PENDING HTTPS, PKI and reimaging from Software Center

[TechLoic]

Hello,

Could you please help me with an issue I'm encountering with my reimaging Task Sequence. The idea is to be able to reinstall Windows 11 (after a format in WinPE) from within Windows 11 itself, more specifically from Software Center. So far the process seems to work, except for one critical part: I can't install any applications. The install process hangs at the beginning (something like "Initializing Microsoft Configuration Manager client") and then seems to time out and skip the installation step.
A bit of context: my environment is HTTPS-only (PKI), and I force the installation of a PKI certificate (via a PowerShell script) right after the "Setup Windows and ConfigMgr" step.

A few additional observations from the logs:

• Looking at the logs, it seems that during the install the client can't connect to the MP (HTTP error 403), which is somewhat expected since the PKI step happens afterward in the sequence.
• Even when the PKI certificate is installed and the PC reboots while still within the TS, the MCM client never becomes functional. However, once the TS finishes and after some time passes, the client eventually becomes functional on its own. Otherwise, I need to run a ccmrepair after the TS ends if I want the MCM client to become functional quickly.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[TechLoic]

As I don't seem to be able to edit my initial post, I'll add here some more info: the TS is more or less (with different variables) the same one I use to deploy computers via PXE boot.

 

[Prajwal Desai]

This is a tricky one. Analyze more logs to see if you can find errors.

 

[TechLoic]

Sadly, I've analyzed almost all the logs, and my friends Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude all seem to say the same thing: my PKI script runs after the installation of the MCM client, and it seems that this is the problem.

The weird thing is, when I do a bare metal install from a PXE boot, the exact same sequence doesn't give me the same issue, as the client seems to catch on after a reboot, something that a refresh from Software Center doesn't do.