XPS 8950, Checking Media Presence. Media Present. Start PXE over IPv4 on MAC

Question

Hi,

I have recently started receiving the following message when booting / rebooting my XPS 8950:

>> Checking Media Presence

>> Media Present

>> Start PXE over IPv4 on MAC: 74-86-E2-29-28-C5

and my computer then takes a considerable amount of time to finally complete booting.

I have found online discussions of a similar problem in which the 2nd line of the error message says something to the effect of "no media present" and the recommended solution is to go into the BIOS and make sure that the boot drive is the first item listed in Boot Options Priorities list. But I have not found any discussion of my problem where the 2nd line says "Media Present" but yet it takes considerable time to complete the boot.

Am I having the same or similar problem which requires the same fix, or is this something different? And if it is different, what is the recommended solution?

Thanks for your help.

David

davidl11 · Accepted Answer

Further research did turn up an online discussion that indicated that my problem had the same solution as when the error message says 'no media present,' so I went into the BIOS and moved the Windows Boot Manager to the top of the priority list, and the error message went away.

bradthetechnut · Accepted Answer

@Three C​  Uncheck or delete IPV4 and IPV6 booting options in BIOS.  Both of those are network booting options.  I had a similar problem with my Precision 3620 two years ago and that solved it. Reinstalling Windows won't make a difference if those two booting options are in BIOS.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

Good work. The Windows Boot Manager should have been at the top by default? Was someone in the BIOS making changes prior to you getting the message?

davidl11 · Answer

@DELL-Chris M​ I am the only person who uses or maintains my computer and I didn't make any changes to the BIOS prior to this problem.  Nor have I had any problem with my boot drive.  CrystalDiskInfo reports that the health status of my boot drive is 'Good 99%', so I don't know what could have caused it.  In fact, I would love to know what the cause was or, given that I didn't make any changes in the BIOS and my boot drive is in good health, speculation as to the cause would be appreciated.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

That is an odd one. Even if Windows Updates had pushed a new BIOS automatically, it would have had Windows Boot Manager as Boot Option #1.

Three C · Answer

@davidl11​ Didn’t solve my problem - no matter how many times I go into bios and make the Windows Boot Manager the first priority, it STILL goes to the network boot.  I finally reinstalled windows (which someone else recommended), but that ALSO made no difference.  I’m working with a brand new computer, and I’ve been holding off on installing other programs until I get this fixed, because it takes SO LONG to boot via the network entry, but I'm at my wits end.  HELP!

Hksaga · Answer

I am also having this problem yesterday (06 Aug 2025).  I browsed YouTube and there are many post with solution but none of them work(including unchecked the IPV4 & 6.  This PC was bought only 3 years ago at roughly USD1K.  I really don’t expect it lasts for 3 years only.  I suspect that the SSD was dead but since I am pretty noob in PC I had no idea what I can do.  Do anyone have any idea?

Squawk 9889 · Answer

@Three C @Hksaga

I just had this issue today, and found that if I repeatedly press escape (cancelling the IPv4 boot) it will eventually boot from the correct drive. I haven’t fiddled with my BIOS to try and get a permanent fix yet, but that may help as a workaround so you can use your PC with a reasonable boot time in the meantime.

XPS Desktops

XPS 8950, Checking Media Presence. Media Present. Start PXE over IPv4 on MAC

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