Dell Pro Tower Plus QBT1250 (Intel I219-LM) - PXE works after BIOS shutdown, but fails after Windows 11 shutdown (WOL works)

[krzysztof]

Hi everyone,

I’m struggling with a specific PXE booting issue on a Dell Pro Tower Plus QBT1250 equipped with an Intel Ethernet Connection (19) I219-LM (Windows 11).

The Problem:

When I shut down the PC from the BIOS/UEFI menu (or via a hard power-off), I can wake it up via WOL and it successfully enters the PXE boot sequence.

However, when I shut down the PC from Windows 11, WOL still works (the PC turns on), but it skips PXE completely and boots straight back into Windows.

What I’ve already tried:

Windows Fast Startup: Disabled in Control Panel.

BIOS Settings: “Deep Sleep Control” is Disabled. “UEFI Network Stack” is Enabled. PXE is first in the boot order.

NIC Driver Settings (Intel PROSet):

Disabled “Ultra Low Power Mode” (ULP).

Disabled “Energy Efficient Ethernet” (EEE).

Disabled “ARP Offload” and “NS Offload”.

Set “Wait for Link” to “Enabled”.

Unchecked “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” in Power Management.

Registry: Tried PlatformAoAcOverride = 0 and PnPCapabilities = 24.

The Observation:
It seems that Windows 11 leaves the I219-LM in a “D3” low-power state that doesn’t fully reset the PHY layer during a WOL trigger, causing the UEFI Network Stack to ignore the NIC during the boot process. Only a “cold” boot or a reboot (sometimes) allows PXE to initialize.

Has anyone encountered this with the newer I219-LM (v19) revisions? Is there a specific Intel driver version or a hidden “Shutdown Wake” registry key that forces the NIC to a clean state for PXE after a Windows shutdown?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Regards, Krzysztof