PXE boot for 32-bit OS image deployment ConfigMgr 1910

Brass Contributor

Hi All

Ran into an issue with a customer last week and just wondering if anyone has any ideas.

Customer currently deploys 64-bit Windows 10 using ConfigMgr through PXE boot configured through one of the DPs. All working well. 

 

The customer has a requirement to use 32-bit OS deployed also through PXE however I have noticed that when a UEFI 64-bit machine boots it only receives the x64 boot image.

 

I have configured a specific task sequence to install 32-bit OS and have also specified the x86 boot image for that particular TS but my issue is when the machine reaches out to the PXE server it loading straight the x64 boot image.

 

I have tried to adjust the settings on the client machine in UEFI such as turn off secure boot, choose legacy BIOS but have not been successful. 

 

Ideally for the 32bit deployment the customer wants to leverage the task sequence steps that apply for 64-bit on the 32-bit machine such as BitLocker, would that be possible?

 

Any advise on setup on the client machine and how to get the machine to boot the x86 boot image would be grateful. The machines in question are fairly recent Lenovo laptops. I have asked the client to check their Iphelper options and/or DHCP options to see if a 32-bit boot image is defined....

 

Thanks

2 Replies

@isotonic_uk 

 

The machine you want to image with 32bit image, is it a known computer in CM?
When it boots to WinPE, does it see any other Task Sequences that use 64-bit Media?

You'll need to confirm that NO other task sequences are deployed to that machine that use 64 bit boot image.

I'd recommend making sure you have the machine in CM, in a collection that only has 1 TS deployed to it, that uses the 32-bit boot image.


You would not want to switch a machine back to legacy BIOS, you will want to leave it UEFI with Secure Boot. 

 

Just curious, why the requirement for a 32bit Windows 10 installation?  What are they doing that can't be run on x64?

 

Also, have you just tried creating 32Bit USB Media and confirming everything else works already before trying to get the PXE stuff working?

@isotonic_uk The behavior you're seeing is by design. For details about how this works, see:

 

 

In a nutshell: for PXE boots, ConfigMgr will always try to use a boot image that matches the PXE client architecture. However, if you then select a task sequence that has a different boot image associated to it, that boot image should then get downloaded, and the computer should reboot into that boot image before it starts the task sequence. So the boot image that's used for the PXE boot doesn't really matter: if it happens to be the one that's associated with the task sequence you're going to run, that task sequence can start immediately; but if the task sequence requires a different boot image, that one will be downloaded and used after the initial PXE boot.