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ViennaAustria
Contributor
Contributor

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
gettons
Contributor
Contributor

Hi all,

I have just installed a customized version of Esxi for Mac 2012 ( thanks to one of the user in the thread anyway 🙂 ), and it's all cool.

Only one thing I noticed, which I 'd like to double check with you now. The audio device is not available on the hypervisor, I noticed that when creating a new virtual machine. Also the video device ( which is available instead ) does not offer any 3d and it's only few mb.

p.s. I tested this with a ubuntu guest 12.04 64bit.

Anyone else spotted this ?

Thanks

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discostur
Contributor
Contributor

Hi,

i'm running MacOS 10.8.2 on my MacMini 6,2 with ESXi 5. MountainLion is running perfect but everytime i try to change something with the configuration of the virtual machine, for example, increase the virtual cpus (cores) from 2 to 4 or add an additional hard drive, the machine starts up normal, but after the login screen i'm only seeing a grey screen. nothing more.

i can only shutdown the machine via vclient, undo the changes and then start again. then it is working normally.

Is that behaviour normal? Do i have to reinstall MountainLion if i want to add an additional hard drive?

Thanks

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discostur
Contributor
Contributor

Ok i think i got it. I've to restart twice and then it is working...

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MacSS
Contributor
Contributor

Though not directly related to being unable to run ESXi on a mac mini, I was hoping that some of you might have a few good links for instuctions on setting up the vlans, switches, and networking for ESXi on a mac mini. I have static IPS, subnet, and router information for each virtual machine, and need to learn how to configure ESXi to point that trafic to specific VMs. I tried watching a few vidoes and reading a few posts in the forums, but I can't seem to find a specific discussion on it or a set of specific instructions.

Any help is always appreciated!

- Gian

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twuhabro
Contributor
Contributor

anyone have tryed the 914609 build?

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Luke_H
Contributor
Contributor

I am also wondering about installing ESXi to e.g a 4- or 8GB  SD Card  and booting the Mini off of that, leaving the internal HD intact for later use elsewhere. Has anyone done any experimenting yet?

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twuhabro
Contributor
Contributor

i've found this on a "linux forum" for reboot the macmini after a power failure

"setpci -s 0:1f.0 0xa4.b=0"

(late 2012 model...)

but how to implement this string on ESXi?

(setpci commaand not fount)

:smileyconfused:

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hlpinform
Contributor
Contributor

Dear Luke_H,

I had the same idea and tested it with a 64GB sdxc card (SanDisk Extreme Pro, formated with exFAT).


The card is recognized by Mac OS X (Server) but NOT by the ESXi installer from zer010gic (Page 9 of this thread; http://communities.vmware.com/message/2153486#2153486).

It seems that it is possible to install ESXi on a usb thumb drive but I had no luck with that sd card.

I'll try another sd card with "only" 16gb (sdhc) and report back to you.

Cause I also wand to leave the internal mac mini hdds intact (maybe for later use or reselling).

Kind Regards

René

EDIT1: I'am using a Apple MD389D/A (Mac Mini Server; late 2012, Intel Core i7, 2,3GHz, 4GB RAM, 2TB HDD). I only replaced the 2x2GB RAM moduls by 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance (PC3-12800, 1600MHz, 204pin, 2x 8GB) moduls.

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ViennaAustria
Contributor
Contributor

anyone have tryed the 914609 build?

Yes, I did (accidently). NOT WORKING!!! All OSes are working, but not Darwin/OsX. Smiley Sad

@dariusd: how can I revert back to the "unofficial patch" by remote? I have no physical access to the MacMini. Which files are to be replaced? Thank you!

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dariusd
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

I know basically zero about ESXi installation/upgrade/downgrade procedures, so I will be of no help here.  Sorry!

--

Darius

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oturn
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Darius,

What's the outlook for having the iovDisableIR issue, the Broadcom driver, and the SMC fix all included in a future official update from VMware?

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HPReg
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

> Outlook for having [the following] included in a future official update from VMware?

> iovDisableIR issue

Bug 950354: The person supposed to work on it has ordered a Macmini6,2 and is awaiting delivery.

> the Broadcom driver

The newly released ESXi 5.0 Update 2 now includes the tg3 driver for Apple Mac Mini (pre-2012) and also supports Apple Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter as well w/o any need of custom ISO! So there is hope the same will happen for next update release of ESXi 5.1.

> SMC fix

Bug 953126: The fix has been positively reviewed, and is being discussed for inclusion in ESXi 5.0 Update 3 and the next update release for ESXi 5.1.

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oturn
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Darius, your efforts and those of others at VMware are very much appreciated. Thank you.

Just a general comment about the 2012 Mac Mini as an ESXi 5.1 server. So far my experience has been absolutely fantastic!

I'm running the following on my 2.6GHz Quad Core i7-3720QM Mini:

Windows Home Server 2011

Windows Server 2008 R2

- Active Directory

- Exchange 2010

- XenApp 6.5

OS X Server

Windows Home Server backs up every PC in my home, and backs itself up to an external FireWire drive using VMDirectPath I/O!

Windows Server 2008 R2 hosts my personal mail and remote access servers.

OS X Server is being used to test profile manager, and other services.

All of this, and the Mini / ESXi 5.1 is absolutely rock solid! It does not skip a beat. It is completely stable, and screaming fast. In addition, even after being pushed hard, the fan noise and temperatures are lower than the 2011 Mini. I'd actually say the fan noise has been dramatically lower.

VMware ESXi and the 2012 Mac Mini. What an AWESOME combination!

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akula169
Contributor
Contributor

Excellent - good to know you were able to get the Firewire working via passthrough.  Will try that now.

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Luke_H
Contributor
Contributor

Thomas Schallar wrote:

anyone have tryed the 914609 build?

Yes, I did (accidently). NOT WORKING!!! All OSes are working, but not Darwin/OsX. Smiley Sad

@dariusd: how can I revert back to the "unofficial patch" by remote? I have no physical access to the MacMini. Which files are to be replaced? Thank you!

Hmm.  I installed this 914609 update on my Mac Mini 2012, and at first it seemed to work OK for me, I then proceeded to installe a fresh ML 10.8 vm and it went smoothly! BUT after the install was complete & the VM restarted, it hung on the Apple logo with the spinner. I let it run like that for a few hours just in case but it never booted. So I am trying to figure out how to revert back now!

The exact command I used was:

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/<path/to/patch>/ESXi510-201212001.zip

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benc78
Contributor
Contributor

Any update on the persitance issue? I am not able to get any settings to "stick" after reboot.

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nojstevens
Contributor
Contributor

Hello,

I've read all 14 pages of this thread and I can't see anyone with my particular issue, so I am hoping someone can help me.

I received my Mac Mini (i7 2.3) yesterday and installed the ISO from earlier in this thread (ESXi-5.1-MacMini-SMC-6-2.iso)

I typed iovDisableIR=TRUE at boot to avoid the PSOD. I boots ok (after a long usbarbitrator pause)

I can log in on the console and I can connect vSphere client to the server and everything works great.

Then, about an hour later, if I try again I get an 'invalid username or password' when I try to logon - I get this on both vSpehere and the console. I rebooted, same issue. I reinstalled from scratch and all works ok, then this morning, same issue

Has anyone seen this or have any idea WHY?

I am ready to migrate by big power hungry server over to my Mac Mini but can't unless I address this problem!

Thanks for any advice

Jon

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benc78
Contributor
Contributor

Jon,

I had the same issue.  Instead of replacing the "pre filled" boot argument append ivoDisableIR=TRUE with a space between boot arguments.  This will take care of the nearly 10 minute usbarbitrator  pause / PSOD & persistent settings issue.
Ben
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nojstevens
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks Ben, appreciate the reply - I'll try that now

Jon

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benc78
Contributor
Contributor

Glad to help.  Credit goes to willplaice who had a simular issue.  His thread is at the top of page 5.

Ben

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