This issue occurs with (at least) VMware Workstation 7, WMware Workstation 8, VMware ESX(i) 4.1 and VMware ESXi 5.0. I think it also happens with VMware Server 2. It will happen with any virtual machine that uses the AMD PCnet network interface card (NIC), unless the driver is added to the Windows AIK Win PE boot image by Microsoft in the future.
I had forgotten about this issue when I initially started deploying Windows XP at work using WDS/MDT 2010, while using VMware virtual machines heavily for building and testing images. That was in the early days before expenses could be covered, so I am pretty sure this first occurred while I was using the free VMware Server 2 version. Sadly, VMware Server 2 doesn't seem to be maintained anymore; last I checked the latest update was from 2009 (written 2011-10-27). VMware Workstation is a better product for desktop use on modern operating systems and hardware (VMware Server isn't officially supported on post-XP Windows, but most things will work).With VMware Workstation version 8 came "shared VMs" and remote connection capabilities. You can now connect to VMs on computer B from computer A using the VMware Workstation GUI, and VMs will continue to run after a user logs off.
I am now testing the MDT 2012 beta (November 2011), and ran into the issue again when I first PXE booted a VM in a fresh MDT/WDS test environment. The VM was in ESXi 5.0, which I recently upgraded to from ESXi 4.1. This is a home lab with officially unsupported hardware. Hardware support seems to be a lot better in ESXi 5.0 as the VMs run a lot smoother and it detected the Realtek NICs. Anyway, the error I got was:
Wizard Error A connection to the deployment share (\\server\DeploymentShare$) could not be made. The following networking device did not have a driver installed. PCI\VEN_2011&DEV_2000&SUBSYS_20001022&REV_10 Abort - Abort Litetouch and cleanup (No Recovery). Retry - Retry network operation. Ignore - Cancel out of Litetouch (Retry later).
Side note: I hate finding drivers from those horrible driver sites, and don't trust them at all, so I think I found this driver on some VMware communities forum, but I honestly don't remember. If it's any consolation, a fairly paranoid person deemed the source credible at the time, and has been using them for years.
Here is a driver for the NIC used by Windows XP / Server 2003 VMware virtual machines.
AMD_PCnet_family_VMware_nic_V4.51.zipThe easiest way is probably to set up a PE environment. I'm talking about 32-bit XP and presumably editing a 32-bit/x86 image for 32-bit XP deployment, so we'll use an x86 image. The procedure will be almost identical for a 64-bit Win PE image. Start PowerShell '''as administrator''' and go to the directory "C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools" (command: '''cd 'C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools' ''') and issue the command seen at the top here (note: if the target directory already exists, you will get an error message):
PS C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools> .\copype.cmd x86 C:\pe-x86=
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Creating Windows PE customization working directory C:\pe-x86=
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1 file(s) copied. 1 file(s) copied. C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\bcd C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\boot.sdi C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\bootfix.bin C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\etfsboot.com C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\fonts\chs_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\fonts\cht_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\fonts\jpn_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\fonts\kor_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\boot\fonts\wgl4_boot.ttf 9 File(s) copied C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\EFI\microsoft\boot\bcd C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\EFI\microsoft\boot\fonts\chs_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\EFI\microsoft\boot\fonts\cht_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\EFI\microsoft\boot\fonts\jpn_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\EFI\microsoft\boot\fonts\kor_boot.ttf C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\EFI\microsoft\boot\fonts\wgl4_boot.ttf 6 File(s) copied 1 file(s) copied.=
Success
Updating path to include peimg, cdimage, imagex C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\ C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\..\AMD64 PS C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools> cd C:\pe-x86 PS C:\pe-x86>
PS C:\pe-x86> copy 'C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\Servicing\*.*' .
Change the part of the path with "x86" to "amd64" if you're working on a 64-bit image.
You can get some information about the Win PE boot image with this command:
PS C:\pe-x86> .\Dism.exe /get-wiminfo /wimfile:winpe.wim Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 6.1.7600.16385Details for image : winpe.wim
Index : 1 Name : Microsoft Windows PE (x86) Description : Microsoft Windows PE (x86) Size : 721,731,007 bytes The operation completed successfully. PS C:\pe-x86>
PS C:\pe-x86> .\Dism.exe /mount-wim /wimfile:winpe.wim /index:1 /mountdir:mount Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 6.1.7600.16385 Mounting image [=
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] The operation completed successfully. PS C:\pe-x86> dir .\mount100.0%
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PS C:\pe-x86> .\Dism.exe /image:mount /add-driver /? Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 6.1.7600.16385Image Version: 6.1.7600.16385
/Add-Driver {/Driver:| /Driver: } [/recurse] [/ForceUnsigned] Adds drivers to an offline image. Use /recurse to query all subfolders for drivers. Use /ForceUnsigned to add unsigned drivers to X64-based images. This command is not supported against an online image. Examples: DISM.exe /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Driver /Driver:D:\Drivers\Usb\Usb.inf DISM.exe /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Driver /Driver:D:\Drivers /recurse
Then I added the driver:
PS C:\pe-x86> .\Dism.exe /image:mount /add-driver /driver:C:\drivers\AMD_PCnet_family_vmware_nic_V4.51 /recurse Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 6.1.7600.16385Image Version: 6.1.7600.16385
Searching for driver packages to install... Found 2 driver package(s) to install. Installing 1 of 2 - C:\drivers\AMD_PCnet_family_vmware_nic_V4.51\WinServer2003_SignedDriver\netamd.inf: The driver package was successfully installed. Installing 2 of 2 - C:\drivers\AMD_PCnet_family_vmware_nic_V4.51\WinXP_SignedDriver\netamd.inf: The driver package was successfully installed. The operation completed successfully.
PS C:\pe-x86> .\Dism.exe /unmount-wim /mountdir:mount /commit Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 6.1.7600.16385 Image File : C:\pe-x86\winpe.wim Image Index : 1 Saving image [=
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] The operation completed successfully.100.0%
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