I haven't seen that scenario. Which Dell system are you testing on?

I had the same problem...I injected the MS hotfix KB982018 into my image using DISM then I was able to re-image the computer successfully.

hope this helps you out.

It was with either the E6420 or the E6410. Turns out that at least with the E6420, installing the recent release of Bios A03 fixed the issue. The E6410 will require a Bios fix as well.

thanks for your reply... elijefe357.... what model systems were you seeing this with?

I was using the E6520. I was able to boot into MDT and choose an image, the image would load but would fail when trying to install drivers and completing the process. I searched for a couple of days for a fix and came across this article: http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/gramsey/archive/2011/05/02/dell-systems-and-advanced-format-hard-drives.aspx. and from there I injected the 982018 patch into the images and was able to complete imaging. If you need instructions on how to apply the updates with DISM...this site is helpful: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff794819%28v=winembedded.60%29.aspx

We just got in a E6420 and a E6320 soon and I will let you know how it goes.

Good Luck

I am facing the same issue when deploying a custom Windows 7 with SP1 image on Dell E5420 with Advanced Format drive. The Operating System installs but after the first reboot I get the error message “Missing Operating System”

Below Is the setup

1. MDT 2010 Update 1 with latest E5420 drivers imported in Out of Box drivers. (Latest SATA drivers too)

2. WAIK for Windows 7 (WinPE 3.0)

3. As per Dell site I have added KB982018 patch to both boot.wim and also the OS.WIM http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/Deploying+Dell+systems+with+Advanced+Format+Hard+Drives#fbid=CghFtPnx1VR

4. WDS to deploy
5. BIOS with AHCI on

I also have tried deploying without BDE partition (i.e DoNotCreateExtraPartition=YES in CS.ini), there is no issue when the machine reboots for the first time. When enabling Bitlocker after OS deployment, the machine reboots to create the BDE partition but it again fails with the same error "Missing Operating System"

The things I have not tried:

1. Update to WAIK for Windows 7 SP1 – (adding KB982018 to WinPE 3.0 should be sufficient right?)

2. Update BIOS


Windows 7 SP1 should ideally support AF drives but wondering what is happening. Any help???

The BIOS update would be my first suggestion. Let us know if that has an effect.

Sounds like the hotfix did not get applied correctly but I'm just guessing. I've been using MDT 2010 update 1, WinPE 3.0 and imaging Win7 SP1 on AF drives without issues for a while now. I did come across an article that applies the KB982018 hotfix automatically everytime you update the MDT share and rebuild the Litetouch ISO's. You can find the instructions here:
http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/cnackers/archive/2011/06/15/advanced-format-hard-drives-automatically-patching-winpe-3-0-with-the-microsoft-deployment-toolkit-2010-mdt.aspx
I would also verify that the custom OS WIM file is updated with the hotfix too.... One more thing, just for troubleshooting, try changing the drive in the BIOS to ATA and re-image it again.

I tried updating the BIOS yesterday and it fixed the issue. I updated from A00 to A01 and it worked. I also verified with A02 as well.
Thank you guys

kantzy,

Thanks for posting your solution. I'm sure others will run into the same issue.