Windows Preinstall Environment (PE) 2.1 does not support the Remote Network Driver Interface Specification (RNDIS)

The Microsoft Windows Preinstall Environment (PE) 2.1 does not support the Remote Network Driver Interface Specification (RNDIS). Therefore, you cannot access a remote client by using RNDIS in Windows PE 2.1.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft website: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to apply this hotfix.

Installation instructions

You must apply this hotfix to the Windows PE 2.1 image that you use to start the computer. To apply this hotfix to Windows PE 2.1 image, follow these steps:

1. Install the Windows AIK.
   
   Note To obtain the Windows AIK, visit the following Microsoft website:
   http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=94bb6e34-d890-4932-81a5-5b50c657de08
2. Download the hotfix package, and then extract the files from the hotfix package to a temporary folder. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Double-click the hotfix package.
   2. In the Microsoft Self-Extract dialog box, click Continue.
   3. Specify a temporary folder, and then click OK.
   4. Open a Command Prompt window.
      
      Note To open a Command Prompt window in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008, click the Windows button, type cmd in the Search box, right-click cmd, and then click Run as administrator.
   5. At the command prompt, run the following command:

      Expand -f:* <TempFolder>\Windows6.0-KB2323366-<Platform>.msu <TempFolder>

      Note <TempFolder> represents the temporary folder that you specified in step 2C.
   6. At the command prompt, run the following command:

      Expand -f:* <TempFolder>\Windows6.0-KB2323366-<Platform>.cab <TempFolder>

3. Modify the Boot.wim file. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Create another temporary folder to store Windows PE 2.1 image. Assume that the temporary folder is C:\WinPE.
   2. Copy the Boot.wim file to the C:\WinPE folder.
   3. Create a Mount folder under the C:\WinPE folder.
   4. Open a Windows PE Tools Command Prompt window.
      
      Note To open a Windows PE Tools Command Prompt window in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008, click the Windows button, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Windows AIK, right-click Windows PE Tools Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
      
   5. In the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt window, run the following command to mount the Boot.wim file:

      imagex /mountrw C:\WinPE\boot.wim 2 C:\WinPE\Mount

   6. Copy all the files that are extracted from the hotfix package to the C:\WinPE\Mount\Windows folder.
   7. In the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt window, run the following command to unmount the Boot.wim file and commit the changes:

      imagex /unmount /commit C:\WinPE\Mount 

4. Modify the DVD content. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Create a folder that is named dvd by using the following command:

      md \dvd

   2. Copy the contents of the Windows setup DVD to the dvd folder.
   3. Copy the modified Boot.wim files to the dvd folder by using the following command:

      copy C:\WinPE\boot.wim \dvd\sources

5. Create an updated Windows PE 2.1 image on a USB Flash Device (UFD) or on a DVD. You can use the oscdimg command to create an International Standards Organization (ISO) file of the dvd folder and to make the image a UEFI-bootable image. For more information about how to create an ISO image for UEFI platforms for a Windows PE CD-ROM for Windows Server 2008, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   947024 How to create an ISO image for UEFI platforms for a Windows PE CD-ROM for Windows Server 2008
6. Use the updated Windows PE 2.1 image to start the computer.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The English (United States) version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows PE 2.1

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows PE 2.1

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows PE 2.1

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

Additional file information

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows PE 2.1

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows PE 2.1

Additional files for all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows PE 2.1

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about RNDIS, visit the following Microsoft website: