Cannot boot the System to USB Device to install Windows* Server 2016
Content Type: Install & Setup | Article ID: 000028940 | Last Reviewed: 07/19/2021
Server will not boot from any Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive with Windows* Server 2016 installer. It just halts with a blinking cursor in the upper-left corner. Specific BIOS settings are configured.
Ensure BIOS/Firmware of the board is version R0038 at least.
On previous firmware versions, the workaround is to make sure that the Quiet Boot option in BIOS is enabled:
Quiet Boot is disabled in the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS).
Boot Mode is EFI Optimized.
NIC PXE 1GbE Option ROM is Disabled.
AHCI Capable SATA Controller is set to RAID ESRT2 Mode.
There's a conflict between PXE 1GbE Option ROM and Quiet Boot. Once they are both disabled, the system can't boot properly when it has a USB flashdrive installed.