ESXi 4.1 install hangs at install screen

[hanover_fiste]

I'm running a white box (yes, I know) built from a tyan s5380 and 2 intel 5430s. Have tried various bios settings to no avail, including a reset to defaults (and then only enabling intel virtualization).  Mostly wondering if anyone else has installed ESXi on this board sucessfully, or if I'm wasting my time.

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Does it hang loading a specific module?  During the boot process you can get a bit more information when you press  ALT+F1 and ALT+12.

[Sreejesh_D]

Please find the URLs for VMware HCL and Community supported hardware list. Hope it will help you to check whether your hardware is supported by ESXi 4.1 or not.

www.vmware.com/go/hcl

http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/general/cshwsw

[Gleed]

Of course, you need supported hardware to have a supported config, but if your just trying to get a play box up and running...

I had a similar issue with a home desktop I use for training & playing.  The issue was ESXi didn't have drivers for my internal CDROM drive.  I could boot from the CDROM, but once control was handed over to ESXi to copy the files the install would freeze because ESXi couldn't talk to the CD.  I worked around it by plugging in an external USB CDROM and booting from that.

With ESXi it's very important to follow the HCL.  Missing drivers is a common problem.

Regards,

-Kyle

[hanover_fiste]

I've tried alt-f1 through alt-f12. The box his locked hard. My only option is to power cycle it. I get as far as the screen asking reboot/repair/install, but then the system becomes completely unresponsive. What's rather surprising is that this is an intel-based server board, processors, and ram. Tyan doesn't deviate much at all from a vanilla set up.

I can try an external drive, but I'm just using a standard PATA DVD drive. Shouldn't require a special driver.

As a sanity check, I installed RH 5.4 this morning. Went on with zero problems and runs quite stable. I really don't want to be stuck with the limitations of vmware server, but that may end up being my only option if I can't get esxi to install.

Thanks,

Rob

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

The issue you see is most likely caused by an ACPI incompatibility where the installer does not recognize the keyboard correctly. If you have an USB keyboard, unplug/plug it at this point. This usually helps.

André

[hanover_fiste]

PS/2 KB and mouse.

[a_p_]

Try to find/buy/borrow an USB keyboard. I'm almost sure this will solve the issue.

André

[hanover_fiste]

I can't believe it was actually that simple. I mean, a standard PS/2 kb doesn't work, but using a USB kb does? srsly?

Thanks very much for the suggestion, it did indeed do the trick.

[idle-jam]

One of the weirdest but sure it work 😃

[a_p_]

You are welcome.

In case you are interested, read KB article http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1011852. Although this is for ESX 3.5 (not ESXi), the Details sections explains what has changed in detecting PS/2 devices in newer versions of ESX(i).

André