NOTE - THIS PAGE FORMS PART OF THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR SETTING UP WINDOWS TO BOOT FROM A STORAGE AREA NETWORK (SAN) USING EITHER THE AoE OR iSCSI PROTOCOLS.
To successfully run Windows via a Network Boot, the drivers for the Network Adapter being used must be loaded early enough in the boot process to give access to the target disk image (the AoE or iSCSI target on the server. In order to do this we must first identify the Service associated with the Network Adapter.
If the operating system includes the wmic tool, then run the following command in a command-prompt - "wmic nic get name,servicename". This command will output a list of adapters (by name) with the associated service name listed to the right. In the following example (Thinkpad X61 system), the Service associated with the Intel(R) 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection is e1express -
Open a Run Dialog box (press the Windows Key + R).
Type msinfo32 > click on OK - this will open the System Information tool.
In the left pane, go to Components > Network > Adapter. Now in the right pane, identify the network adapter based on its description (scroll through the list of adapters) and check the Service Name - in the screenshot below it's e1yexpress.
Open a Run Dialog box (press the Windows Key + R).
Type devmgmt.msc > click on OK - this will open Device Manager.
Expand the Network adapters tree > identify the relevant adapter > right-click on the adapter and select Properties -
In the Properties window for the selected Network adapter > select the Details tab and Select Service in the Property pick list. The Network adapter's associated Service will be displayed in the Value section (in this case e1iexpress) -
The easiest way of changing the Network adapter's associated Service to start early enough in the boot process to facilitate a Network Boot is to run the following command in an elevated command prompt -
E.g.
Alternatively, open a Run Dialog box (press the Windows Key + R).
Type regedit > click on OK - this will open the Registry Editor -
In the tree on the left, select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services -
Now select the Service identified earlier (e1yexpress in this example) > double-click on Start in the right pane -
In the Value data field > type 0 > click on OK -
Document date - 28th February 2017(DRAFT)