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Something we've been doing for several years now is set the BIOS to only PXE after receiving a WOL. (The last 6 years of Dell kit does this with the latest BIOS firmware). This gives faster startup times every boot, makes it a little more difficult for someone to pxe boot a lab machine from a clonezilla laptop and crossover cable etc. We create schedules and scripts for sending WOL for re-imaging. We have a web page where we can set machines/labs to re-image, by sending them a WOL. Si >>> On 16/05/2018 at 10:10, in > message <[log in to unmask]>, "Nelson, > Lisa" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: ‑‑‑‑‑Original Message‑‑‑‑‑ > > From: Support issues for windows in UK HE & FE [mailto:WINDOWS‑ > > [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Skender Osmani > > Sent: Monday, May 14, 2018 5:08 PM > > To: WINDOWS‑[log in to unmask] > > Subject: Switch from Legacy BIOS to UEFI > > > > Just wanted to get a feel as to how many of you have moved from using > legacy > > BIOS to UEFI. Currently we are still configuring new PCs to use legacy BIOS > > and are working to get our backend infrastructure ready to support UEFI > > network booting. We have number of dual boot machines (Windows and Linux) > > and use syslinux/pxelinux to provide a boot menu for students to choose > > which OS to boot. Syslinux/pxelinux does not provide full support for UEFI > > network boot and we are looking at iPXE as an alternative to do the above. > > To expand on what my colleague Mike said yesterday, we experimented with > UEFI about two years ago, got as far as a pilot and then had to roll it back. > Our situation is likely different from practically anyone else's, in that we > leave PXE enabled on our student walk‑up machines forever. We do automatic > overnight reimaging once every four weeks to keep the machines clean. We also > have made the information widely available about how to start reimaging on a > machine, so that students can initiate reimaging and fix software problems > even if it's 2:00 AM. This has been very useful. So in our environment, any > changeover to UEFI has to be able to handle PXE being left enabled > permanently, not just used for initial installation. All our problems stem > from this. > > Below is an extract from a report I wrote at the time, after we had > abandoned it: > > o A subtle change in the wording of the PXE‑boot invitation on UEFI PXE caused > human problems. The legacy wording was "Press F12 for network service boot"; > on UEFI this changed to "Press ENTER for network boot service". This wording > apparently makes people feel that they must press Enter, or they will not > have network. Stations were constantly being reimaged. Many experiments with > modifying this wording (which required modifying an executable with a hex > editor) and other attempted psychological interventions yielded no > improvement. > > o It has always been possible to press Escape as soon as the attempt to find > a PXE server began. Doing so allowed skipping several seconds of PXE > activity, and so was a sensible thing to do when not wishing to reimage a > computer. Students have clearly learned this and use it. Unfortunately, if > you Escape during the attempt to locate a PXE server in UEFI PXE, Windows 10 > comes up with no network and never regains it! This only reinforced the idea > that pressing Enter was necessary to get network. > > o It has also always been harmless to press Escape from the offered menu of > PXE choices, should you decide that you don't want to reimage after all. > Doing so just caused the BIOS to move on to the next boot source, i.e. the > hard disk, and boot Windows normally. Under UEFI PXE, pressing Escape at this > point instead displayed a pointless full‑screen cryptic error with a hex > number, with instructions to press either Escape a second time (to reboot) or > Enter (to continue with the boot order). Even better, on the HP 800 G1, these > instructions fall off the bottom of the screen and are not visible. > > o The final nail came when we found that the promised near‑instant‑boot for > Windows 10 with UEFI did not materialize. To get this, all legacy support > must be disabled, and we have no hardware types ‑‑ not even the very latest ‑‑ > which support this. Additionally, you must disable PXE! > > Thanks, > Lisa. > ‑‑ > Lisa Nelson > Computing Services Department > e‑mail: [log in to unmask] -- Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw ffeiliau atodedig yn gyfrinachol ac at sylw'r unigolyn neu'r sefydliad a enwir uchod. Bydd unrhyw farn neu sylwadau a fynegir yn perthyn i'r awdur yn unig ac ni chynrychiolant o anghenraid farn Coleg Sir Gâr. 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