Image Creator on Lenovo M720 (only) Not Allowing Network Location Save
We have the latest version of Snap Deploy 5, 1877 and I have been creating new versions of the images for all our machines. We have mostly Lenovo desktops (M700, M800, M910 etc.) and laptops. The created images have been saving fine to the server and deploying properly - except for the model M720s desktop machines.
I have not been able to save the image for those. They boot fine to the Acronis PXE over the network like all the others, but when I get to the "Browse for the location where to save..." screen, it will not allow a network location to be entered. When a properly formed address like "\\servername\imagefolder\imagename " is entered, no credential popup comes up and a "You do not have enough privileges..." error messages shows. Also the tree with "My Computer >Local Disk C:" does not have "Computers near me" or anything else. The M720s desktop is set up the same as all the other machines on the domain that have been working fine with Acronis. They are joined to the domain and show up normally in AD. The BIOS settings are the same as other machines, (Secure Boot, UEFI etc.) Obviously the network card is connecting to the network because Acronis loads and boots. I have tried a couple M720s machines multiple times to make sure it wasn't just a glitch on one.
I can't think of something that might be different about this model that would cause this issue.
** I see that I did not select a proper category for this question. Sorry about that - I don't see a way to move it from here. **
Thanks for the response. Once the Master Image Creator is up on the machine, I don't know how I would ping from there. But, going with this idea, I do see that these M720s do have a wireless card in them and most of the other machines don't. Perhaps it is looking at that for some reason. I'll remove that card and give it a try.
Removing the wireless card did not seem to change anything. I think you are right about the driver. I never thought the two 'stages' being separate. I figured that if it was able to boot from the server, Acronis could connect.
Now I'll get that driver and find the best way to get it in here.
Thanks.
NO worries - yeah, I don't think the threads get moved - there is a snap deploy section for next time though. If we can't figure it out here, then you can create a new one there and just reference the link here for extra details.
I haven't been keeping up with SD5 as much lately. But, the issue that others reported with the default Linux media were lack of drivers in some instances for newer Intel NICs, and RAID support for systems with PCIe NVME drives. WinPE rescue media built with Windows 10 ADK 1809 (current as of right now), has really good default driver support. But, even if something newer comes along, we can inject our own supplied drivers into WinPE when it's being built (or afterwards using a tool like Windows 10 ADK commands or a GUI like DISM++). The MVP tool helps you add drivers too and the end product is a lot nicer since it provides a bit of a GUI environment with 3rd party tools like Explorer++, a web browser, etc.
I'd try the WinPE media if you're able to download and install the ADK on your server. If need be, you can get the full Intel NIC driver pack from (I created a link of useful driver packs on Google Drive which is a sticky on the 2019 ATI thread)
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-2019-forum/common-winpe-and-driver-pack-links (that links to a Google Doc with links to direct manufacturer drivers). You can get the full INtel NIC driver pack, extract it with 7-zip and then grab the specific driver for your your system.
Speaking of, does it have a physical NIC? The specs on the Lenovo site only list wireless, which could be an issue. If that's the case, you might need to grab a USB to ethernet adapter and add those drivers to the WinPE instead). We've used that as a work-a-round quite a bit - something simple from Amazon like the one from Cable Matters
and the drivers for Windows for that are available from their driver site (https://www.cablematters.com/cs-Downloads.aspx)
I see they also have "Lan" listed under "rear ports" so that's good. Doesn't give more than that there, but you should be able to get the type from computer management / device manager if nothing else.
Yes, the M720 does have a real NIC, an I219-V, similar to others but not "the same enough" I guess. Thanks for the help, I'll let you know how it goes.
Good deal! I downloaded the full Intel driver pack - hard to find the specific one in it - I'm assuming it's a Pro1000 model, but still different versions in there.
Instead, I grabbed the driver pack from Lenovo (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/ds503944) for that model. Installed it... it just creates a folder on root of C:
C:\DRIVERS\SCCM\tc_m920t-m920s-m720t-m720s-m920q-m720q-m920x-v530-P330 tiny_pe1064_201807\Ethernet\Intel lan "drivers"
Should be able to pop those into WinPE at build with ADK and hopefully you'll have full network access again.
I think I almost have it. I added a PE made with MVP that has a load of drivers for the I219-V varieties. It boots up and in the "Browse for the location where to save..." it sees the network now - but just as WORKGROUP. When I enter the path/file name a dialog type box pops up but does not appear to work properly. I can type my domain credentials in but "the user name or password is incorrect..." is already there.
...and shortly after I posted the question, I found an answer. I went into the PENetwork settings and mapped the location there. For creating images, this extra step isn't too bad, but if I have to do that when deploying - that will get tedious.
Make sure you enter username as
Domain/username
You can make a small bat file on your USB drive that does this with net use so you can map as a drive letter just by running the .bat script. The Winpe helps that it has two native file explorer to navigate quickly to it.
Alternatively, you can set this to authenticate automatically in the custom builder by adding the network mapping there. Essentially you update a static .CMD file with the login info and it will run it at startup.
Make sure you get the credentials to work by testing in the current build first.
I do enter my name as domain\username and it works fine in the PENetwork settings. The PE has a lot of useful things in it that might come in handy in the future. Today I was also able to get an image of a Panasonic Toughbook that was problematic in the past. I won't get to try out the deployment until next week when I have at least 150 laptops to do, plus a few desktops probably.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Good deal!
Hopefully net use drive letter mapping will help ease things along.
I also find that using the netwo k drop-down in ATI varies, especially with MS dropping SMB 1 and home groups. If nothing else, try just typing the path in the file name bar. That usually brings up a prompt to authenticate to and then you need to pick the .tib name still once you can navigate.
I find the drive mapping the easiest.
......
Have you looked into snap deploy too? It's licensed by machine or deployment, but can make the automation a lot easier. You can grab a 30 day trial with 5 licenses to test with.