[soundfx4]

I have a small laptop that I need to do a bios update on, but this lappy doesn't have a CD drive, floppy drive, and can't boot to a USB device. It can, however, boot to a network but I have never used network boot before, and I have no idea how to do this.

I did some reading and I'm thinking I need a PXE server, but I really don't know. Can anyone fill in the gaps here, and explain to me what I will need, and where I can get needed software?

Thanks!

[Captain Newbie]

Network booting is made possible by a combination of DHCP and TFTP.

A network-bootable computer will send a DHCPDISCOVER on broadcast and will atempt to get itself an IP address and an assocation with a server that can serve up the Pre-Execution Environment (PXE) via TFTP.

Here's a description of one implementation. Unless you want to pay for it, you will almost certainly need Linux or *BSD[386] to do it.

[soundfx4]

Originally Posted by Captain Newbie

Network booting is made possible by a combination of DHCP and TFTP.

A network-bootable computer will send a DHCPDISCOVER on broadcast and will atempt to get itself an IP address and an assocation with a server that can serve up the Pre-Execution Environment (PXE) via TFTP.

Here's a description of one implementation. Unless you want to pay for it, you will almost certainly need Linux or *BSD[386] to do it.

you mean there is no free windows PXE server software?

[Captain Newbie]

I mean I don't know what it is and you may be forced to employ some research to do it. The way that I've done netboot has always been with linux versions of dhcpd and atftpd.

[soundfx4]

Originally Posted by Captain Newbie

I mean I don't know what it is and you may be forced to employ some research to do it. The way that I've done netboot has always been with linux versions of dhcpd and atftpd.

You mean I have to do work? And read things?! And figure stuff out on my own?!?! NOOOOOOO!!! haha

Ok, I got ya. I'll do some searching, but in case anyone knows of PXE server software that is either free or doesn't cost too much, then please let me know.

[ghettocomp]

In my thread for the diskless windows folding, there is a program available that runs in windows called TFTPD32, which is a DHCP/PXE server that runs in windows (and its free!), that will help get you started.

with a little quick study, you may be able to quickly assemble a network boot file for dos that will work with this little program. TFTPD32 is pretty simple and easy to setup.

TFTPD32 download site

[soundfx4]

Originally Posted by ghettocomp

In my thread for the diskless windows folding, there is a program available that runs in windows called TFTPD32, which is a DHCP/PXE server that runs in windows (and its free!), that will help get you started.

with a little quick study, you may be able to quickly assemble a network boot file for dos that will work with this little program. TFTPD32 is pretty simple and easy to setup.

TFTPD32 download site

Sweet! That'll do great! Gtg now, but I'll read more into that later.

Thanks!

[soundfx4]

I'm mad...very mad, in fact I just erased about two paragraphs full of swear words. But I think I've pulled myself together enough to ask a strait forward question.


absolutely NON of this network booting crap makes any since to me, and it is ****ing me off to no end. I need something more in depth, I can't be going around the Internet figuring stuff out a little at a time. I pretty much need a book dedicated to network booting that tells me everything from A to Z.



on a funnier note, the word absolutely was partialy censored and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out I left the o out in solut haha

[Captain Newbie]

Originally Posted by soundfx4

I'm mad...very mad, in fact I just erased about two paragraphs full of swear words. But I think I've pulled myself together enough to ask a strait forward question.


absolutely NON of this network booting crap makes any since to me, and it is ****ing me off to no end. I need something more in depth, I can't be going around the Internet figuring stuff out a little at a time. I pretty much need a book dedicated to network booting that tells me everything from A to Z.



on a funnier note, the word absolutely was partialy censored and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out I left the o out in solut haha

I'll give you a primer real quick.

DHCP--dynamic host configuation protocol--is a protocol used to distribute network information to clients at runtime, as opposed to having a static configuration. A DHCP client sends out DHCP requests, looking for a DHCP servers from which to get information. At the most basic level, the DHCP server will offer the remote client an IP address and default gateway.

The pre-execution environment, or PXE, is where network booting takes place. Network-bootable computers, at boot time, jump first into a limited DHCP client with TFTP--Trival File Transfer Protocol--capabilities. The DHCP client solicits DHCP servers on the network for network information and bootstrap information including a program to boot.

In theory, your DHCP client finds the DHCP server, which TFTP's over a pre-execution environment (such as PXELinux), which the DHCP client copies into memory, decompresses (I believe it comes over compressed -- I know what I have at $WORK for a specialty application is compressed) and then jumps into the PXE OS itself.

I say in theory, because it takes some tweaking to get to work.

[ghettocomp]

As soon as I can find some time, which lately is quite rare, I will assemble a DOS file that can remotely boot a computer to dos. I had great fun assembling a win98 network boot, but the whole thing was so minimal that It would not have been good for anything really useful, i think that the only thing I was able to run on it was Solitaire :lol: everything else crashed.

[soundfx4]

Originally Posted by ghettocomp

As soon as I can find some time, which lately is quite rare, I will assemble a DOS file that can remotely boot a computer to dos. I had great fun assembling a win98 network boot, but the whole thing was so minimal that It would not have been good for anything really useful, i think that the only thing I was able to run on it was Solitaire :lol: everything else crashed.

Thank you, I really appreciate that.

I'd still like to learn the ins and outs of network booting though so that I can do this stuff myself some day

[soundfx4]

Originally Posted by Captain Newbie

I'll give you a primer real quick.

DHCP--dynamic host configuation protocol--is a protocol used to distribute network information to clients at runtime, as opposed to having a static configuration. A DHCP client sends out DHCP requests, looking for a DHCP servers from which to get information. At the most basic level, the DHCP server will offer the remote client an IP address and default gateway.

The pre-execution environment, or PXE, is where network booting takes place. Network-bootable computers, at boot time, jump first into a limited DHCP client with TFTP--Trival File Transfer Protocol--capabilities. The DHCP client solicits DHCP servers on the network for network information and bootstrap information including a program to boot.

In theory, your DHCP client finds the DHCP server, which TFTP's over a pre-execution environment (such as PXELinux), which the DHCP client copies into memory, decompresses (I believe it comes over compressed -- I know what I have at $WORK for a specialty application is compressed) and then jumps into the PXE OS itself.

I say in theory, because it takes some tweaking to get to work.

Thanks for the quick rundown. I believe the problem I'm having is understanding the whole bootstrap thing, and the actual PXE part. I understand the DHCP part, and the TFTP part, but the rest is where I don't understand it enough to get anything working. I'm doing some wiki reading right now to try and figure this whole thing out.

anyway, thanks again for the primer