Article ID: 932449 - Last Review: October 2, 2007 - Revision: 2.2

A network adapter is not detected when you start a computer by using PXE on an RIS server or on an ADS server that is running Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition

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SYMPTOMS

When you start a computer by using Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) on a Remote Installation Services (RIS) server, on a Windwows Deployment Server(WDS), or on an Automated Deployment Services (ADS) server, the network adapter is not detected. You experience this symptom even though the network adapter driver is included in the image or it exists in the Presystem folder.

On an RIS server, you receive the following error message:

The operating system image you selected does not contain the necessary drivers for your network adapter. Try selecting a different operating system image. If the problem persists, contact your administrator. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.

On an ADS server, you receive the following error message:

Windows could not start due to an error while booting from a RAMDISK. Windows failed to build a bootable RAMDISK IMAGE.

On a Windows Deployment Server, you may receive the following error message when you start the WDSCLIENT 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.

This issue occurs if the server is running Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition.

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CAUSE

This issue occurs if the network adapter uses a virtual bus driver to enumerate network adapters. A network device must be visible during the initial download operation that occurs during the bootstrap process. If a network adapter uses a virtual bus driver, the network adapter is not detected until later.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, contact the vendor of the network adapter to obtain a network adapter driver that does not require a virtual bus driver. Some third-party vendors call this type of driver a "monolithic" driver or a RIS-specific driver.

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MORE INFORMATION

For information about your hardware manufacturer, visit the following Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us)

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

823658 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823658/ ) "The operating system image you selected does not contain the necessary drivers for your network adapter" error message during the text-mode part of Setup when you deploy an operating system image by using RIS

841550 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841550/ ) You receive an error message when you start a Windows Server 2003-based computer by using the ADS Deployment Agent

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