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8 Replies Last post: Sep 8, 2008 4:13 PM by Elitoh
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ESX3i installs but doesn't boot.

Sep 8, 2008 1:33 PM

Click to view Elitoh's profile Enthusiast Elitoh 43 posts since
Nov 13, 2007
Installed esxi on a dell sc1430 install goes through fine but after reboot it does not start up. Has anyone encountered a problem like this?
Tags: 3i, dell, esx3i, esxi_3.5, install
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 1:40 PM
Click to view Dave.Mishchenko's profile Guru Dave.Mishchenko 8,863 posts since
Nov 15, 2005 Moderator
Does it generate any sort of error message when you boot or hang at a certain point? Do you get any error messages if you press ALT-F12 or ALT-F1 during the boot process?
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 1:44 PM
in response to: Dave.Mishchenko
Click to view Elitoh's profile Enthusiast Elitoh 43 posts since
Nov 13, 2007
Before the install I didn't have to do the "TAB" option or shift + o. The install goes through fine and when it reboots the only error message is from the post screen telling me that there is no bootable drive. Doesn't even attempt to load past that.
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 1:48 PM
in response to: Elitoh
Click to view Dave.Mishchenko's profile Guru Dave.Mishchenko 8,863 posts since
Nov 15, 2005 Moderator
Was there anything on the disks prior to the install? You might want to completely wipe them if there was. What sort of storage controller and disk setup do you have?
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 1:52 PM
in response to: Dave.Mishchenko
Click to view Elitoh's profile Enthusiast Elitoh 43 posts since
Nov 13, 2007
Yeah there was an install of esx 3.5(Trial Version). Didn't see any option to completely remove or format the drives. Its using the onboard Sata controller. I believe its an ICH9 or maybe ICH7.
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 2:25 PM
in response to: Elitoh
Click to view Elitoh's profile Enthusiast Elitoh 43 posts since
Nov 13, 2007
I do get an error message during the install when I push alt F11 or F12 it says" CPU7: 1155USB Controll/Bulk Timeout USB device may not respond.
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 2:26 PM
in response to: Elitoh
Click to view Dave.Mishchenko's profile Guru Dave.Mishchenko 8,863 posts since
Nov 15, 2005 Moderator
You might want to check that the ESXi partition were written to disk. If you boot with the install process, and then press ALT-F1 when you get to the install screen, you can access the console (use root to login / no password). Then run fdisk -l. The output should be similar to what is attached.
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Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 2:51 PM
in response to: Dave.Mishchenko
Click to view Elitoh's profile Enthusiast Elitoh 43 posts since
Nov 13, 2007
Yeah I got to the part and its kind of the same with the exception of the drive name (or letter) on mine it starts with vmhba1:0:0:1 do you happen to know the command to format the drives? I have 2 drives but it looks like only one is partitioned.
Reply Re: ESX3i installs but doesn't boot. Sep 8, 2008 4:13 PM
in response to: Elitoh
Click to view Elitoh's profile Enthusiast Elitoh 43 posts since
Nov 13, 2007
One thing that I had mentioned before is that I already had esx 3.5(demo) running on the machine. I tried to install esxi with a non supported RAID Controller (Adaptec SA1430). I think what happend is that I connected the drives in opposite of what they were connected prior to the raid card. I switched them around and ran the install one more time with my fingers crossed. It installed and booted up correctly. NOT SURE WHY. Before I had done that I tried to boot from an ubuntu 8.04 and format the drives and I did but that didnt work either. Hope this helps anyone else coming up with the same issues.
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