PXE boot options?
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In the process of setting up about 50-70 different computers and laptops, not all of them have PXE boot option. Is there some sort of boot CD I can keep in the computers at all times for this purpose?
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What is the make and model of the computers and laptops? How new are they?
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[quote=“ssx4life, post: 674, member: 268”]What is the make and model of the computers and laptops? How new are they?[/quote]
I’m in a lab environment that test equipment with different scenarios. All the computers differ in age and type HP, Compaq, Alienware, Dell, Lenovo, and several self-built.
Right now imaging is done via Norton Ghost…one computer at a time
With several images and languages on each computer. What I’m looking for is an .iso disk that I can drop in the computers that do not have pxe boot options from the BIOS, or is this even possible? -
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Because you are dealing with various types of hardware it’s going to be hard for me to pin down a be-all end-all solution for you, but look into Etherboot - [url]http://etherboot.org/wiki/start[/url]
I’ve used it in the past for some of my earlier linux projects back in the early 2000’s when I was setting up a lab with K12LTSP - [url]http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r12120350-A-wounderful-expierence-with-K-12LTSP-good-read-[/url]
I’ve not seen too many computers that don’t allow PXE booting or doesn’t support PXE. The EARLIEST computers that don’t suport it would be Pentium III computers.
Are the computers in question that don’t PXE boot plane jane systems? If so check for a bios update, some times they add functionality on later bios revisions (including PXE)
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I know some of the HP machines have a bios option that needs to be turned on before you can select pxe booting from the boot menu, I think it was under device security.
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If your systems are outdated and do not support PXE boot on BIOS you can still boot them via PXE by using RBFG bootdisk. RBFG stands for Remote Boot Floppy Generator which creates the capability for those clients that natively do not support boot via PXE.
In order to create this bootdisk, either you need to have a Windows 2000 Server Disk or if you do not have one then follow the instruction on this site: [url]http://registration.argontechnology.com/rbfg/index.shtml[/url]Hope it helps you.