Configuration Setup

The Intel® Boot Agent software provides configuration options that allow you to customize the behavior of the Intel Boot Agent software. You can configure the Intel Boot Agent in any of the following environments:

• A Microsoft* Windows* Vista or More Recent Environment

• A Microsoft* MS-DOS* environment

• A pre-boot environment (before operating system is loaded)

The Intel Boot Agent supports PXE in pre-boot, Windows*, and DOS environments. In each of these environments, a single user interface allows you to configure PXE protocols on Fast Ethernet, Gigabit, and PXE on 10GbE adapters.

To enter the Intel Boot Agent setup menu, press and hold <Ctrl>-S during system start-up.

Configuring the Intel® Boot Agent in a Windows Vista or More Recent Environment

If you use Windows Vista or a more recent version of the Windows operating system on your client computer, you can use Intel® PROSet for Windows* Device Manager to configure and update the Intel Boot Agent software. Intel PROSet is available through the device manager. Intel PROSet provides a special tab, called the Boot Options tab, used for configuring and updating the Intel Boot Agent software.

To access the Boot Options tab:

1. Open Intel PROSet for Windows Device Manager by opening the System Control Panel. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.

2. Select the appropriate adapter and click the Boot Options tab. If the tab does not appear, update your network driver.

3. The Boot Options tab shows a list of current configuration parameters and their corresponding values. Corresponding configuration values appear for the selected setting in a drop-down box. A brief description of the setting’s function appears in the Description box below it. See Boot Agent Configuration Settings for a list of configuration parameters, their possible values, and detailed descriptions.

4. Select a setting you want to change from the Settings selection box.

5. Select a value for that setting from the Value drop-down list.

6. Repeat the preceding two steps to change any additional settings.

7. Once you have completed your changes, click Apply Changes to update the adapter with the new values.

Configuring the Intel® Boot Agent in an MS-DOS Environment

Intel provides a utility, Intel® Ethernet Flash Firmware Utility (BootUtil) for installing and configuring the Intel Boot Agent using the DOS environment. BootUtil supports the Intel® PRO/100, Gigabit, and 10GbE family of adapters. See BootUtil for more information.

Configuring the Intel® Boot Agent in a Pre-Boot PXE Environment

NOTE: Intel Boot Agent may be disabled in the BIOS.

You can customize the behavior of the Intel Boot Agent software through a pre-boot (operating system independent) configuration setup program contained within the adapter's flash ROM. You can access this pre-boot configuration setup program each time the client computer cycles through the boot process. The boot process is triggered whenever any of the following boot events occur:

• Power on

• Hard reset (Reset button on system, if available)

• Soft reset (Ctrl+Alt+Del)

• Operating system or application-initiated system restart

When the boot process begins, the screen clears and the computer begins its Power On Self Test (POST) sequence. Shortly after completion of the POST, the Intel Boot Agent software stored in flash ROM executes. The Intel Boot Agent then displays an initialization message, similar to the one below, indicating that it is active:

Initializing Intel(R) Boot Agent Version X.X.XX
PXE 2.0 Build 083

NOTE: This display may be hidden by the manufacturer's splash screen. Consult your manufacturer's documentation for details.

The configuration setup menu shows a list of configuration settings on the left and their corresponding values on the right. Key descriptions near the bottom of the menu indicate how to change values for the configuration settings. For each selected setting, a brief "mini-Help" description of its function appears just above the key descriptions.

1. Highlight the setting you need to change by using the arrow keys.

2. Once you have accessed the setting you want to change, press the spacebar until the desired value appears.

3. Once you have completed your changes, press F4 to update the adapter with the new values. Any changed configuration values are applied as the boot process resumes. 

The table below provides a list of configuration settings, their possible values, and their detailed descriptions:

Intel Boot Agent Configuration Settings

NOTE: If, during PXE boot, more than one adapter is installed in a computer and you want to boot from the boot ROM located on a specific adapter, you can do so by removing the adapter from the BIOS Boot Order or disabling the flash by running BootUtil -FlashDisable on the desired adapter.

While the configuration setup menu is displayed, diagnostics information is also displayed in the lower half of the screen. This information can be helpful during interaction with Intel Customer Support personnel or your IT team members. For more information about how to interpret the information displayed, refer to Diagnostics Information for Pre-boot PXE Environments.

Last modified on 4/24/13.