ESXi 6.5 new VM will NOT boot iso

[glousteau]

Hi,

I'm trying to build a new CentOS VM.  I downloaded the iso last night, moved it over to my server this morning and built the VM.  I choose the CD/DVD Drive as an ISO and connect at power on; however, every time I power on the VM it tries to boot from the LAN, but never seems to boot the ISO.  I've tried  multiple times(re-selecting the ISO), no luck.

help?

THanks

[iopsGent]

As long as the ISO is definitely bootable.

Try;

• Power on the VM
• Connect ISO
• Ctrl-Alt-Delete
• VM should reboot and load ISO

[daphnissov]

Go into the BIOS of your VM and ensure the CD-ROM device is listed before any others.

[TotesHagopes]

In some cases, I found I needed to hit the 'ESC' key when you see the VMware splashscreen to get to the boot order selection. Then specify the CD/DVD drive ISO for the VM's settings to connect the ISO.

Once connected, then select to boot from the device via the console. If that doesn't work, it may be the ISO is not bootable per the previous comment.

[glousteau]

thanks for the quick replies.  I've tried most of this, but this is still all I get.

This is my first time using this iso, so I can't say with 100% certainty that its bootable.

[iopsGent]

My guess would be the ISO isn't bootable, test with another ISO.

[golddiggie]

When the VM is actually powered on, check the VM settings to make SURE the CD is actually connected to the ISO file. I've had this as an issue from time to time. Once you confirm that the VM is seeing the ISO, and it's actually connected (in the 'edit settings' panel, then give the VM a three key salute and see if it picks up the virtual CD for the boot. You can also check the bios settings of the VM to make sure the CD is listed in the boot order. I would set the CD to the second option, so that it will boot from the vmdk first (once the OS is installed). I've found this helpful for when others are working on VMs and need an ISO mounted to the CD at all times (the OS install ISO most of the time). This setting prevents the VM from booting into the OS installer on each reboot.

[glousteau · Accepted solution]

at this point, I think I have a bad iso, just tried a win10 iso and it booted.  I'm going to re download and try again

thanks for your help

Greg

[iopsGent]

No worries, good luck

[golddiggie]

Try a different download source for the CentOS ISO file... I usually try for one closer to my physical location.

[psibaja]

Hello glousteau, I was wondering if the problem went away after using a new downloaded CentOS iso?

[FrankVnDyke20]

I was getting the same problem trying to boot from an ISO which I've booted several times before.  I recently upgraded VMWare Host to 6.7 and there my problem started.  I had tried the solutions listed in the previous reply with no avail.  But the solution was turning on "Secure Boot" in the settings of the VM under VM Options > Boot Options > Secure Boot.

Once I turned this option on the ISO booted without any further issues.

Here is the link that led me to the solution:

https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2019/09/microsoft-windows-server-2019-stig-vmware-vsphere.html

Good Luck

[8D]

Hi, Experienced this also and thought id share how i got around it.

So after a couple of run arounds, i noticed the "connect at power on" was unchecked.

Try that too

Regards

[ThatJackass]

Thanks for this! For me, it was actually turning secure boot off. I know this is an older thread, but I want to note this somewhere on the interwebs in case somebody else needs it. So I am running my VMWare ESXi Host at version 8 and CentOS 9. I had my hardware set for 8 too. For some reason, my Ubuntu install "disk" worked fine, but my CentOS9 DVD ISO wouldn't boot. I turned off Secure Boot and it booted up fine.

[VRO123]

Change the Boot option from BIOS to EFI in Firmware settings and select CD/DVD at the time of booting