Network Timeout bug in Windows PE 2.1 causes MDT 2008 Lite Touch to fail.

Symptoms:
You get the following error message in MDT 2008 Lite Touch Deployment even though you have the correct nic drivers in Windows PE and the correct bootstrap.ini settings. "A connection to the deployment share \\Server\Distribution$ could not be made. The Deployment will not proceed"

Cause:
A network initializion timeout issue in wpeinit.exe in Windows PE 2.1 causes MDT 2008 Lite Touch Deployments to fail.

Workaround:
Give WIndows PE 2.1 a few more seconds by editing startnet.cmd on your LiteTouch_x86.wim (or iso) to look like below

startnet.cmd

wpeutil InitializeNetwork
ping localhost
wpeinit

If you want the Deployment Workbench to include the updated startnet.cmd every time you update the Deployment Point just follow the below steps

Configure MDT to use the updated startnet.cmd

1. Create a folder named D:\ExtraFiles\Windows\System32 and copy the updated startnet.cmd to it.
2. In the Deployment Workbench, right-click the Deployment Point and select Properties.
3. In the Windows PE Tab, in the Extra directory to add textbox, type in D:\ExtraFiles
4. Click OK