HI, this is my first Forray into a vitrualized invironment.
I have a small network with very limited resorces. My main server that i wish to install ESXi onto is also my main computer. it's running win7 ultimate as such it has the abilities to run a OS straight from a VHD file.. i know that i would be experiencing a performance hit by doing this but would it be possible to install ESXi to a VHD file so that i can do a Proof of concept before i go out and Buy a whole new server?
I don't believe this is going to work. Your best solution would be to install VMware Workstation, then install ESX(i) as a VM, within VMware Workstation.
Depending on your hardware, you may also be able to install esxi to a USB flash device, and go from there. You would need another internal hard drive(I am not sure if just another partition would work) to act as the datastore.
Both advises make sense. If you're just testing it out and want it to be quick i would advise going with Troy. Reason is that with your PC of Win7 it would be very high chances that the hardware will not be supported or get detected.