Enabling Interrupts Preventing Install of ESXi?

[malebolgia]

I'm using the evaluation version of ESXi, and attempting to install it on an HP ProLiant DL160 G5. At first all seems well, but then the ESXi installer gets stuck at this part:

Starting VMware ESX Server 3i: Enabling interrupts ...

I was wondering if you had any workarounds for this, or perhaps knew why this was happening?

[iisat]

I don't understood you mostly but 4a is needed to boot ESX just after installation.

Could you explain your proposition to me?

[Dave_Mishchenko]

My bad - are you able to remove 4a once you have 4b in place?

[iisat]

After step 4b you may forget about boot.cfg because ESX rewrites it during every restart procedure.

[robertoumberto]

Hi,

anyone tell me how to edit the line?

I try:

mboot.c32 vmkernel.gz --- binmod.tgz "acpi=off" --- ienviroment.tgz --- cim.tgz --- oem.tgz --- license.tgz --- install.tgz

but the installation still hang on the point of enabling interrupts

It's version ESX 3.5i, 3.5.0_Update_2-110271

[PNSRMPL]

mboot.c32 vmkernel.tgz acpi=off --- binmod.tgz --- ienviroment.tgz --- cim.tgz --- oem.tgz --- license.tgz --- install.tgz

Hope you will be succesfull now. And don't bother - it takes me a half of of day to find out i'm not really the "linux guy".

[robertoumberto]

thx for the fast answer.

tomorrow i will try

[nknatter]

folks, on my ML150 G5, i do get this same message only when i add ACPI=OFF to boot options.

if omitted, the box boots up, but then hangs @ config / reboot screen with Alt-F12 message

CPU0: ...not idle since ... seconds, may be locked and produces PANIC message only after

about 1 hour. any ideas what is wrong here ? added cards:

- PCIe Firewire controller

- PCIe Network Interface

[PNSRMPL]

Another observation:

HP Proliant DL320 R05p(eon X3065, 2GB)

ESXi installed in standard mode no tricks, and works looks normally, but...

...when I start using virtual Windows 2003 Standard Server as Terminal Server - with more than 3 concurrent session processor peak to 100% and nothing helps.

So I restart guest system but after restart its still 100 % CPU. After restarting host (ESXi) it will help but only until 3 users connected.

Finally we move this server to ESXi on DL 380 G5 (on compatibility list). Now even 10 users works normally.

So the problems with compatibility are very wide, and again I strongly suggest to use only compatible HW for VMware "production" enviroments.

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Is it the guest that is reporting 100% CPU or the host as well? Any idea what process in the VM is running high?

[PNSRMPL]

Hi Dave,

I have no much time for analysis but, HOST (via Virtual infrastructure Client) reporting high utilization on guest but extremely low on host. It looks like something wrong with attaching CPU resources for guest.

Inside guest (Windows 2003 Server Standard with Terminal Services Role and third party 32bit app) there are no specific process aquiring most CPU(with list process for all users). But CPU in Windows Task Manager is on 100%.

I haven't time to run for example Process Explorer from sysinternals. Memory allocation was not very high and mostly free.

Thats all.

[Wilco154]

I have a new dl160

but if a change al of this it stil hangs om "Starting VMware ESX Server 3i: Enabling interrupts ..."

mboot.c32 vmkernel.tgz acpi=off --- binmod.tgz --- ienviroment.tgz --- cim.tgz --- oem.tgz --- license.tgz --- install.tgz

only what i have extra is 2x 500gb in Raid1?

what can i do?

[iisat]

Try acpi=off with quotes

mboot.c32 vmkernel.tgz "acpi=off" --- binmod.tgz --- ienviroment.tgz --- cim.tgz --- oem.tgz --- license.tgz --- install.tgz

[Wilco154]

Nope the same problem

[kcirtap]

Hi everyone!

I have a HP ProLiant DL160 G5 Special Rack Server (481180-001).

I was able to install ESXi build-110271 by adding acpi=off.

edited the boot.cfg.

I enable ssh and can login via ssh and VI Client.

Now my problem....

1. everytime i restart ESXi the next time it will boot up it will be stuck on Enabling interrupts and i need to manually edit again the boot.cfg and add acpi=off to be able to boot again.

2. For some reason i cannot make my ESXi USB work on this server but on my DELL 745 OPTIPLEX it works and other machines. It always go to PANIC...

3. First try to install a 64-bit Windows 2008 it said that this server does'nt support 64-bit guest.... wierd...

4. On my 2-3 try i was able to boot Win2k8 64-bit and it's on the process of installing.. just expanding the files...

5. So while waiting suddently my VI Client got disconnected... i was'nt able to login via VI and ssh... and on the console it still says that i have the IP assigned via DHCP but when i tried pinging the gw or other machine i got no reply...

so im just wondering how come the other guys was able to install and use esxi on there DL160.

BTW this DL160 is only 3 days old... too bad they did'nt look on the HCL for esxi...

thanks for the help! Good luck to everyone!

[mshember1]

One thing that may help is the fact I found boot.cfg in two places.

I used a rescue load and mounted two partitions looking for the file.

I edited both and have rebooted a couple times with no problems.

[Dave_Mishchenko]

ESXi has two boot partitions. One in the primary (/bootbank) and the other is the backup (/altbootbank). When you patch an ESXi host, a complete set of firmware is copied to /altbookbank and it then becomes /bootbank on the next reboot.

I believe you can change the setting in Configuration / Advanced Settings which will eliminate the need to mess with the boot file.

[mshember1]

ewwww. Thank you for pointing that one out. One more reboot and I would have had to remount and edit again. Guess I should read the whole thead but I will claim the noob hat.

Still reading this stuff as I had to see where advanced was.

Thanks again!

[kcirtap]

i've done the same thing, i edit the boot.cfg on both partitio. but everytime you restart you need to edit again.

I'll try what Dave.Mishchenko said later.

But any idea on why it wont boot to USB and cannot create Windows 2008 64-bit?

What im planning to do with this server is to install ESXi and host our main DC here, but i guess if it's not that stable it's a pretty bad idea... :smileygrin:

Anyone using this server on production with ESXi???

Thanks again!

[Dave_Mishchenko]

when you boot from USB are you also using the apci=off option and is it a fresh copy of the DD image?

[kcirtap]

yes i use acpi=off and it's a fresh copy of the dd image.

i tried to create the USB a couple of times but does'nt work. when i tried it on my DELL OPTIPLEX 745 it works fine.

I'm currenty testing again the server today, will post if thier are any progress.

Thanks!