Event ID 1797 — PXE Provider Initial Configuration

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

After the Windows Deployment Services server role is installed, you must configure the server by using either the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in or the /Initialize-Server command-line option. The PXE provider must be configured properly before it can provide client boot services over the network.

Event Details

Resolve

Check the network configuration

To resolve this issue, do the following in the specified order until the issue is resolved: 

• Ensure network connectivity for the DNS server and the Windows Deployment Services server.

• Ensure that there is network connectivity.

• Verify the computer account for the server.

• Confirm the Group Policy settings.

To perform these procedures, you must either be a member of the Domain Admins group or have been delegated the appropriate authority.

Ensure network connectivity for the DNS server and the Windows Deployment Services server

First make sure that the DNS server for your domain is turned on, that the DNS service is running, and that it has network connectivity. If it does, use the procedures in the following section to ensure that there is network connectivity.

Ensure that there is network connectivity

Note: The following procedures include steps for using the ping command to perform troubleshooting. Therefore, before performing these steps, determine whether the firewall settings or Internet Protocol security (IPsec) settings on your network allow Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic. ICMP is the TCP/IP protocol that the ping command uses.

To determine whether there is a network connectivity problem:

1. On the Windows Deployment Services server, open the Command Prompt window.
2. At the command prompt, run ping <server FQDN>, where <server FQDN> is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the domain controller (for example, server1.contoso.com).
3. At the command prompt, run ping <IP Address>, where <IP Address>  is the IP address of the domain controller.
4. Note the following:
   • If you can successfully ping the domain controller by IP address, but not by FQDN, this indicates a possible issue with DNS host name resolution.
   • If you cannot successfully ping the domain controller by IP address, this indicates a possible issue with network connectivity, the firewall configuration, or the IPsec configuration.

If necessary, you can perform the following additional steps to help identify the root cause of the problem:

• Ping other computers on the network to determine the extent of the connectivity issue.
• If you can ping other servers but not the domain controller, try to ping the domain controller from another computer. If you cannot ping the domain controller from any computer, first make sure that the domain controller is running. If the domain controller is running, check its network settings.
• Check the TCP/IP settings on the local computer by doing the following:
  1. Open the Command Prompt window, run the ipconfig /all command, and then verify that the output is correct.
  2. At the command prompt, run ping localhost to verify that TCP/IP is installed and correctly configured on the local computer. If this command is unsuccessful, this may indicate a corrupt TCP/IP stack or a problem with your network adapter.
  3. Run ping <local IP address>. If you can ping the localhost address but not the local address, there may be an issue with the routing table or with the network adapter driver.
  4. Run ping <DNS server IP address>.** **If there is more than one DNS server on your network, you should ping each of them in turn. If you cannot ping the DNS servers, this indicates a potential problem with the DNS servers, or possibly a network problem between the computer and the DNS servers.
  5. If the domain controller is on a different subnet, try to ping the default gateway. If you cannot ping the default gateway, this might indicate a problem with the network adapter, the router or gateway device, the cabling, or other connectivity hardware.

• In Device Manager, check the status of the network adapter. (To open Device Manager, click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK. )
• Check the network connectivity indicator lights on the computer and at the hub or router. Check the network cabling.
• Check the firewall settings by using the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security snap-in.
• Check the IPsec settings by using the IP Security Policy Management snap-in.

If none of this resolves your issue, use the instructions in the following section to verify the computer account for the server.

Verify the computer account for the server

In Active Directory Users and Computers, verify that a computer account exists for the Windows Deployment Services server. Then verify that the account name in Active Directory is the same as the server name. If the names are different, change one of the names so that they match. Also, make sure that the server name is not too long for the Active Directory account name, as this is a common cause of error. If none of these steps fixes the problem, use the procedures in the following section to confirm your Group Policy settings.

Confirm the Group Policy settings

Your Group Policy settings must specify a DNS server that is inside the domain. If the DNS server is outside the domain, you must reconfigure your settings. To resolve this issue, do one of the following:

• Set your Group Policy settings to point to a DNS server that is inside the domain (this is a requirement of running a Deployment Server).
• Unlink the Group Policy setting that points to the DNS server so that the Windows Deployment Services server will discover the DNS server on its own.

To set your Group Policy settings to point to a DNS server that is inside the domain:

1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Group Policy Management (if it is not there, you must install it by using Server Manager).
2. Right-click the organizational unit that contains the Windows Deployment Server computer object. Click Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here. In the Name box, type DNS Server Assignment Policy. In the Source Starter GPO list, click none. Click OK.
3. Right-click DNS Server Assignment Policy, and then click Edit.
4. In the console tree under Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates and then expand Network. Click DNS Client.
5. In the view pane, double-click DNS Servers, and then click Enabled.
6. In the IP Addresses box, type a space-delimited list of IP addresses (in dotted decimal format), and then click OK.
7. Click File and then click Exit. Close the Group Policy Management Console.
8. Reboot the Windows Deployment Server to apply the new Group Policy object.

To unlink the Group Policy settings:

1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Group Policy Management (if it is not there, you must install it by using Server Manager).
2. In the console tree, click the organizational unit that contains the Windows Deployment Server computer object.
3. In the view pane on the Linked Group Policy Objects tab, right-click the Group Policy object that deploys DNS server settings, and then click Link Enabled.
4. Click OK to close the Group Policy Management warning message.
5. The Link Enabled column for the selected Group Policy object should now display No, confirming that the Group Policy object is not linked.
6. Close the Group Policy Management Console.
7. Reboot the Windows Deployment Server to remove the affects of this Group Policy object.

Verify

To verify that the server is correctly configured:

1. Open the Command Prompt window.
2. At the command prompt, run wdsutil /get-server /show:config.
3. If the output does not contain any errors, the server is correctly configured.

Related Management Information

PXE Provider Initial Configuration

Windows Deployment Services