[wds] Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem.

[local-lad-steve]

Hi,

 

i am currently on a project whereby i am installing a deployment solution at several sites.

i have this problem now twice at two of four sites that have been targetted so far.

 

i am running WDS in native mode using a windows 7 boot.wim. i have setup WDS correctly, all the correct files are there, in the right place and all looks good. Until we try to deploy the image. i have been running WDS now for 6 months using a windows 7 boot.wim to capture and deploy 6 different XP images without a single problem.

 

i have captured an XP image and successfully uploaded it to the WDS server. when we select to deploy the image (now using the boot.wim instead of the capture.wim) it deploys and looks normal until the first reboot (which occurs following the unpacking of the windows files) at which point it reboots and displays the following error;

 

"Windows could not start because of a disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. check boot path and disk hardware. Please check the windows documentation about the hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for addtional information."

 

This is something that has occured with a couple of different laptops, the most recent is a Dell Latitude E5410.

 

anyone had a similar problem? can anyone shed any light?

 

cheers!

[local-lad-steve]

Has ANYONE seen anything remotely like this before? any advice would be appreciated!

[computer_expert]

The most likely thing would be that the SATA drivers aren't included in the boot.wim. the Windows automated installation kit (WAIK) should allow you to integrate the drivers into the image. I think server 2008 r2 has the option to integrate drivers in the WDS console but i'm not 100% sure on that.

 

the other option could be hardware failure but as you say it's happened on multiple machines, I'd say that it would be a driver issue. Another thing to check is the ACHI settings in the bios of the client computers.

 

EDIT 2 - I don't know if you have seen this but it may help

 

Edit 3 - do the machines have recovery partitions (the dells should)? if they do this could be the issue. try modifying the boot.ini to point to the correct partitions/paths

Edited July 1, 2010 by computer_expert

[sted]

dont suppose the pcs have virus protection turned on in the bios do they?

[local-lad-steve]

thanks both for your comments. turned out that the problem was a school boy error by the engineer that built the image; he didnt delete the dell utility partition when he installed XP. if u want a job doing properly, do it urself!!

 

Thanks