I am not emplyed by Microsoft and i have nothing against Linux i just don't know nothing about it. The only reason i responded is because i thought i could give you some ideas. Windows Server 2008 r2 trail would work just fine. (you can use "slmgr.vbs -rearm" to re-enable it beyond 30 days, up to 3 times i think) WAIK and MDT are made for windows systems you are correct. Windows Deployment Services (WDS) and DHCP are server roles in Windows 2008 and just need to enable them and do minor configuration. Window 7 as far as i know can not act as PXE server (WDS is the name of the feature that you looking for) Server 2008 shuld run on the laptop as long as you are meeting min hardware requirments See this link if it helps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTv3_HxYZRU

I have an Acer Aspire 5517 with Windows 7 Home Premium connected wirelessly to a Linksys E1000 which is connected to a surfboard modem connected to Comcast cable internet. I just picked up an HP Proliant DL360 server with no OS and no optical drive. It tries to PXE network boot when I turn it on. How do I use my Laptop to install a linux image via the network? I have read extensively about this subject for a couple of days now and jacked up my IP settings in my router as well as my network adapter a couple of times now. Everything is backed up and my original settings are written down. Is there anyone here that can offer any advice or point me in the right direction? I have asked for advice from Cisco and HP as well. I keep getting told that it is difficult to do if a PXE server is not already set up, but noone has really helped. I tried TFTPboot.exe last night. I feel like I was on the right track but the article said "Set the network adapter on your computer to have a static IP address of 192.168.1.5" and I jacked everything up. I am not a pro. I'm just a guy trying to learn. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The server is a fancy paper weight until I figure this out. Thank you for your time. P.S. I do not have a USB flash drive (usually the first suggestion I get)

In the Dell servers you can map to a virtual optical drive, i don't know if that option is available on HP. In Windows world to achive that you would need WAIK tools MDT WDS DHCP (would be nice as well then you wuldn't have to deal with setting static IP) So you could setup all of that on a signle Widnows 2008 box and have your client computers connect to it to download image. How is that done in the Linux world i am not sure but at least this will give you some idea.

Linux is not a requirement. It is just what I already had laying around. Apparently you guys are not going to talk to me about anything not made by Microsoft. I have a Windows Server 2008 R2 (trial) image. Can you help me deploy that? My end goal here is simply to get this server to work. I downloaded WAIK and MDT but from what I can tell WDS and DHCP are only for Windows Server. So what you are telling me is that a Windows 7 box cannot serve as a PXE server? Right? Will the Windows Server 2008 run on my laptop? I could install it in a dual-boot config just to get this done. Will that work? Is it what you would recommend?

I am not emplyed by Microsoft and i have nothing against Linux i just don't know nothing about it. The only reason i responded is because i thought i could give you some ideas. Windows Server 2008 r2 trail would work just fine. (you can use "slmgr.vbs -rearm" to re-enable it beyond 30 days, up to 3 times i think) WAIK and MDT are made for windows systems you are correct. Windows Deployment Services (WDS) and DHCP are server roles in Windows 2008 and just need to enable them and do minor configuration. Window 7 as far as i know can not act as PXE server (WDS is the name of the feature that you looking for) Server 2008 shuld run on the laptop as long as you are meeting min hardware requirments See this link if it helps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTv3_HxYZRU

It wasn't meant as a shot at you, I really appreciate your contributions. I guess I did get the impression I was talking to Microsoft employee though as you seem to be extra knowledgeable about Microsoft systems. I am still reading about everything you have posted so far. I will check back when I have Win Server and the other packages installed. I do REALLY appreciate your help.

No worries Robert. I was just trying to clarify that i don't mind Linux but just don't know nothing about it. Hopefully the information i gave you will get you started on your project. Thanks Brano

I dont know the tftp configuration part, but I do know the files; I dont know how to do it for linux, but I do know how to do it for windows. 1. you might be putting the setup onto the tftp server. You want to put winndows pe onto it. 2. Copy the setup onto a network share. 3. files are done. 4. go onto your new computer. It will pxe boot to windows pe. 5. enter these commands: net use z \\server\share server\domain setup 6. follow the instructions and happy installing (I mean its better to install it over the network) way 2: put a normal OS onto your tftp server so it directly boots to your OS