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mniles
Contributor
Contributor

Loading EXSi on a HP Pavilion Desktop m9426f

I have recently purchased a HP Pavilion Desktop with a quad processor. I have downloaded VM ESXi and attempted to load it on to the machine. When it gets to the point where it wants to save information to disk it says that it can not find the drive...

I realize that this is not a server, it does have 8 gb of memory and 640 gb disk. THe model of the machine is m9426f.

Has anyone else tried to load VM on a machine like this and can provide any recommendations?

Thanks

Malcolm

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12 Replies
Formatter
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Yes I have it on a a6110n dual core and also a a6345f quad 6600

The drives have to be cdrom and one hd on the ports that the cd and right next to it are on.. After install with drives set up in bios as IDE then attach another drive where the cd was attached and use it as the datastore.. Need any other info leave me a line.

Also the onboard nic wont work you need the intel gt nick...82541 is the number.. gig nic.. I use one of these as managment network and a intel pro 1000 ct as the VM nic.

Dont give up VMware esxi runns flawlessly on these computers.. Been up on the dual core since it came out free and for a month now on the quad core machine.

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mniles
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Thanks for your reply. It is nice to know that someone has installed VMWARE on a machine of this type. I have been in the business for many years, but some of the new things really put me to the test.

I tried to load again last night and even when I changed the SATA 1 in the BIOS to IDE I still got the message that it could not find a drive to store the information.

I am sure that it is due to my lack of understanding of how the drives are connected, etc

If possible could you provide additional step by step instructions?

I would also be willing to call you and discuss further if that would help. I am in California.

Thanks in advance.

Malcolm

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Formatter
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Ill get something together for you ok..

Have a look at instructions (or some of them) and pics of where the HD's are connected

Message was edited by: Formatter

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Dave_Mishchenko
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If you put the controller in IDE mode you may have to use this install method - http://www.vm-help.com/esx/esx3i/ESXi_install_to_IDE_drive/ESXi_install_to_IDE_drive.php.

Formatter
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Thanks Dave I forgot to mention that..

mniles
Contributor
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Thanks for this info. I think that may be necessary. I will try this tonight.

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mniles
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Thanks for all of the help. The steps and the pictures are extremely helpful. I think the install info will resolve another problem.

Thanks again. I will keep you posted

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Formatter
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Enthusiast

Just wondering how your making out?

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mniles
Contributor
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I am still having problems. When I get the error message and take alt F1 fdisk -l does not shoe anything. No disk information. I am wondering if the installer is not loading the IDE driver. I do not shlw it loaded like the demo. Still working on it.

I am going to start on the e-learning.

Thanks for checking in.

Malcolm

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Formatter
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If you have the drive pluged in the proper spot on the MB and do this it should work.

1) If you have encountered the error shown above, you can press ALT-F1 to access the console of the ESXi install. You'll be prompted for a login and you can use 'root'. The password for root with be blank. As mentioned above, this process assumes you have an IDE drive that ESXi can recognize. You can use the command lspci to show the list of devices that ESXi can recognize and then compare that with this list of devices. Also if you run fdisk -l, you should see your IDE drive listed.

2) After you have console access you will enter the command vi /usr/lib/vmware/installer/Core/TargetFilter.py (note that the path and filename are case-sensitive).

3) Scroll down in the document until you find the section "def IDEFilter(lun)". You will be changing the text:

return interface.GetInterfaceType() == ScsiInterface.SCSI_IFACE_TYPE_IDE

to

return interface.GetInterfaceType() == ScsiInterface.SCSI_IFACE_TYPE_ISCSI

If you have not used vi before, move the cursor to the end of "TYPE_IDE" and the press the Insert key. The press backspace to delete IDE and type in ISCSI. Then press the ESC key, type in the command :wq and press Enter to save the file and exit.

4) You will now be back at the console. If you had stopped the installer at the screen show below, you can press ALT-F2 to return to the screen and press Enter to start the install, but it will still generate the error shown in the image above. You will need to press ALT-F1 and then type in install and press enter.

5) When you run the install command, it is important to note that the installer will switch you back to the ALT-F2 (DCUI) screen. Press ALT-F1 to return to the console again. You will see the below screen again with the prompt to press Enter to install. Do so and the install will proceed.

This is from the page Dave suggested for the ide,, make sure the Bios is set to IDE for the drives.

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mniles
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I looked harder at the pictures that you sent and determined that I had the drives connected to the wrong place. Made the change and ESXi installed fine.

Thanks for bring up the connections again.

Now all I need get it configured correctly

Thanks again for all the help.

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Formatter
Enthusiast
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No problem I amglad to see you with it all installed...

Now have fun, I have found this platform for esxi very stable and reliable.

Keep in touch...

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