Do NOT add a boot file for WDS from Windows 6.3 (2012R2/8.1) with Update

If you have a Windows Deployment Service (WDS for short) hosted by Windows Server 2012 R2 (w or w/o update), never try to add a boot file from Windows Server 2012 R2 with Update (MSDN CD) or Windows 8.1 with Update (MSDN CD). If you do so, all capture image, no matter which version of boot file is based on, or it’s created by this server or others, just cannot work. After the loading finished, you will get an error in winload.exe with the status code 0xc000000f.

If you have been in this jam, you have to restore the whole boot folder from the backup before you attach the new version boot files. Don’t forget to stop the WDS before you replace the folder. Delete the new boot file only won’t work.


Update: There is another way to fix the broken capture image file directly. But you have to do that for every capture file. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/a164b948-1778-42bd-8d77-9cef1ca70866/image-capture-boot-image-fails-with-0xc000000f?forum=winserversetup

Do NOT add a newer boot file into an older Windows Deployment Service

In my company, there is a Windows Deployment Service (WDS for short) hosted by Windows Server 2012 R2. Since I got the new release of Windows Server yesterday, named Windows Server 2012 R2 with Update, I added the boot.wim from the new CD into this server and began my nightmare.

Result: All boot images from installation CD work great. But all capture images are failed to start, no matter the capture image is pre-existed, new created or copied from other servers. They’re failed in 2 ways:

  • Error in \Windows\System32\boot\winload.exe with status code 0xc000000f after the loading bar completed; or,
  • Black screen after displaying the Windows logo.

To fix this, I’ve tried to remove the new added boot image but this trying is ineffective. Finally, I googled and find there is a person who added a Windows 8 Preview boot file into an old WDS server, which lead to the similar result. The way to fix is:

  1. Stop the WDS;
  2. Restore the Boot folder from a previous version; and,
  3. Restart the WDS.

If you don’t have backup, you may need to reinstall WDS.

I guess when you add a new boot image into a WDS, it will update the existed boot folder to the latest version, which may not be compatible with other boot files. Maybe it will be fixed after patching the server OS, but it’s better never to do such a thing again.


Update: There is another way to fix the broken capture image file directly. But you have to do that for every capture file. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/a164b948-1778-42bd-8d77-9cef1ca70866/image-capture-boot-image-fails-with-0xc000000f?forum=winserversetup