Windows PE cannot start because the actual SYSTEMROOT directory (X:\Windows) is different from the configured one (X:\$windows.~bt\Windows)

I ran into the following error message on a new SCCM 2012 SP1 server using the default boot.wim files which come on the Windows 8 installation media.

Windows PE cannot start because the actual SYSTEMROOT directory (X:\Windows) is different from the configured one (X:\$windows.~bt\Windows).  This can be configured from dism.exe with the /set-targetpath command.  Please consult the documentation for more details.

Press the OK button or close this message to reboot.

 

After doing a little research this is a common problem when using the default boot.wim WinPE 4.0 files from the Windows 8 installation media.  You have two options to correct this, the first is using DISM and using the /set-targetpath command to change the command to X:\WINDOWS as per the error message above.  The second is using the boot.wim files which come with the Deployment and Imaging Tools.  Simply load the Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment shell and run the following commands:

 

copype x86 D:\Sources\OS\BootFiles\x86
copype amd64 D:\Sources\OS\BootFiles\amd64

Here is an example of what it will look like as it extracts:

The boot.wim file will be located under x86\media\sources for the respective operating system architecture you extracted, as shown in the following screenshot:

If you use the boot.wim files from the Deployment and Imaging Tools you will not experience this problem and with any luck, PXE clients should boot straight into the SCCM configuration screen.

Make sure you don't forget to Distribute the boot images and update the distribution points.

Note: Make sure you restart the Windows Deployment Services Server service after changing boot files.