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

[ViennaAustria]

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!

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.

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.

[willplaice]

The answer is in this thread - and a link to the known bug - this isn't a mac issue.

Will

[oturn]

I see where you've pointed out it's not working, but not the thread to a known bug. Can you post the link again?

[oturn]

Could someone please post a download to a customized 5.0 update 1 ISO? I'm having a difficult time adding the edited NET-TG3.V00 to the ISO.

Thanks!

[dburkland]

I am really thankful this thread exists as it has answered my questions regarding vSphere 5.1 + 2012 Mac Mini. I will be buying a 2012 2.3Ghz Quad Mac Mini (non-server) within a few weeks and report back on how it goes.

Thanks again for the helpful information everybody,

Dan

[c3datamed]

I would really like to thank the posters here, especially zer010gic, for tracking this all down and getting it working. Reading through this thread from top to bottom I was able to get it to run without too much pain. Although the information is all here, I thought I would summarize the process needed to get this running:

1. Download this ISO (from zer010gic) and burn it to CD: http://www.macstadium.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/ESXi-5.x-MacMini-6-2.iso
2. Connect the USB DVD drive (e.g. from a MBAir) and insert the CD. Hold down “C” during boot to boot the CD. After hitting <Enter> to start it, you will see a message at the bottom of the screen to hit <Shirt>-O to edit boot options. This will bring up a line at the bottom and it already says something like “runweasel”. DO NOT REMOVE THAT (I made that mistake), but instead add a space and then type “iovDisableIR=TRUE”. Press <Enter> and it should boot and then go to the install process.
3. After installation you will need to do the same <Shift>-O process on the next boot.
4. At this point you should have a grey and yellow screen that says “Download tools to manage…” in the middle. Take note of the IP address because you will need that. Hit <F2> to access options, enter the root password, then arrow down to “Troubleshooting Options” and press <Enter>. Arrow down to “Enable SSH” and press <Enter>.
5. Use SSH from another system to the IP address you wrote down and after logging in execute this line: “esxcli system settings kernel set --setting=iovDisableIR -v TRUE”. This will make the boot option permanent.
6. All done!

[RERobbins]

You beat me to the punch.  I was going to prepare a very similar summary, complete with thanks for the patched image.  The hardest part about this process was picking up the tid-bits from this thread.  What a wonderful community.  Again, thanks to all who have added to the knowledge base here.

-- Rich

[lamw]

Out of curiosity, have you tried using the latest TG3 driver on VMware's driver page which was released on 09-18-2012 (3.124c.v50.1) https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=DT-ESXI50-Broadcom-tg3-3124cv501&productId=28... and creating a new ISO with ESXi 5.1 and see if that works?

Also, you can set the kernel option in the new re-mastered ISO, that way you don't need to set it during install or after the installation, so you can just boot and install. To do so, you just need to append iovDisableIR=true in the kernelopt line of the boot.cfg file found within the ISO.

Update: Looks like the latest TG3 driver does not contain the required PCID as noted earlier

[mfha]

I am struggeling to install this on a 6,2 MiniMAC with Fusion drive (2.6Ghz version). Anyone had any luck installing it? I get the same error as the first post in this thread. I am trying with the modified .iso and with the description supplied by c3datamed.

Thanks in advance,

_Morten

[RERobbins]

@mfha Please confirm that you are following the part of the process involving setting iovDisableIR to TRUE as described in prior messages and repeated below:

1. Connect the USB DVD drive (e.g. from a MBAir) and insert the CD. Hold down “C” during boot to boot the CD. After hitting <Enter> to start it, you will see a message at the bottom of the screen to hit <Shirt>-O to edit boot options. This will bring up a line at the bottom and it already says something like “runweasel”. DO NOT REMOVE THAT (I made that mistake), but instead add a space and then type “iovDisableIR=TRUE”. Press <Enter> and it should boot and then go to the install process.
2. After installation you will need to do the same <Shift>-O process on the next boot.
3. At this point you should have a grey and yellow screen that says “Download tools to manage…” in the middle. Take note of the IP address because you will need that. Hit <F2> to access options, enter the root password, then arrow down to “Troubleshooting Options” and press <Enter>. Arrow down to “Enable SSH” and press <Enter>.
4. Use SSH from another system to the IP address you wrote down and after logging in execute this line: “esxcli system settings kernel set --setting=iovDisableIR -v TRUE”. This will make the boot option permanent.

[mfha]

@RERobbins It was my fault, I mispelled iovDisableIR (write with small L). It was just to early for me. Thanks for enlighten me. It works now

_Morten

[ViennaAustria]

@HPReg:

Any news regarding a (hot)fix from VMware?

There are 2 solutions to this problem:

1) Wait for VMware to update the driver.

2) Use a modified version of Mac OS X in your VM (for example donk's), that can run on hackintoshes (i.e. which does not require a physical SMC). VMware does not encourage that solution which has legal and support implications.

[twuhabro]

ok, after a we of test i've esxi 5.1 (built 838463) running

- install the custom iso from "zer010gic"

- update the tg3 driver (installer say "nothing updated" but it is usefull for the 838463 patch) with the latest available on vmware

- install the 838463 patch

- use the "Donk's Unlocker"

mountain lion seems to run without problems for now

[zer010gic]

Ok guys as requested here is a 5.0 u1 IOS with the modified driver.  Its not tested so if there are issues let me know.

http://www.macstadium.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/ESXi-50u1-MacMini-6-2.iso

[discostur]

Hi,

i'm new to VMware ESXi and first, thanks to all of you providing such great information in this thread.

I'v gotten the same pink screen, but now i've fixed it with the command you must type in at the beginning of the installation.

But my problem is another:

I put in the iso with the fixed network driver from zer010gic, typ in the command and boot the installer at my mac mini 6,2. Then the installer loads everything, except the installer itself. When it finishes, i get the yellow / black screen with the ip adress of my server. I can then connect to the server with my vSphere client and manage it, but when i restart every change is lost and i must boot from CD again (like a Live CD...).

I can't select any HDD for installation, i don't even get a "EULA" screen to see.

Do you have any idea why i didn't get to see the installer?

Thanks

PS: i tried the installation on Windows in VirtualBox and it worked like a charm ...

[discostur]

Ok, i think i got it answered myself:

I deleted the "runweasel" command from the boot prompt at the beginning of the installation and inserted "iovDisableIR=TRUE". I think i've to insert both of them

[HPReg]

> Any news regarding a (hot)fix from VMware?

We have procured one of these machines and we are currently investigating. No ETA yet.

[willplaice]

Hi all, i wondered if anyone could sugest anything here...

I'ver bought a drobo 5D as i want DAS storage, ideally at thunderbolt speed....

I'm happy with passing this through to a virtual machine (or using as a store if that's possible, but 1st option seems more possible)

i currently have an expensive brick....

Drobo is for some reason not recognised as a USB device, so I can't attach it that way (can't use directpath usb due to the known bug so can't try that)

I was hoping (expecting is too strong) to be able to pass the pcie channel through, but it show as below - shows as a SCSI device, but i can't see how to pass this through ?

the two adaptors marked with orange ? won't passthough

advice would be fantastic (i'm trying to pass though to OSX 10.8)

Will

[RERobbins]

@willplaice, can the Drobo be set up as a network attached storage device providing either NFS or iSCSI shares to your vmware host?  That seems like a more natural way to set up the datastore.  If you use passthrough then only one virtual machine will have access, which isn't what you want, is it?  I've been very happy using a Netgear ReadyNAS device in just this fashion.  I have a pair of vmware hosts, one of which is a Mac Mini 6,2.  I've put my ReadyNAS on a separate physical network used only for vmware storage.  My hosts are dual NIC computers, with one of those NICs on the storage net pointing to an iSCSI share on the ReadyNAS.  My two vmware hosts make use of a single shared datastore that contains my collection of vms.  The Mac Mini 6,2 with the thunderbolt gigabit ethernet adapter works really well in this environment.

[willplaice]

no it's DAS only, i don't want to use NAS specifically want local storage.

[RERobbins]

Why?