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bobbym4
Contributor
Contributor

install ESXi, stop on "Relocating modules and starting up the kernel"

My computer is Intel NUC5PPYH, the processor is a 14nm Pentium n3700.

Hardware: Intel® NUC Kit NUC5PPYH Specifications

According to the official website of the information, VT-x/VT-d are supported.

but i install ESXi, stop on "Relocating modules and starting up the kernel"

I tried many methods:

1, Change different ESXi versions 5.1,5.5,6.0.

2,Upgrade BIOS, set the BIOS boot mode, set the video card memory size.

3, Press Shift + O before installation and enter ignoreHeadless = TRUE.

4, Usb disk ISO, PXE boot ISO.

The above methods fail

IMG_20160112_182746.jpg

19 Replies
bobbym4
Contributor
Contributor

i need help Smiley Happy

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PeshoTigara
Contributor
Contributor

I am also on the same boat. Tried everything possible, created custom iso with the chipset and lan drivers, even installed the esxi on another usb using vmware fusion and then booted the nuc with the installed esxi usb, but still hangs on the "relocating modules..".

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tomcherlet
Contributor
Contributor

Hey did you found the solution? i am having the same problem 😕

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esxi_user
Contributor
Contributor

I came across the same problem on a bay-trail based system.  I had to do the following:

1) set BIOS "max cpuid value limit" to disable

2) Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port by Setting the Boot Options Manually

     - At startup press Shift+O and append the following boot options

     "gdbPort=none logPort=none tty2Port=com1";

3) connect a null modem cable from the esxi host pc to another pc.  This will allow you to finish the install and see further messages if there are more issues.

4) after installation completes, boot up the host and repeat steps 3 and 4 (if the screen continues to show the "relocating modules" mesg)

- the relocating modules message has something with ESXI not liking the video card.  Anyways, this just means you won't be able to use the local display to manage ESXI but you can still use vshpere client to manage the system remotely.

5) setup your management ip and launch the vsphere client to manage your new esxi host.

Hope this helps.  Good luck!

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rhoenie
Contributor
Contributor

I successfully installed VMware ESXi 6.5 on my NUC5PPYH (Intel Pentium N3700, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) using these steps on Windows 10:

  • Configured a static DHCP lease on my router for the MAC address of the NUC
  • Updated BIOS to latest version 0059, loading BIOS defaults
  • Downloaded and installed VMware-PowerCLI-6.5.0-4624819.exe
  • Downloaded ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1
  • Downloaded and installed rufus-2.12.exe
  • Downloaded ESXi drivers for onboard network and SATA : net55-r8168-8.039.01-napi.x86_64.vib, sata-xahci-1.39-1.x86_64.vib
  • Created an empty C:\Temp directory and put the .vib files in there
  • Ran the customizer PS script like so: .\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1 -pkgDir C:\Temp
  • Wrote the created ESXi-6.5.0-20170104001-standard-customized.iso on a USB stick using Rufus
  • Wrote a kickstart file (see below) and copied it as ks.cfg on the USB stick
  • Ejected the USB stick from Windows, put it in the NUC and booted it
  • Pressed Shift + O when the ESXi installer started booting up
  • Changed the command line to: > runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg
  • Waited for about 15 minutes for the installer to finish

Since the system is lacking support for the Braswell graphic chip you wont see anything on the screen happening besides that last line "Relocating modules and starting up the kernel...".

Just ignore it. :smileycool:

Please note that the ks.cfg script will erase all contents of the drive inside the NUC!

----<snip>----

# ks.cfg: scripted installation file for ESXi 6.5 installation

# Accept the VMware End User License Agreement

vmaccepteula

# Set the root password for the DCUI and Tech Support Mode

rootpw mypassword

# Install on the first local disk available on machine

clearpart --firstdisk --overwritevmfs

install --firstdisk=local --overwritevmfs

# Set the network to DHCP on the first network adapter

network --bootproto=dhcp

# reboots the host after the scripted installation is completed

reboot

# enable SSH and the ESXi shell

%firstboot --interpreter=busybox

vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh

vim-cmd hostsvc/start_ssh

vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_esx_shell

vim-cmd hostsvc/start_esx_shell

----<snap>----

CarstenJ1000
Contributor
Contributor

This description Worked for me on my Intel NUC5PPYH

But I made a minor change in the ks.cfg:

# Set the network to DHCP on the first network adapter

network --bootproto=dhcp --device=vmnic0

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nikiangel
Contributor
Contributor

I will need some help with the instruction (I'm completely new in powerCLI).

I'm stuck on creating the iso.

I downloaded and installed the VMware-PowerCLI-6.5.0-4624819.exe

Created (windows 10) C:\Temp

Placed the 2 .vib files there

Then I stared the shortcut "VMware PowerCLI" (run as administrator) created after the install of VMware-PowerCLI-6.5.0-4624819.exe. It gave me some permission error which I fixed by execut in the terminal "Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Force"

After this I'm getting the screen below when I start "VMware PowerCLI"

1.JPG

When I try to execute the command, I get

2.JPG

Please help.

.....

OK, the problem here after all was that I was using the "VMware PowerCLI" and I had to use "VMware PowerCLI (32-Bit)".

I created the iso successfully, but now I want to do a little more and facing another problem:

I want to add another driver in the image, which seems is missing a signature:

An unexpected error occured:

The VIB xxxxxxxxxxxx does not contain a signature.

I want to add it as this will allow me to have a second network adapter (USB to gigabit) in the NUC, and the best would be to have it in the iso image and not to load it manually(or at least these are my expectations).

Any suggestions how to skip the signature check?

I tried

.\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1 -pkgDir C:\Temp --nosigcheck

but no success,

.\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1 -pkgDir C:\Temp -NoSignatureCheck

also no success.

....

After reading a little bit more, especially in the "ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1" script, I found that the right command for me is:

.\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1 -pkgDir C:\Temp -nsc

Now I have the ISO with all 3 drivers inside and hopefully I can get a NUC5PPYH with 2 native lan adapters,just waiting the adapter to be delivered to me.



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superQ1
Contributor
Contributor

I have tried your method but it seems I'm not having much luck ...

I created the ks.cfg in notepad on windows and saved it to the usb to which I deployed the customized ISO with rufus.

So it boots and I press Shift-O and run "runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg" added to .. and it runs until "Relocating modules and starting up the kernel..."

Then stops there ... after waiting an extraordinary amount of time I reboot the device and it cannot boot - says insert boot media or select a proper boot device.

Ie it hasnt installed anything ...

I am running a 128 Mb SSD with 8Gb RAM ...

This is very frustrating ... any help???

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avalonzst
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I got the same problem on a pc server of Lenovo X3650 M5.

But only adding  a booting parameter ignoreHeadless=TRUE  did not solve the problem.

By change the option in BIOS of  boot mode to legancy and processer mode to max performance and add ignoreHeadless=TRUE in the boot option, I can install esxi on the server using custom images downlowed from vmware.

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chtugha
Contributor
Contributor

I had to try several times until I got it working:

THIS IS A GUIDE TO INSTALL ESXI FROM - AND INSTALL ONTO THE SAME -  USB-STICK

1.)  BIOS: reset to default ! and DISABLE UEFI boot - leave only legacy usb (if you leave uefi the shift+o commands will be ignored)

2.)  Remove ANY HDD/SSD/WHATEVER from the NUC - you will add it again later

3.)  Make the aforementioned boot stick from rhoenies post.

4.)  Make a ks.cfg file on the stick with the following content

----<snip>----

vmaccepteula

rootpw whatever

network --bootproto=dhcp

clearpart --firstdisk --overwritevmfs

install --firstdisk --overwritevmfs --novmfsondisk

reboot

----<snap>----

5.) Plug the stick into your NUC and press Shift+O at the ESXI bootloader

6.) Type:     >runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg ignoreHeadless=TRUE            and press Enter

7.) ESXi will now be installed (takes about 15 Minutes) - then the machine will reboot

8.) After reboot your NUC will complain: "no disk found" - reboot and enter BIOS

9.) Enable UEFI boot and check the box at "Boot usb disk first". Check "suppress alert messages" too.

11.) Save bios and shutdown -> Now you can reinstall your HDD/SSD

12.) Remove the stick from your NUC, plug it into you computer and make following change inside BOOT.CFG: "kernelopt= installerDiskDumpSlotSize=2560 no-auto-partition ignoreHeadless=TRUE"

13.) Now plug your stick back in and enjoy your fully working ESXi host by just acccessing it over https://IP-ADDRESS/ui

14.) After trying every bios option possible I gave up: you can't run a NUC5PPYH without a monitor or a vga dummy connected. So if you plan on running your NUC complete headless I recommend ordering a 5$ hdmi dummy.

If you encounter Problems it is usually related to your USB-Stick. You can try this:

>runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg ignoreHeadless=TRUE preferVmklinux=TRUE

But if it doesn't help try a different USB-Stick. I recommend not to use a USB 3.0 capable one.

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yusufritz
Contributor
Contributor

Hi

I am having the same issue.

I have installed the VMware Workstation on WIN 2012 R2 server there i am trying  to configure esxi 6.0 but getting the same error.

Relocating modules and starting up the kernel

Does anyone have ides how could i resolve this issue.

yusuf
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rhoenie
Contributor
Contributor

I created the ks.cfg in notepad on windows and saved it to the usb to which I deployed the customized ISO with rufus.

Be sure that Windows notepad doesn't add .txt to the filename and turns it into ks.cfg.txt.

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rhoenie
Contributor
Contributor

Today I reinstalled my NUC5PPYH (Intel Pentium N3700, 8GB RAM, now with a 120GB SSD) from scratch using Windows 10 to generate a customized boot-image.

The steps are pretty much identical to last time; the only thing that has changed are the version numbers.

• BIOS updated to the latest 86A. 0074, loading BIOS defaults, disabled TPM

• Downloaded ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.6.0.ps1 script

• Downloaded Rufus-3.2.exe

• Downloaded net55-r8168-8.045a-napi.x86_64.vib, sata-xahci-1.40-1.x86_64.vib

• Created an empty C:\Temp\vibs directory and put the .vib files in there

• Executed PowerShell as Administrator (this information was missing last time!)

• Inside PowerShell I issued these commands:

    

  > Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

     Answer with "Yes"

  > Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet

    To install NuGet package provider.

  > Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI

    To install VMware.PowerCLI under C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules (ca 320MB).

  > ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.6.0.ps1 -pkgDir C:\Temp\vibs -nsc

    This will generate the new custom image with our selected VIBs.

• Wrote the created ESXi-6.7.0-20180804001-standard-customized.iso on a USB stick using Rufus

• Wrote a kickstart file (see below) and copied it as ks.cfg on the USB stick (be sure that it doesn't read ks.cfg.txt!)

• Ejected the USB stick from Windows, attached it to the NUC and booted from it

• Pressed Shift + O when the ESXi installer started booting up

• Added ks=usb:/ks.cfg behind the runweasel commandline seperated by a space character

• Waited for about 5-10 minutes for the installer to finish (seemed to be faster than the last time)

Don't get confused after the automatic reboot. It looks like it is doing the install again but actually its booting right into the new system. You can plug out the USB stick with the installer later.

Please note that the ks.cfg script will erase all contents of the drive inside the NUC!

----<snip>----

# ks.cfg: scripted installation file for ESXi 6.5 installation

# Accept the VMware End User License Agreement

vmaccepteula

# Set the root password for the DCUI and Tech Support Mode

rootpw mypassword

# Install on the first local disk available on machine

clearpart --firstdisk --overwritevmfs

install --firstdisk=local --overwritevmfs

# Set the network to DHCP on the first network adapter

network --bootproto=dhcp

# reboots the host after the scripted installation is completed

reboot

# enable SSH and the ESXi shell

%firstboot --interpreter=busybox

vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh

vim-cmd hostsvc/start_ssh

vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_esx_shell

vim-cmd hostsvc/start_esx_shell

----<snap>----

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Mordecai11803
Contributor
Contributor

In case this helps anyone the solution for me was way simpler; HP DL380 G9, went into the bios and reset to factory defaults.  Not sure what was screwed up but this instantly fixed the issue.

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alexg888
Contributor
Contributor

It is 2019 now and still problem. Really?????

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pecovak
Contributor
Contributor

Hi all,

I ran into this issue when reinstalling ESXI on my home server. At 1st install I had other issues, not this one...

On my system, it helped by setting "Headless mode" to "Disabled". I remembered this setting was changed since 1st install.

After this the install (via IPMI!) went fine without any hassle!

My system is: SuperMicro X10SL7F with Xeon E3-1225V3 and 32G ECC

regards

Peter

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pecovak
Contributor
Contributor

yep, and still in 2020. Ran into this with ESXi 6.7 latest. See my solution in other comment.

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Zatras
Contributor
Contributor

This solved the problem for me:

  1. Press Shift+O during startup of an ESXi installation.
  2. Append the boot option

    ignoreHeadless=TRUE
     
  3. Press the Enter key to continue boot.
  4. Once installation is completed, set the VMkernel boot-time parameter in persistent configuration using the command:

    esxcfg-advcfg -k TRUE ignoreHeadless

 

from here:

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2054090

 

 

PhantomCcrim
Contributor
Contributor

Working smooth 06-10-2023 with VMvisor 7 on windows 10

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