may install Windows OS as usual to the local hard disk.

I am thinking to abandon syslinux solution and using pure iPXE strategy in my network environment. Is there any steps to make sanboot winpe iso works in my scenarios?

Thank you.

[zhang_liang]

(2013-11-19 10:34)ccy Wrote:  I have a ready WinPE iso that may boot from network using syslinux.

I use the WinPE iso to boot machine into Window PE and perform Windows installation. It works so far but I would like to try iPXE solution for network booting and installation.

When boot from iPXE, I use

Code:

sanboot --no-describe http://lanboot/winpe.iso

to boot the winpe iso. The WinPE does boot and I try to perform windows installation as usual. However, I encounter

Code:

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk"

when trying to install Windows in my local hard disk.

If I boot into iPXE and using syslinux/memdisk:

Code:

kernel http://lanboot/syslinux/memdisk iso
initrd http://lanboot/winpe.iso
boot

I may install Windows OS as usual to the local hard disk.

I am thinking to abandon syslinux solution and using pure iPXE strategy in my network environment. Is there any steps to make sanboot winpe iso works in my scenarios?

Thank you.

If you want to use pure iPXE strategy, kernel winboot in iPXE is an option. You could refer to http://ipxe.org/howto/winpe. But it may encount some problem for specific server, you could see my post http://forum.ipxe.org/showthread.php?tid=7099, which is a big trouble for me now.

I'm very interseted in your way of booting into iPXE and using syslinux/memdisk, I thind that may help solve my problem of booting winpe, could you please give us more detail about that?

[robinsmidsrod]

If you want to continue using sanboot to install to a local disk, you might have luck with the --drive 0x81 parameter to sanboot, because that should instruct it to not set itself (winpe) as the first bios drive in the machine. My guess is that this is the reason why you get the message about not being able to install to your local drive. But I would also suggest that you use wimboot (as already mentioned), as it is usually faster than doing a sanboot of a WinPE iso. See the tutorial already linked by zhang_liang.

[cckp]

wimboot can boot windows PE

but if firstly sanhooked an iSCSI drive, then wimboot'd fail.