ESXi 7 fails - "No Network adapters detected"

[HammerNJ]

Hi:

Just got a refurbished Dell Optiplex 7080 Mini Computer and want to run VMWare ESXi 7.0 on it. When booting to a USB with the VMware ISO on it, the install gets going but fails abruptly with:

"No Network Adapters No network adapters were detected. Either no network adapters are physically connected to the system, or a suitable driver could not be located. A third party driver may be required. Ensure that there is at least one network adapter physically connected to the system before attempting installation. If the problem persists, consult the VMware Knowledge Base. "

I know that the onboard Intel Network adapter is supported: https://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/detail.php?deviceCategory=io&productid=39793&vcl=true

What are the steps to add this to the ISO I already have of ESXi 7 ?

Thanks

[HammerNJ]

Hello?

Do I need to create a custom ISO with the Network card drivers? 

Thanks

[jimrishere]

I have the same issue. I have not been able to find an answer.

[depping]

this blog explains how to slipstream drivers for 6.7, I have not tried it for 7 to be honest:

http://woshub.com/add-drivers-vmware-esxi-iso-image/

Do note, that many consumer NICs do not have drivers for ESXi... So that may be a problem to find those in the first place.

[Mheel]

Any updates on this?

[Knimi]

Please kindly help with a solution for this...

[acmaverick]

Same issue here. From what I can tell the latest version of ESXi 7.0 U3 has the drivers for the NIC in the Dell Optiplex 7080, but just has issues detecting it during the install. I also tried the Dell specific build of ESXi and same issue. I also tried ESXi version 6.7 as some people said it might be more compatible, but same problem. I also tried adding the Fling drivers to the Dell specific ESXi build, and it says the drivers are already present. I also ran the command to check the NIC for its VID and DID, and ironically it is able to display the NIC and its information, so it seems to see it, but just can not detect it during the ESXi install. I also tried disabling the WiFi/Bluetooth, and disabling PXE boot, and still no luck.

[lgriffith]

Agreed, having the same issue here as well on hardware, attempting to load but fails.  Have similar hardware with different network card and ESXi 6.7 u2 loaded without issue (X550T) but on X710 it's a no go with the "No Network adapter detected" error.  I opened a ticket with VMWare as I am fairly new to ESXi, but haven't heard any attempts to fix yet.  

[acmaverick]

Ok thanks, good to know someone else is having the same problem.  Any luck with contacting VMWare support?

[lgriffith]

Not yet, I have the ticket open and heard from support once.  I have answered the questions they were looking for, so now it's a wait game again.  I think our support contract on the system in question is "next business day" so it's enter in information, wait .... enter information ... wait.  I will definitely post to here when ........ <ahem> IF it all gets figured out.  Hang in there with me acmaverick, I hope to come back here with good news.

[acmaverick]

Ok great thanks I appreciate it.  At the moment I am just running ESXi as a VM in a home lab environment to get around the issue, but obviously this comes with a performance impact.  If I come across anything else as well I will let you know.  Thanks again.

[stadi13]

Hi @HammerNJ 

I had the same issue and found the solution in this blog post: https://www.virten.net/2021/03/esxi-7-0-update-2-on-intel-nuc/

You need to create a custom image with PowerCLI. If you follow the blog post you will succeed!

Regards Daniel

[acmaverick]

Daniel, thanks for your response, I did try adding the Fling drivers with PowerCLI and got a message stating the driver was already present in the ESXi build, so it seems like it just can't detect the NIC during the install. Any ideas? Thanks.

[lgriffith]

Hey acmaverick - quick update, after struggling a bit with VMWare, I am now going back to vendor and just made an attempt to update the firmware on the card, however, I am still experiencing the same issue with No Network Adapters found.  Back to the drawing board .... I know it's been a couple weeks since my last update, but I wanted to let you know, I hadn't forgotten about this conversation.  I have a feeling the vendor is going to come back to us and swap out the network card itself, but if we try anything I will let you know.

[acmaverick]

Hey lgriffith ok thanks I appreciate it, no worries if I hear or learn anything as well I will let you know.

[lgriffith]

Quick update.  We were able to get past the network issues with a custom .iso from our vendor.  Unfortunately, we ran into a new issue where our M.2 hard drive is incompatible with ESXi due to the manufacturers firmware.  Huh, who would have thunk it eh?  Anyway, I know this really doesn't assist you in getting past your network issue, however, I did want to at least follow up and let you know my findings.  We are continuing to work with our vendor to resolve the firmware issue.

Thanks and good luck, I will continue to follow the thread and am harnessing nothing but good luck your way.  🙂

[luchosrl]

Hi, can you explain how to creare a custom ISO with the network drivers?

[lgriffith]

Hi luchosrl - my organization did not create the custom ISO, it was done by the vendor we were working with.  However, I have seen messages out here of people speaking to creating custom ISO files, in fact, I think in this thread there was an explanation of how to do so with third party software. 

[ehensel01]

I had a similar issue that I was able to fix. Perhaps it will point others in the right direction. Running a Lenovo SR650 server and using vCenter on another host to perform the update from 6.7 to 7.0. After the SR650 rebooted into ESXi 7, I noticed that vCenter could no longer see it. Log into the physical machine console and see that it's booted, but the vSwitch has no adapters to attach to. Like my NIC's just disappeared from the system. Decided to start with firmware. 
Applied a UEFI firmware update to the physical host and rebooted, ESX immediately saw the NIC's and connectivity restored. We also use Lenovo xClarity, a centralized on-board controller management system. From there I was able to apply a firmware update for the NIC as well, just because I had time left in my maintenance window. 
In retrospect, I would not apply the 7.0 update until after I had made sure all hardware had the latest firmware, probably would have prevented the failure to begin with.