[ipxe-devel] SAN Boot Windows XP with USB-NIC.

[jerrycheng-hinet]

Thanks, Michael,

> Thanks for testing that.  I'd like to examine this NIC further: could you 
> let
> me know the make and model so I can buy one for myself?

I ordered it directly from the following website.
http://argontechnology.com/PXE-Network-Adapters/10/100MB-USB-Fast-Ethernet-Adapter-with-PXE.html

> You can't do this directly.  iPXE doesn't contain native drivers for your 
> USB-
> NIC; it is relying on the PXE support provided by the USB-NIC 
> manufacturer.
>
> You should, however, be able to transfer the contents of the FDD to a USB 
> key
> and then boot from the USB key.  This should speed up the loading time.

Is it possible that I can put  the "contents of the FDD + iPXE" into the USB 
key and boot from it? Thanks very much!

Regards,
Jerry

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Brown" <mbrown at fensystems.co.uk>
To: <ipxe-devel at ipxe.org>
Cc: "jerrycheng-hinet" <jaspers.cheng at msa.hinet.net>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2011 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [ipxe-devel] SAN Boot Windows XP with USB-NIC.


> On Monday 21 Mar 2011 08:42:41 jerrycheng-hinet wrote:
>> > That's very odd.  It would be interesting to know what causes this 
>> > limit.
>> > (For example, does a normal-sized "-s 1472" ping work over this USB NIC
>> > when
>> > it *isn't* being used by iPXE?)
>>
>> I tested this item in Windows XP. The largest value that works over this
>> USB-NIC (in windows xp) is "-s 1472".
>
> Thanks for testing that.  I'd like to examine this NIC further: could you 
> let
> me know the make and model so I can buy one for myself?
>
>> After using the Windows XP image made from USB flash drive, I can
>> successfully sanboot Windows XP via this USB-NIC.
>
> Fantastic.  :)
>
>> Since this USB-NIC only
>> fits to USB 1.1, booting speed is extremely slow (took about 5 minutes 
>> from
>> power on to windows xp operable).
>>
>> Because the driver of this USB-NIC and PXE support is loaded from FDD ( 
>> it
>> took more than 1 minutes to load driver and PXE), I tried to load iPXE
>> directly from the USB flash drive. When I did this, iPXE seemed can't 
>> find
>> the USB-NIC.
>>
>> What should I do to make the USB-NIC workable while the iPXE is loaded 
>> from
>> USB flash drive? Thanks very much!
>
> You can't do this directly.  iPXE doesn't contain native drivers for your 
> USB-
> NIC; it is relying on the PXE support provided by the USB-NIC 
> manufacturer.
>
> You should, however, be able to transfer the contents of the FDD to a USB 
> key
> and then boot from the USB key.  This should speed up the loading time.
>
> Michael