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VCPaul
Contributor
Contributor

ESX Server 3i - USB flash drive boot possible!

I successfully booted ESX Server 3i from a USB flash drive on a machine with no local disks attached. It´s unsupported, but it works!

Requirements:

  • 1 GB USB flash drive

  • WinImage

  • IZArc

Of course you can use your favourite tools and larger USB flash drives, but 1 GB is enough space for the boot image.

Perform the following steps to create a bootable ESX Server 3i USB flash drive:

  1. Download ESX Server 3i Installable ISO

  2. Extract INSTALL.TGZ from the root directory of the ISO image using an IZArc

  3. Extract /usr/lib/vmware/installer/VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd.bz2 from INSTALL.TGZ using IZArc

  4. Extract VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd from VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd.bz2 using IZArc

  5. Attach the USB flash drive and make sure you no longer need the data on it

  6. Use WinImage to transfer VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd to the USB flash drive

    1. Disk->Restore Virtual Hard Disk image on physical drive...

    2. Select the USB flash drive (Warning: If you select the wrong disk you will lose data!)

    3. Select the image file VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd

    4. Confirm the warning message

    5. Wait for the transfer to complete

  7. Unplug the USB flash drive (Warning: If you forget to unplug the flash drive from the PC you might lose the data on your hard drives the next time you boot!)

  8. Attach the USB flash drive to the machine you want to boot (Warning: If ESX Server 3i recognizes local drives, you might lose the data on it, so make sure you don´t need it anymore or unplug all hard drives!)

  9. Turn the machine on and make sure the USB flash drive is selected as boot device

  10. Watch ESX Server 3i boot

  11. Configure

  12. Enjoy!

I cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss of data this procedure might cause.

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46 Replies
js_opdebeeck
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Hi;

On you favorite distro, search the device allocated to your USB Key

shell>fdisk -l

/dev/sdd

Here my device is /dev/sdd

do a

shell>dd if=/home/user/location/VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0_Update_2-103909.i386.dd of=/dev/sdd

When completed.. a message is displayed.

And remove your stick ...

  • if you plug it back ... 4 partitions will be available with data .

  • you can try it on a 'supported' server

Have fun .

Js

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xaero35
Contributor
Contributor

Hi,

I'm trying to get ESX Server3i running on an Intel DQ965GF according to this should be possible. I followed the instructions of VCPaul's tutorial but i get a simple "boot error" on screen when booting from external USB flash drive. So I'm a little confused, USB Image corrupt? or what might cause this problem?

Hope someone might be able to help me.

thanks Smiley Wink

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alussier
Contributor
Contributor

I am having a very similiar problem and I was wondering if you found a solution?

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roxer2
Contributor
Contributor

Built two ESXi servers using the Supermicro 6015C-NTRB Superserver and a 2GB USB DOM attached to the interal USB header. Works great! Also tested with the Supermicro 6015X-TB server as well (I prefer this one myself). I have the two onboard Intel NIC ports, a PCIe Intel quad-port NIC, and two additional PCIe slots for more NICs, iSCSI or FC HBAs. Boots without problems. Had to use the hack at the vm-help.com site. I think this is a great way to build a diskless appliance/server. Hopefully VMware will support this config sometime in the near future.

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mblake4u
Contributor
Contributor

Works out the box with IBM Thinkpad X31. Only thing is that it would be nice to get the wireless card working, and you get the pink screen during shutdown. Otherwise works great.

Doesn't work with IBM Thinkpad T43 - get the 'LVMdriver failed to load' or something like that.

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Robert_M
Contributor
Contributor

Sorry - I know this is an old thread. I've been experimenting with this but now I'm done. I can't figure out how to delete the hypervisor partition and the other logical drives off of the USB stick. Viewing the stick in Disk Management the option for deleting the partitions is greyed out.

Appreciate any replies...

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DSTAVERT
Immortal
Immortal

Always create your own post for questions. http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-next-generation.htm

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
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