The operating system installation in Windows PE stays in a continuous loop on a Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 client (891348)

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if you assign an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) policy between the SMS distribution point server and the client before you run the operating system deployment package. When you run the package, the security association (SA) is established when the client initiates the connection to the distribution point. Communication between the two systems will not succeed without the SA.

When Windows PE restarts the client computer, the client tries to initiate a connection with the distribution point. The distribution point uses the appropriate SA to communicate with the client. However, because the IPsec policy is assigned, Windows PE does not recognize the SA. Therefore, Windows PE cannot locate the network path. Windows PE then restarts the client computer after several unsuccessful attempts.