Dell EMC AMD Server will hang on the Windows Logo while installing Windows Server 2016.

Dell EMC PowerEdge AMD Servers running Windows Server 2016 may experience a hang on the Windows Logo when installing the Operating system. This hang is observed only when Virtualization Technology setting is enabled in the System BIOS. This issue is not specific to Dell EMC AMD server, its industry wide.

Note: Virtualization Technology setting is enabled by default on all Dell EMC Server.

The following Dell EMC PowerEdge Server are impacted by this issue:

• R6415
• R7415
• R7425

Note: For information on a similar issue that occurs on the R7515 please see this article.

Microsoft has released a patch that resolves this issue.  Dell EMC fully supports these servers with Windows Server 2016.  Please follow the patch installation instructions in the workaround section to resolve this issue.

June 27, 2017—KB4022723 (OS Build 14393.1378): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4022723  

Download Link: http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=KB4022723  

Workaround: There are two methods to work around this issue. Both the methods are detailed below:

 

Method 1: Manually install the Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Monthly Rollup patch

1. Boot into the System BIOS and navigate to Processor Setting -> Disable Virtualization Technology feature. Save the setting and reboot the server.

2. Start the Windows Server 2016 Operating system installation.

   Note: With VT Disabled the system will not hang in the Windows logo.

3. Once the Operating System is installed, Connect the server to the internet and perform a windows update. This will install the latest monthly update along with the other updates.

   Note: If the server does not have a connection to the internet, then manually download the latest monthly update from the link mentioned above and install it on the server.

4. Reboot back into the System BIOS and navigate to Processor Setting -> Enable Virtualization Technology feature back. Save the setting and reboot the server.

5. System should now boot normally into windows and the hang will no longer be observed.

Method 2: Integrate the latest Windows Server 2016 Monthly Rollup Update into the OS ISO/image

This method requires the user to service the OS ISO image by including the latest Monthly rollup update into the image. Below are the steps and the commands used to inject the Service Stack Update and June 2017 Cumulative Update into the Boot.wim and Install.wim of Windows 2016 base media.

Prerequisites:

1. Windows 2016 ISO.
2. At least 25GB of free space on a local drive.
3. Download and install the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 10 on the system to be used for updating the Windows 2016 installation media.
   • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install
4. Download the following updates.
   • https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4025339/windows-10-update-kb4025339
   • Servicing Stack Update: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=kb4013418
   • December 2017 Monthly Update: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4053579
      
     Note: File names can vary depending on which browser is used to download the updates. Verify files names are correct in steps to inject throughout the doc.
5. Create the following directories on the system where you have installed the ADK. 
   1. C:\InstallMedia
      This is where the Windows 2016 media is copied for image processing.
   2. C:\Mount
      Used to mount boot.wim and install.wim to inject updates.
   3. C:\Packages
      Folder which contains the updates to inject (msu files).
6. Extract the entire Windows 2016 installation media to C:\InstallMedia.
7. Copy the updates downloaded in step 4 to C:\Packages.
8. If running Anti-Virus disable On Access Scanning capabilities.

Steps for Servicing the ISO:

1. Mount install.wim from C:\installmedia\sources to C:\mount.  Update Index 4 (DataCenter GUI) of install.wim.
   • Dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\InstallMedia\sources\Install.wim /Index:4 /MountDir:C:\mount /checkintegrity 
2. Using dism inject Windows 2016 Service Stack Update.
   • Dism /Add-package /Image:C:\mount /Packagepath:C:\packages\windows10.0-kb4013418-x64_b7165b95be791aeb025135efe60e00db2800c5c6.msu
3. Using dism inject Windows 2016 cumulative update package (7/11/2017). 
   • Dism /Add-package /Image:C:\mount /Packagepath:C:\packages\windows10.0-kb4053579-x64_c8f23cbaf60b5093a6902ce64520c354cfe360c7.msu
      
     Note: A newer cumulative package can be used, if needed. Simply modify the .msu filename with the downloaded package.  

• Commit changes and unmount install.wim.
  1. Echo off | clip
  2. Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Commit
  3. Dism /Cleanup-wim 
• Repeat Steps 1 to 4 if you want to inject these two packages into the other indexes of Install.wim
  1. Install.wim has 4 Indexes, StandardServerCore(1), StandardServerGUI(2), DatacenterServerCore(3) & DatacenterServerGUI(4)
  2. Modify step 1a (/Index:) Index number to the desired Index to update.  This will be the version of Windows you plan to install in your environment. 
• Update boot.wim Index 1.
  • Dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\InstallMedia\sources\Boot.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\mount /checkintegrity
  • Dism /Add-package /Image:C:\mount /Packagepath:C:\packages\windows10.0-kb4013418-x64_b7165b95be791aeb025135efe60e00db2800c5c6.msu
  • Dism /Add-package /Image:C:\mount /Packagepath:C:\packages\windows10.0-kb4053579-x64_c8f23cbaf60b5093a6902ce64520c354cfe360c7.msu
  • Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Commit
  • Dism /cleanup-wim
• Update boot.wim Index 2.
  • Dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\InstallMedia\sources\Boot.wim /Index:2 /MountDir:C:\mount /checkintegrity 
  • Dism /Add-package /Image:C:\mount /Packagepath:C:\packages\windows10.0-kb4013418-x64_b7165b95be791aeb025135efe60e00db2800c5c6.msu
  • Dism /Add-package /Image:C:\mount /Packagepath:C:\packages\windows10.0-kb4053579-x64_c8f23cbaf60b5093a6902ce64520c354cfe360c7.msu
  • Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Commit
  • Dism /cleanup-wim
• Mount boot.wim index 2.
  • Dism /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\InstallMedia\sources\Boot.wim /Index:2 /MountDir:C:\mount /checkintegrity 
• Navigate to the C:\Mount\Sources directory.
  1. Sort the directory by date.
  2. Copy all files with year ending in 2017 from C:\Mount\Sources to C:\InstallMedia\Sources.
• Dismount the boot.wim index 2.
  1. Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\mount /Discard
  2. Dism /cleanup-wim
• Launch the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment Command Prompt with administrative rights.
  1. cd \
  2. cd "Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit\Deployment Tools\amd64\Oscdimg"
• Create ISO image with updated media.
  • oscdimg.exe -m -h -o -u2 -udfver102 -lWS2016_DC -bootdata:2#p0,e,bC:\InstallMedia\Boot\ETFSBOOT.COM"#pEF,e,bC:\InstallMedia\efi\microsoft\boot\efisys.bin" C:\InstallMedia C:\WS2016_Modified.iso
• Updated ISO will be at the root of C:\, filename WS2016_Modified.iso.
• Install Windows Server 2016 on the Dell EMC AMD Servers with patched media.