Rufus (free utility) takes 2 minutes to create a bootable USB flash drive for ESXi installation boot source that becomes the install target, even for 5.5

[pbraren]

Just an FYI, one of those rare Windows open source gems that are getting increasingly hard to find on the web these days, amidst a see of downloader payloads.

I've found Rufus to be very handy for quick creation of USB flash drive you can boot from, then install to, for ESXi, no command line stuff to memorize needed, and very quick:

TinkerTry.com/rufus-takes-2-minutes-to-create-a-bootable-usb-flash-drive-for-esxi-installation

works great with ESXi 5.5 too:

TinkerTry.com/download-vsphere-5-lab

and when done with that flash drive and you want to use it for something else (but normal reformatting doesn't work), it handles that too, even on Windows 8.1:

TinkerTry.com/rufus-lets-you-quickly-and-easily-reformat-an-esxi-usb-flash-drive-back-to-full-capaci...

Particularly handy for folks getting started who shy away from VMware's Linux procedure:

Format a USB Flash Drive to Boot the ESXi Installation or Upgrade

vSphere 5.5 Documentation Center

or potentially dangerous Windows diskpart commands. Really just fast and useful for pretty much everybody.

Thoughts/opinions?

[mackpt1]

Here is how to make bootable USB for windows 7/8/10 with Rufus

1- Download Rufus over here https://rufus.akeo.ie/downloads/rufus-2.7.exe

2- Once its downloaded, double click to open it.

3- Then, insert your pen drive.

4- Next step is to select the ISO file.

5- Once you selected the ISO, now its time to choose what kind of partition scheme and target system type you want to make. In rufus we have the possibility to make three kinds. They are

:- MBR partition with BIOS or UEFI

:- MBR partition for UEFI

:- GPT partition for UEFI

Source:- https://merabheja.com/make-bootable-usb-windows-7810-rufus/