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Vostro 3268, no network access on first boot
We have about 12 x Dell Vostro 3268 Windows 10 pcs in our network of about 40 workstations, this is a Windows Server Domain setup (2012R2 Domain Controller)
12 x Dell Vostro 3268 - Intel Core i5, 256GB SSD, 8GB Ram.
Bought at different times, over the last 12 months.
Every single pc, when powered on in the morning, will fail to get connected to the network via Ethernet, yellow exclamation mark on the Network adapter, 169. address.
DHCP is handled by the DC, as is DNS.
All workstations have a reservation on the DHCP server.
All other workstations, windows 10 and windows 7, that are not Dell, do not suffer from this problem.
All workstations connect via ethernet, into individual floor sockets, which cable back into a Netgear 48 Port Gigabit switch.
All Dell Vostro 3268 have the latest drivers and BIOS.
Restarting the pc after first time boot resolves the issue, but this is a workaround and a nuisance for users who are constantly complaining about it in the morning.
Is this a known issue? event viewer shows little in the way of information, it mentions the NTP service couldnt get the time, but that is due to lack of connection to the network.
The event viewer fails to mention why the pc did not connect to the network, or mention anything about the network card having any errors or warnings.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
fireberd
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August 10th, 2018 13:00
Do all of these have the same boot sequence? May be when the NIC is initialized.
I used to be a LAN/WAN Network Manager (I'm retired) and I remember a similar problem with workstations and the Novell servers we had at the time. When the NIC was initialized in the boot sequence was the problem. This was a long time ago (20 years ago) and we had IBM Token Ring, not Ethernet, but something to consider.
Tesla1856
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August 10th, 2018 14:00
So, remember that historically, Vostros are just clones of consumer models (usually Inspiron or XPS). They are usually very generic.
Unless I missed it, you don't say if they are Windows-10/64bit (but hopefully, they are since they are new).
It's usually DHCP Reservations that fixes problem like this.
What's cool is you have these other (non Dell) workstations that boot/connect fine. It a way, that helps with troubleshooting.
It's kinda lame, but I wonder what would happen if you took one home with you. Setup a Local Account on it (and Auto-IP of course). Let it turn-on and boot fully. See if you can just get to the Internet like normal residential (peer to peer) machine.
Also, you say it's Gigabit (1000 speed). I have seen machines that negotiate a 1000 link, but some part of the cable-run is only CAT-5e (or just too long for CAT-5e at 1000 speed) so it freaks out. IIRC, we tracked it down by bringing the machine into the server closet, and connected directly to switch with 15ft. CAT-6e ethernet cable.
BarryH23
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August 13th, 2018 05:00
The pcs are already reserved in DHCP, so that's what confuses me.
Most likely the NIC, as Fireberd says hopefully I can track some settings down in the BIOS, remove it from boot devices or something like that.
I'll let you know how it goes :BigSmile:
fireberd
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August 13th, 2018 05:00
I was referring to the Windows boot sequence and not BIOS.
Sometimes booting up then deleting the device in the Device Manager, then a reboot and Windows reinstalls the device when it starts will change the point where its initialized and fix a problem. If you try this on one workstation it may take the power on startup the next day to see if fixes it (and if it does, I would wait a couple of days to see if it is permanently fixed).
BarryH23
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August 13th, 2018 05:00
Thanks Fireberd, I'll check the Bios and see if I can change some settings about.