ESX 3.5 / 3i running on Dell Dimension 9200?

[endeler]

Hi everyone

I'd like to install ESX 3.5 or 3i for testing purposes. The Machine has an onboard SATA Controller (Intel) with two 300GB-disks in. I've tried to install the server but no disks have been detected. It must be the SATA controller I assume. I would be very grateful if anybody could tell me whether the installation is generally possible or not since I am tapping completely in the dark right now. Do I have to get some special drivers for it to work?

Thanks for any information!

Andreas

[RParker]

The problem is the controller. ESX only supports SCSI adapters. SATA drives are supported, but only on certain types of SAS/SCSI/RAID controllers.

And how that I have said this, I think I just discovered why so many people are trying to install ESX under VM Workstation, because even if your machine doesn't have a SCSI adaptor, VM Workstation can emulate one.

[endeler]

Thanks RParker for the quick answer! So to make it clear: My controller is not supported from ESX 3.5/3i? There is no way to get that to work?

[RParker]

Not that anyone is aware of. MANY people have tried to get ESX to install on IDE/SATA controllers (including people that I work with) but it just wasn't designed to work that way. It only supports RAID and SCSI controllers. If the 390 supports RAID, you might give that a shot in AHCI mode.

[endeler]

Thanks again! I'll stick with VMWare Server then... sadly.

[Dave_Mishchenko]

There's a lot of systems that will work with ESX 3.5/3i that have Intel SATA controllers so I wouldn't give up to quick.

1) What's the exact model of SATA controller that the system has (and would you know the PCI id for the controller)?

2) What is the exact error that you're getting - I've had on white box install that couldn't find the drive and I was able to install it OK via http.

3) In the BIOS what mode is the controller set to.

http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3.5/Whiteboxes_SATA_Controllers_for_ESX_3.5_3i.htm - this is a list of systems that people have 3.5 working on so you can see that a wide number of "unsupported" systems will work with no or minor changes. You might also want to try running 3i from a USB flash drive - http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/Boot%203i%20from%20USB%20flash%20drive.html

[Jasemccarty]

Also, if you want to try it out, before you buy an additional controller, use the method I used to install it on an HP D530.

It won't give you the same performance, but it will give you something to play with until you get a "supported" controller.

Jase McCarty

http://www.jasemccarty.com

[endeler]

Thank you guys; I really appreciate your support! I will give these hints a try; doesn't seem to be that easy though I'll let you know in case I'll succeed!