ESXi installer 6.0u1a & 6.0u1b not recognizing USB keyboard on MacPro 6,1

[ejerue]

I just got 2 brand new MacPro 6,1 delivered 2 days ago and knew about the possible SSD not being recognized error but am prepared to deal with that. My issue is that once the MacPro boots the ESXi installer loads from a USB stick into memory and gets all the way to the hit Enter to continue installing that the keyboard (or any USB device?) does not seem to be recognized. I have tried this with different installer .iso's 6.0u1a & 6.0u1b, they both exhibit the same behavior. The BIOS versions on these seem a tad bit newer than what I saw in the SSD threads so I don't know if Apple switched something other than the SSD lately. BIOS version MP61.0116.B16. It does recognize the keyboard and boot the installer off of USB to begin with. I just can't continue to the install. I've tried multiple keyboards as well. Apple, Dell, HP basic keyboards. whether I boot up with it or plug it in after I get booted up, I don't even get a num lock led to light. Any suggestions?

[JarryG]

This is common problem, nothing typical just for MacPro. Very probably ESXi-installer does not have driver for your usb-controller...

I had to deal with it too, even though my server-motherboard is on WMware HCL. I overcame this problem by attaching keyboard to different usb-ports (strangely, those on front header worked). I have heard someone else "solved" it by using remote KVM (not sure if you have this port on your MacPro)...

[ejerue]

That's what I was thinking. The Apple ecosystem is pretty tightly controlled since Apple is the only one producing their hardware but they do make some modifications to shipping models that have rendered things inoperable because of new device id's. The SSD in recently shipped MacPros changed a couple of months ago and caused a similar issue for the drive. There are only 4 accessible USB ports on the Late 2013 MacPro. The device id I am getting for the controller is 1b73:1100 rev 0010. I don't have any older MacPro 6,1 to compare to though. Just these 2 delivered in Jan 2016.

[JarryG]

Did you try installing ESXi 5.5, and then upgrade to 6.0? 5.5 should be supported on MacPro, at least some models:

http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2014/10/apple-mac-pro-61-black-officially-supported-on-esxi-5-5-patch...

I remember it from my case: I could install 5.0/5.1/5.5 without any problem, but when installing 6.0, those usb-ports on the back side of mobo were "dead". Apparently VMware dropped support for some HW from 6.0. Although Liam reported ESXi 6.0 working on MacPro too. Maybe you could ask him about it...

http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2015/02/esxi-6-0-works-ootb-for-apple-mac-mini-mac-pro.html

[ejerue]

I got a chance to try out 5.5 update 2 patch 3b (the latest that is supposed to resolve and issue with recognizing the SSD) and it does install. I haven't tried upgrading yet. That will be next.

Thanks for the suggestion. VMware support told me to check the BIOS for legacy settings (on a MacPro) and call Apple. Apple of course said to call VMware since it's their software. the MacPro 6,1 is on the 6.0 hardware compatibility list though....

[grasshopper · Accepted solution]

Hi ejerue,

Please use the USB keyboard extender that comes with the Apple keyboard (even if you don't need the extra distance it provides).  This is the typical fix.

[ejerue]

Thanks Mike. I grabbed a USB extender. Not sure what Voodoo might be in that but I'll give anything a try. What really gets me is that IT WORKED! I don't understand why but it does. I tried 3 different keyboard over the last few days (Apple, Dell and HP. They all work with 5.5 but not 6.0 until I put the 2 feet of magic white cable inline. Unbelievable.