[SOLVED] Lenovo ThinkPad T530 pxe boot problem
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We just got 4 new T530 laptops in, I have set it up the way we want it and now I need to upload the image to FOG but the laptop will not boot to pxe. I have looked up the manual for this model laptop and it does say it supports pxe booting but it also states “The Remote Initial Program Load (RPL) function cannot be used with your computer” does that mean it can’t boot to FOG? I have check all the bios settings and have found nothing to change related to pxe booting. Has anybody got any ideas that could help me and has anybody been able to image this model laptop? Thanks!
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Call Lenovo and ask them why it wont boot to LAN.
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I did and they had me change a few things in the BIOS then update the BIOS and make a few more changes to see if that would work. It didn’t and then they told me it was not their problem, it must be our FOG server but all of our other computers boot to it.
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RPL and PXE are not the same thing. Maybe there is a bois option to change between the two. Google has not returned any helpful information based on my search terms and without experience with the device, I just don’t know. I saw a post on the lenovo forums, assuming it’s you, so good luck on getting some help there.
I saw some other models having issues with Microsoft’s image deployment software too.
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Found the manual here: [url]http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/user_guides/t530_w530_ug_en.pdf[/url]
On page 114, it describes enabling the Ethernet LAN option ROM, not sure if that’s needed or not.
On pages 124, 125, and 127 it describes settings for network booting. Might want to check that UEFI/Legacy is set to both, the startup sequence has PXE included, and network booting is enabled. It’s tough to know for sure just by the manual, but sometimes the BIOS settings are a little strange, like PXE is enabled, but is excluded from the startup sequence.
After verifying these settings, I’d mash F12 while the ThinkPad splash screen is up to manually pick the boot device. If the PXE option isn’t there, I’d guess something else in the BIOS isn’t enabled. If it attempts a PXE boot, you ought to get a screen with something along the lines of:
“Initializing Interl
Boot Agent GE v 1.3.52.1
PXE 2.1 Build 089 (WfM 2.0)
yada yada yada”That should show up if you’ve got a network cable in or not.
Hope that helps!
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Thanks for your reply and the information you have given me. I have looked at the manual and checked all the setting in the BIOS related to network booting however none of the options have allowed the system to connect to my FOG server. I have contacted lenovo about the issue and they said they would get back to me but I doubt they will. I have also contacted Intel about the nic and inquired if it was possible to roll back the boot agent version. The T530 is using Intel Boot Agent v1.3.81 I have been wondering if that was part of the problem. The system is trying to get a dhcp address from the server but fails giving error code PXE-E51 no DHCP or proxyDHCP offers were received. Thanks again for trying to help.
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You have tried another machine on the same switch to make sure it gets DHCP info during PXE boot? It seems like you’re getting a different error now than the RPL one before.
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Kinda what I was thinking, Chad. On my fog server, I typically have to manually start the DHCP server following a reboot . You might check to see that the service is running. On my flavor of ubuntu (11.10), that is:
service --status-all
and the service is isc-dhcp-server
Other things I’ve seen are bad ports on a switch, bad cables, bent pins on the NIC. I typically overlook those types of things for hours if not days, so you might try going from fog to the target computer.
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Wow! I don’t think I have ever had to start that service after rebooting but I haven’t rebooted the server in over a year. That seems to have fix the problem gentleman! Thanks for that I can’t believe I didn’t realize it wasn’t started before I began posting for help. Thanks for your time and research you have done to help me out and Thanks to the developers for such an awesome Imaging program!!!
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No problem. For me, the problem seems to be when Ubuntu boots without an ethernet connection to some active device (switch, another computer,etc) and cannot start the service. Also, the timing on the service starting is an issue, almost like it tries to start the service before the card is fully up. I think others have used a delay in /etc/init.d/isc-dhcp-server (or whatever is appropriate for your machine) to work around this.
Link on the subject here: [url]http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=11305447&postcount=2[/url]
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[quote=“Matthew Hood, post: 8716, member: 353”]We just got 4 new T530 laptops in, I have set it up the way we want it and now I need to upload the image to FOG but the laptop will not boot to pxe. I have looked up the manual for this model laptop and it does say it supports pxe booting but it also states “The Remote Initial Program Load (RPL) function cannot be used with your computer” does that mean it can’t boot to FOG? I have check all the bios settings and have found nothing to change related to pxe booting. Has anybody got any ideas that could help me and has anybody been able to image this model laptop? Thanks![/quote]
Hello i am looking to replace my original t530 manual and noticed you have 4, may i purchase one from you as dont want a downloaded one thanks
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Cynithia Orum,
I believe you will have better luck trying to contact Matthew Hood thru conversation. He hasn’t been seen in quite a while, but usually a direct conversation will send an email to the person at least letting them know somebody is trying to communicate with them.
