Problem installing Windows to a iSCSI drive via iPXE

[psfan]

I setup a DHCP/TFTP and iscsi target server box (win2012r2) to boot client, pxe boot chained to undionly.kpxe.
When client booted up, I saw ipxe showed "Preserving SAN device 0x80"
Since the iscsi drive had no OS installed, it turned to boot from the 2nd boot device - an installation DVD for windows 2008 r2 standard server.
After entering the setup interface to select destination disk, the iscsi drive was in "offline" status, putting the iscsi drive online and I cannot go the next step, receiving error message:
"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu."
Whatever I treated the iscsi drive, creating partition, formatting, converting to mbr..., all not work.
And I noticed one thing that during the installation prebooting, the iscsi target was found to turn to "disconected" before entering "select language" stage. So I doubt that something caused the installation program disconnected from iscsi drive that make the setup failed.

Any help will be greatly grateful!

[CMPE_GRAD]

(2016-02-26 08:27)psfan Wrote:  I setup a DHCP/TFTP and iscsi target server box (win2012r2) to boot client, pxe boot chained to undionly.kpxe.
When client booted up, I saw ipxe showed "Preserving SAN device 0x80"
Since the iscsi drive had no OS installed, it turned to boot from the 2nd boot device - an installation DVD for windows 2008 r2 standard server.
After entering the setup interface to select destination disk, the iscsi drive was in "offline" status, putting the iscsi drive online and I cannot go the next step, receiving error message:
"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer’s hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk’s controller is enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu."
Whatever I treated the iscsi drive, creating partition, formatting, converting to mbr..., all not work.
And I noticed one thing that during the installation prebooting, the iscsi target was found to turn to "disconected" before entering "select language" stage. So I doubt that something caused the installation program disconnected from iscsi drive that make the setup failed.

Any help will be greatly grateful!

I am having very similar issues trying to use Windows Server 2008 R2 as the target server and trying to use win 7 as the client.

[pazhanii]

Hai, Usually Windows won't allow Boot partition to be on iscsi disk. Windows really knows whether its real hardware or iscsi disk for sure. So it won't allow. The work around is to attach a physical hardisk and create boot partion on physical hard disk and installation partition on iscsi disk. It will work like a charm. Then after complete installation, imagex the boot partition and apply it on iscsi disk creating a 100mb partion in iscsi disk.

If you don't understand plz let know....

[CMPE_GRAD]

(2016-03-09 14:54)pazhanii Wrote:  Hai, Usually Windows won't allow Boot partition to be on iscsi disk. Windows really knows whether its real hardware or iscsi disk for sure. So it won't allow. The work around is to attach a physical hardisk and create boot partion on physical hard disk and installation partition on iscsi disk. It will work like a charm. Then after complete installation, imagex the boot partition and apply it on iscsi disk creating a 100mb partion in iscsi disk.

If you don't understand plz let know....

Can you give the steps to separate the boot partition from installation partition?

[NiKiZe]

You can install windows on iscsi by either sanhook and then starting wimboot to run boot.wim, or you can use sanboot --keep to not disconnect it when boot from the iscsi target is unsuccessfull.

From http://ipxe.org/cmd/sanboot#notes

Quote:This drive will be automatically detached if booting then fails, unless the --keep option is specified.

[pazhanii]

Usually when you install windows 7 or 10, windows will inform you that its going to create a 100 mb partition. That is the boot partition. If you select iscsi disk for install while physical disk attached to pc windows automatically creates the boot partition on fixed physical disk. Continue with installation. Be sure you have physical disk attached to pc. Unless you attach a physical disk to pc which your are going to install it will not allow you to select the disk even if its online.

Many people say it allows, but not.

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Plz post your ipxe script that your using in config file

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Another way of iscsi boot is, installing windows to pc with all softwares as we do normally. Disable the lwf filter driver in registry and clone it using imagex or your favorite clone software. Then create a iscsi target apply the image, and with easybcd deploy bcd to it and create a new entry. If you need more help you can find it in reboot.pro website.

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At first it might be hard to understand, this logic in iscsi boot, but as you figure it out step by step, you can even memory load the xp or windows 7 using grub4dos or create differcnicing vhd using powershell, and link it and you can play with iscsi.

Also be sure your lan card supports the iscsi boot. Most does but few doesn't. Usually atheros card...

Finally reboot.pro website serves you well with information regarding lan boot iscsi. You can check it there...

[CMPE_GRAD]

(2016-03-11 16:14)pazhanii Wrote:  Usually when you install windows 7 or 10, windows will inform you that its going to create a 100 mb partition. That is the boot partition. If you select iscsi disk for install while physical disk attached to pc windows automatically creates the boot partition on fixed physical disk. Continue with installation. Be sure you have physical disk attached to pc. Unless you attach a physical disk to pc which your are going to install it will not allow you to select the disk even if its online.

Many people say it allows, but not.

---

Plz post your ipxe script that your using in config file

---

Another way of iscsi boot is, installing windows to pc with all softwares as we do normally. Disable the lwf filter driver in registry and clone it using imagex or your favorite clone software. Then create a iscsi target apply the image, and with easybcd deploy bcd to it and create a new entry. If you need more help you can find it in reboot.pro website.

---

At first it might be hard to understand, this logic in iscsi boot, but as you figure it out step by step, you can even memory load the xp or windows 7 using grub4dos or create differcnicing vhd using powershell, and link it and you can play with iscsi.

Also be sure your lan card supports the iscsi boot. Most does but few doesn't. Usually atheros card...

Finally reboot.pro website serves you well with information regarding lan boot iscsi. You can check it there...

I have tried installing it with an SSD attached but I still got the same error.

I tried imaging a clean install of windows 7 and deployed it to a VHD on my server using imagex and BCDBOOT.exe. When iPXE tries to sanboot that drive I either get a failed boot message or an input/output error.

My script looks this:

Code:

#!ipxe
dhcp net0
set root-path iscsi:10.0.0.1::::<iqn> <- the iqn of the target I made on the server in MS iSCSI Target 3.3
set keep-san 1
sanboot ${root-path}

I am using an Intel I218-V NIC which according to the datasheet http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/pub...asheet.pdf supports iscsi boot.

I have tried wimboot but I ended up in the same place (albeit much slower).

Is there an alternative to iscsi booting? I cannot figure out how to get this to work.

My original setup was based on this page http://jentofts.net/sysadmwiki/index.php...sing_iSCSI

and this video Diskless Windows part 1: Prepare server for diskless iSCSI clients.

Maybe they had me set something up wrong.

[pazhanii]

You are not still clear.
1. First clean Install of server 2008.
2. Download and configure the dhcp, from the link http://www.dhcpserver.de/cms/download/
In this root file column type as grldr.
Also disable any dhcp other than this.
3.Then SolarWindsTFTPServer installation
4. Then copy, ipxe.iso, grldr, menu.lst to root folder of TFTP Server.
5. Then Microsoft iSCSI Software Target Installer on server.
And mainly disable antivirus for tftp to function properly.
If all this goes well.... no problem will appear

Second method didn't work because bcd entry should exactly point to disk signature id. Its really tricky to make it work.
Try it as you near to success.

Other option is using CCBOOT Software or Isharedisk software. No depth knowledge is needed. Just installation...

[CMPE_GRAD]

(2016-03-12 07:02)pazhanii Wrote:  You are not still clear.
1. First clean Install of server 2008.
2. Download and configure the dhcp, from the link http://www.dhcpserver.de/cms/download/
In this root file column type as grldr.
Also disable any dhcp other than this.
3.Then SolarWindsTFTPServer installation
4. Then copy, ipxe.iso, grldr, menu.lst to root folder of TFTP Server.
5. Then Microsoft iSCSI Software Target Installer on server.
And mainly disable antivirus for tftp to function properly.
If all this goes well.... no problem will appear

Second method didn't work because bcd entry should exactly point to disk signature id. Its really tricky to make it work.
Try it as you near to success.

Other option is using CCBOOT Software or Isharedisk software. No depth knowledge is needed. Just installation...

Thank you for your suggestions.

Based on your post and another ipxe forum post (http://forum.ipxe.org/showthread.php?tid=7962) I was able to figure out that I was using the wrong ipxe file from rom-o-matic.eu . I was using undionly.kpxe and I should have been using ipxe.kpxe. I switched it and it is working fine now.

Thanks again!