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MECM v2111 - Boot images

Brass Contributor

Hi,

 

We purchased new hardware that needs a new rapid storage driver injected into the boot image to detect the installed hard drive. Using a test boot image, we added the driver that is needed which leads to updating distribution points.

 

After injecting the driver, now all operating system deployments are downloading the test boot image first and later downloading the production boot image required by the task sequence selected.

 

How do you control which boot image is downloaded initially during the TFTP phase of operating system deployment? I can't seem to find a solid answer or a good explanation of how this is controlled.

 

Thank you!

Rob

2 Replies
The pxe client will pick the winpe image that is best suited and available as per the device platform. If the boot image is different to what you have in TS then what you are experiencing is normal and by design. To avoid this, try to use the same boot image for pxe and TS.
best response confirmed by robmo (Brass Contributor)
Solution

So this is what I learned. The act of adding drivers to a boot image and updating distribution points will not change the boot image that is downloaded.

 

After I updated our test boot image with drivers, I needed to test it with a different task sequence to validate the problem is resolved. This is what messed things up. I created a new task sequence, went to properties to assign the test boot image and clicked on Apply. At that moment, I changed which boot image downloads first.

 

To fix this issue, you need to locate the last task sequence deployed. In my case, it was the test task sequence I created and deployed making it easy to resolve. If you don't know which of your task sequences was deployed last, you can look at the Deployment Start Date of each task sequence in the console to find it. You can either update the last task sequence's properties with the correct boot image or you can delete the deployments for a task sequence using the desired boot image and deploy it again. This will change the boot image downloaded to the version you prefer.

 

Here is a query that will show you task sequence deployment start dates in your system:

 

SELECT v_Package.PackageID AS [PackageID], v_Package.Name AS [Task Sequence Name], v_Advertisement.PresentTime AS [Deployment Start Time]
FROM     v_Package INNER JOIN
                  v_Advertisement ON v_Package.PackageID = v_Advertisement.PackageID
WHERE  (v_Package.PackageType = 4)
Order By [Deployment Start Time] DESC

 

 

Lastly, you can read up on this more by checking out this article -> Use PXE for OSD over the network - Configuration Manager | Microsoft Docs

 

Thank you for replying and I hope this helps out everyone.

Rob 

1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by robmo (Brass Contributor)
Solution

So this is what I learned. The act of adding drivers to a boot image and updating distribution points will not change the boot image that is downloaded.

 

After I updated our test boot image with drivers, I needed to test it with a different task sequence to validate the problem is resolved. This is what messed things up. I created a new task sequence, went to properties to assign the test boot image and clicked on Apply. At that moment, I changed which boot image downloads first.

 

To fix this issue, you need to locate the last task sequence deployed. In my case, it was the test task sequence I created and deployed making it easy to resolve. If you don't know which of your task sequences was deployed last, you can look at the Deployment Start Date of each task sequence in the console to find it. You can either update the last task sequence's properties with the correct boot image or you can delete the deployments for a task sequence using the desired boot image and deploy it again. This will change the boot image downloaded to the version you prefer.

 

Here is a query that will show you task sequence deployment start dates in your system:

 

SELECT v_Package.PackageID AS [PackageID], v_Package.Name AS [Task Sequence Name], v_Advertisement.PresentTime AS [Deployment Start Time]
FROM     v_Package INNER JOIN
                  v_Advertisement ON v_Package.PackageID = v_Advertisement.PackageID
WHERE  (v_Package.PackageType = 4)
Order By [Deployment Start Time] DESC

 

 

Lastly, you can read up on this more by checking out this article -> Use PXE for OSD over the network - Configuration Manager | Microsoft Docs

 

Thank you for replying and I hope this helps out everyone.

Rob 

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