Hello, I'm trying to get 3 DL380 G3 units to PXEboot from WinPE2.1. It finds the PXE server, ticks through 'Windows is Loading Files...', but then stalls when the bar is full and doesn't continue the process. My suspicion is that WinPE is having trouble writing to the HDD. I cannot figure out how to fix this as adding the latest driver available (for windows 2003) for the latest firmware of the array controller does not resolve the issue. Unless there is something other than 'no HDD' that would cause WinPE to stall in this manner. Your feedback is appreciated. -Aaron

Hello Aaron, First I suggest booting from a Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 disk to test the result. If the issue also occurs, I am afraid that this issue is mainly related to hardware. Please update your BIOS to the latest version and install the latest drivers for your hard drive and storage controller. Please also unplug all unnecessary devices such as sound card, printer and external USB drives. Incompatible RAM can also cause such issues. I suggest contacting HP as well for more information. Tim Quan - MSFT

Hey Tim, Well, I've booted the system using a W2K8 installation disk, so far it works perfectly fine. Certainly made it well past the 'windows is loading files' screen. So bearing what you said prior in mind, this should not be an issue of incompatible hardware. The system is updated to the most recent firmware for all attached devices. There are no USB devices attached to the unit.

Hi, Thank you for the reply. Since you can boot a Windows Server 2008 disk properly, I am afraid that this issue should be related to your WDS server side. Are you deploying Windows Server 2003 32bit or 64bit? What boot images did you add to the WDS server? 32bit or 64bit? If you are deploying a 32bit system, please boot into a 32bit boot image. If you are deploying a 64bit system, please boot into a 64bit boot image. Is your client on a different subnet from the WDS server? Tim Quan - MSFT

Hi, I never said I was using WDS, this is PXE booting off an Altiris Deployment Server. I'm (trying) to deploying Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x86, seeing as a full installation off the W2K8 disk worked just fine. Altiris deploys Server 2003 just fine to the target box. Using the exact same WinPE v2.1 x86 file, Server 2003 installs and loads just fine. When coupling it with Server 2008, it fails to get past the 'Windows is loading files' screen. -Aaron

Hi Aaron, Thank you for the reply. Now I understand that you are using Altiris Deployment Server. Please understand that Altiris Deployment Server is a manufactured by a company independent of Microsoft, we are not the best resource to troubleshoot the issue. I suggest contacting Altiris for direct assistance. Tim Quan - MSFT