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ViennaAustria
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ESXi 5.x on new Apple Mac Mini 6,2 Late 2012 *NOT* working

Hello!

I bought one of the new MacMinis, which were presented yesteraday, plugged two 8GiB DD3-1600 modules in (OsX reported 16GiB of memory, as the models before) and tried to install ESXi 5.1 Build 799733. It started promising:

Initializing chipset...

Initializing timing...

Initializing scheduler...

Initializing processors...

Initializing ACPI...

*BANG*

Pink screen! Smiley Sad

NOT_REACHED bora/vmkernel/hardware/intel/vtd.c:3638

cr0=0x8001003d cr2=0x0 cr3=0x449ad500 cr4=0x12c

*PCPU0:4096/bootstrap

PCPU  0: SISISISISISISIS

Code start: 0x41800c600000 VMK uptime: 0:00:00:04.301

and a stackdump.

macmini.png

I tried instalkling 5.0 and 5.0 U1 also, but with the same result.

It is the regular MacMini with an i7 4C 2.3GHz and one 1TB SATA drive (http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MD388LL/A with no extras), not the MacMini Server.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

PS1: I was unable to boot the ESXi setup from USB key! Since other USB keys (OsX setup for example) didn't work either, I suspect that there's some EFI boot problem from the new USB3 ports. Booting from CD worked, however.

PS2: on the earlies models we had the problem, that the Alt key wasn't recognized after powering on, when there is an USB hub between the keyboard and the Mac (a KVM switch for example). That seems to be fixed now: whenever I press the Alt key at the powerup chime, I get the Apple "boot menu", even with our KVM switch in between.

338 Replies
willplaice
Contributor
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ok i thought i was ok with this but obviously not....

i have the driver, and now a valid file, but i don't understand how to add the drivers,

feel like a newbie, been working with esxi for ages, but never had a problem installing before.

anyone feel like a step by step ? i have the downloaded installer image, and have replaced the v00 with the modified one...

what do i do with the drivers?

Will

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zer010gic
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@willplaice I know that file works because I have installed ESXi using my ISO on atleast 3-4 different new Mac Minis.  If you would like I can upload you the ISO I have if you have somewhere I can drop it.

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willplaice
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that would be fab - email address removed

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zer010gic
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@willplaice Your file has been uploaded

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elchubi
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ESXi is not presenting the hardware as an Apple computer, so I did a test on my 6.2 MacMini using "Donk's Unlocker" for ESXi and OSX 10.8 (updated to 10.8.2 now) is running fine.

I'm sure VMWare doesn't support this. An official patch is needed, use this method for testing purposes only.

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HPReg
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

For those following at home, the translation in plain english is that the Mac OS VM is not really hung: it is running, but it cannot execute any encrypted binaries. One such binary is the Window Server, which is why you never see the graphical desktop in this VM. However, you should be able to ssh to the VM for example. Some other remote services may work. We are procuring that new hardware and investigating...

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HPReg
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

ViennaAustria,

> If it would be of any help to you, I can give you full access to the machine (external IP & root pw). Since OsX VMs don't run, it is of no use at the moment.

Thanks. If you have some spare cycles with this box, here is something that would help us:

1) Install Mac OS 10.7.x or 10.8.x as a host (instead of ESXi) on the Macmini6,2.

2) Install VMware Fusion 5.0.1 (trial version if needed).

3) Copy or create a Mac OS VM, and try to boot it.

Do you see the same issue or not? Depending on your answer, we will know much more precisely which part of our code is causing the issue.

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willplaice
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@zer010gic

Many thanks, with the vioDisableIR statement I can install with your image, and have done so, but i can't save anything - my VM's are gone after a reboot, as are any settings, IP address, etc....

any ideas ?

Will

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zer010gic
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@willplaice

Nope I am not having that issue at all.

Did you remember to enable ssh and run the following "esxcli system settings kernel set --setting=iovDisableIR -v TRUE"  this perminatly takes care of the boot issue/pink screen.

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willplaice
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I've tried to I can enter it and it's accepted, but if I reboot the machine I loose the settings and the VM's (everything on the datastore is obviously ok)

ESXi also takes approx. 8 minutes to boot, which it doesn't on my dell servers.

Suggestions ?

Will

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zer010gic
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@willplaice No I do not know what’s causing your issue.  I have however rebooted my test machine both by hard power cycled and graceful/proper reboot without having the issue you are describing.

By the way I work for http://www.macstadium.com hosting MacMinis like these.  Here is the ISO we have been using that I created.

http://www.macstadium.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/ESXi-5.x-MacMini-6-2.iso

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willplaice
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Ok, fixed the persistence issue(odd boot string), next problem is direct path, is usb passthrough supported ? I turn on usb support and reboot, and the ports aren't available after a reboot.

Will

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elchubi
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Hi zer010gic, it is nice knowing who configured my mac mini. I can confirm his ISO works beautifully

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ViennaAustria
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@HPReg:

1) Install Mac OS 10.7.x or 10.8.x as a host (instead of ESXi) on the Macmini6,2.

2) Install VMware Fusion 5.0.1 (trial version if needed).

3) Copy or create a Mac OS VM, and try to boot it.

That would be no problem, BUT the MacMini is already on site at the customer. On Monday I can send somebody to fetch it. Then we can try VMware Fusion. I probably won't have the required information until Tuesday. Will that be okay?

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sirozha1
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So, is the ISO linked to here the only thing that's needed to install ESXi on a late 2012 Mac Mini, or is something else needs to be done to avoid the "pink Screen"? Are there any network drivers that need to be added like it was required for the 2011 Mac Mini?

Are there any peculiarities that would prevent Linux-based VMs (Red Hat Enterprise Server 3 and 4) from running in VMware ESXi on a late 2012Mac Mini?

I want to sell my Dell PowerEdge T410 and get a Mac Mini to run my Cisco voice lab

Thank you!

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zer010gic
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This ISO only supplies the modified driver already installed.  You will still need to add iovDisableIR=TRUE at boot of installer and your first boot after installation.  After that you will need to run the esxicli command covered earlier in this thread to make it persistent.  After that the only vms that won't work are OSX due to changes in SMC but there is a hack also mentioned that fixes that as well... Sort of...

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sirozha1
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Thank you very much for such a prompt response. Is it possible to install ESXi 5 on a USB 3 stick with this image and have a late 2012 Mac Mini run ESXi off a USB 3 stick.  Currently running ESXi 5 off a USB stick my Dell server, so I was wondering if it's an option on a Mac Mini 2012.  This would allow me to take the 1 TB drive out of the Mac Mini and use it for something else. All of my VMs are currently on an iSCSI data store. Since ESXi does not support software RAID, I don't see any point in having an internal HDD in the Mac Mini.

Also, does ESXi 5 support Thunderbolt storage arrays? It would be tempting to pick up a Thunderbolt Drobo (Drobo 5D or Drobo Mini) and use it as a RAID protected data store that hosts VMs running on the Mac Mini 2012.

Thank you again!

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zer010gic
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While I have not installed to USB I do install from USB so I think it should work you will just have to try.  As for the thunderbolt port I know the gig nic works but I dont know about storage.

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donnie80
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Hi Will

I am encountering the same problems you had previously whereby the settings arent saved on reboot. Can you eloborate on "odd boot string" issue that resolved the problem?

Thanks

D

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willplaice
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was hoping i wouldn't have to admit to this…

to boot without the crash you need to append the boot switch, not replace the line completely :

Add a single space followed by:

iovDisableIR=TRUE

.

On 5 Nov 2012, at 05:06, donnie80 <communities-emailer@vmware.com<mailto:communities-emailer@vmware.com

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