SCCM relies heavily on secure certificates. If the local machine's BIOS clock is hours or days off from the SCCM server, the SSL/TLS handshake will fail, preventing the download of the variable file.
Failed to download PXE variable file after retrials. Exit code=14. PxeGetPxeData failed with 0x8004016c. unable to download pxe variable file. exit code 14 sccm
-> Run ipconfig to verify the machine has a valid IP address. SCCM relies heavily on secure certificates
Sometimes this is immediately after the “Preparing network connections” screen, before the task sequence wizard appears. Exit code=14
The fluorescent lights of the IT basement flickered as Elias stared at the glowing amber text on the monitor. It was 2:00 AM, the hour when logic begins to fray and hardware seems to develop a spiteful personality. Across the desk, a brand-new Latitude laptop sat frozen, its screen a bleak landscape of technical failure. "PXE-E05: Has not received DHCP or proxyDHCP offers."