[WDS] Building Dell Optiplex 790 [Windows 7: 64 Bit]

[DaveP]

My WDS is working again now and I am trying to send Windows 7 to a new test station. I get the following error:

WdsClient: An error occurred while starting networking: a matching network card driver was not found in this image. Please have your Administrator add the network driver for this machine to the Windows PE image on the Windows Deployment Services server.

I have tried the driver that was on the HDD when Windows 7 was installed [no good] I also tried the 32 Bit version of the same driver.

I have been downloading drivers from Dell and other websites without success. Has anyone successfully deployed Windows 7 to Dell Optiplex 790s via WDS? If so what driver did you use?

Thanks.

[Duke5A]

My WDS is working again now and I am trying to send Windows 7 to a new test station. I get the following error:



I have tried the driver that was on the HDD when Windows 7 was installed [no good] I also tried the 32 Bit version of the same driver.

I have been downloading drivers from Dell and other websites without success. Has anyone successfully deployed Windows 7 to Dell Optiplex 790s via WDS? If so what driver did you use?

Thanks.

We have a handful of 790s that I push Win7x64 out to via WDS. We really haven't had any issues. I use a 32 boot WIM to PXE boot from and just import the driver for the NIC into the WDS console. Is your WDS server running on Win2k8 R2? Only the Win2k8 R2 version of WDS version supports adding drivers at the console. If you're running an older version you have to export the boot WIM, mount it, jam the driver in, and import it back into the WDS server.

[DaveP]

...I use a 32 boot WIM to PXE boot from and just import the driver for the NIC into the WDS console. Is your WDS server running on Win2k8 R2?...

Hi @Duke5A,

It sounds like you have the same configuration as me. I am having trouble finding the right driver to add as none of the candidates I have added so far are helping. Could you point me in the right direction as to where I could download the driver I need? [32 boot WIM]

Many thanks.

DaveP.

[Duke5A]

Well, my boot WIM was pulled from an x32 Windows 7 install DVD, so just grabbed the x32 NIC driver for Windows 7 from Dell's site and imported it into the WDS console. Is it still not working for you after doing this?

[DaveP]

I have grabbed all of the relevant drivers I can from the Dell website. None seem to work.

Not sure what to do next...

[Arthur]

I have grabbed all of the relevant drivers I can from the Dell website. None seem to work.

Have you tried these?

Dell Optiplex 790 Windows 7 Driver CAB

[DaveP]

Maybe I have. But I can say that I haven't seen them presented like this before so they are definitely worth a shot. I will try them now [won't know if they work on the workstation until tomorrow but I can try adding them to WDS tonight]

Thanks.

[j17sparky]

Its the WinPE driver cab you need. WinPE 3.0 Driver CAB - Enterprise Client - Wiki - Enterprise Client - Dell Community

[DaveP]

That does look like just the thing!

[gregom]

I've got some Optiplex 790's and WDS on a Win2k8 SP1 x86 server (non-R2), and i'm also trying to get my OS image onto my 790's but the network drivers aren't doing anything. I added all the NIC drivers for the Intel and Broadcom drivers that were in all the R2##### folders from the WinPE 3.0 CAB drivers package that was posted here and it still isn't working. My boot image is 15MB bigger than it was before and I see the driver names when I mount the boot image, so I know they are in there. But it still isn't working...

Did anyone find SPECIFICALLY which driver INF and its files work for the 790's? This is very frustrating, i've spend about 3 hours trying to get these machines loaded with my image.

[DaveP]

I added the drivers above to my boot image and it now works where it did not before.

To add the drivers I followed the method outlined in this video:

[gregom]

Thanks for the reply! I looked at the video and it seemed the only thing that I wasn't doing is adding the drivers to the index #2. I've tried again putting drivers in both indexes but it still isn't working. However i'm noticing in the video that the AIK command prompt tool has slightly different commands than I. I am using AIK on my Windows Server 2008 SP1 x86, it appears Windows 7 is in use on the video so they must be different. Recurse wasn't an option either so I had to do each driver individually, which is annoying. I guess i'll try using the Windows 7 AIK on my PC now and see if that works.

[DaveP]

The techniques in the video worked for me:

AIK Command Prompt Tool.
Adding Drivers Recursively.

Server O/S: Windows Server 2008: Enterprise: SP2: 64 Bit (Result of Command Prompt ver: Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002])

Best of luck with your boot images.

[gregom]

Well using AIK for Windows 7 on my Windows 7 machine worked fine. I am now able to image my Optiplex 790. For some reason the AIK I had installed on WDS server on Windows Server 2008 SP1 x86 wasn't working, even though I was indeed adding the drivers to the boot image. I'm not sure what the difference is but i've got it working now. Very frustrating, to say the least.

Thanks for the help.

[DaveP]

...Very frustrating, to say the least...

I know. I felt exactly the same when I was trying to get my boot and build images working.

Good to hear its OK now. Good work.