I bought a new CPU. Configuration: Processor i7 4790 LGA1150,Mother Board B85M-DS3H-A,24GB(8*3 DDR3)RAM, 1TB Seagate Survilence SATA HD. When I try to install ESXi 5.X my HD is not detected. But when I install Windows 8 I am able to view my HD. Pls help.

[SantoshCheela]

I bought a new CPU. Configuration: Processor i7 4790 LGA1150,Mother Board B85M-DS3H-A,24GB(8*3 DDR3)RAM, 1TB Seagate Survilence SATA HD. When I try to install ESXi 5.X my HD is not detected. But when I install Windows 8 I am able to view my HD. Pls help.

[cykVM]

Hi,

you mainboard is not on the hardware compatibility list (HCL) for VMWare. That's why the onboard SATA controller is not detected.

You may need to customize your ESXi installation image and include additional drivers. Check for so-called "whitebox ESXi" systems with google.

Some hints are found here for example: http://www.vladan.fr/haswell-esxi-whitebox/

You may also experience that the onboard NIC(s) are not detected by ESXi installer.

cykVM

[SantoshCheela]

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate your quick response. I am very new to Vmware domain, since its a brand new system I went to the place where I bought it and explained this he was convinced and asked me to get a model number so that he would replace the mother board. Please dedicate some time and get me 3-4 model numbers which supports my system configuration or else please let me know the process how to find it....
Thank you once again for your support.

[cann0nf0dder]

Hi SantoshChella,

The easiest way would be to browse through the HCL :

VMware Compatibility Guide: System Search

Hope that helps,

Regards,

[cykVM]

I would not consider that "the easiest way" somehow

The HCL lists mostly server-level hardware, some server mainboards (e.g. Supermicro or Intel boards) and full server systems (by e.g. DELL, HP, IBM etc.).

There are some mainboards by Supermicro which support socket 1150, those models are called X10...

Be careful choosing one as some only support ECC RAM and after choosing one check compatibility with VMWare HCL and compatibility to you CPU (as most of them only support Xeon CPUs) .

[cann0nf0dder]

Hah, agree :smileymischief:

Anyways, here;s the first thing that popped out on google:

https://www.vmguru.com/2014/02/building-a-new-esxi-whitebox/

ASUS H87-PLUS- should do, saying that it is data a year back so there may be more recent model if you need. Once you find latest board from ASUS try google that together with ESXi and see if you find any post on forums / blogs etc.

[cykVM]

That Asus board might give you the same trouble as the Gigabyte one you already have. With bot models you need to customize the installation image with additional drivers (AHCI/SATA and probably NIC drivers).

Don't expect the Asus to run out of the box and plan some time for custumizing/testing.

[SantoshCheela]

Would there be any Performance Issues if I use the Same configuration with customized esxi?

[cykVM]

It's a not officially supported configuration. The custom drivers are made by the community and may or may not work with your hardware. I would never put a production system on such hardware but it's ok for home lab/testing.