I came across the same problem on a bay-trail based system. I had to do the following:
1) set BIOS "max cpuid value limit" to disable
2) Redirect the Direct Console to a Serial Port by Setting the Boot Options Manually
- At startup press Shift+O and append the following boot options
"gdbPort=none logPort=none tty2Port=com1";
3) connect a null modem cable from the esxi host pc to another pc. This will allow you to finish the install and see further messages if there are more issues.
4) after installation completes, boot up the host and repeat steps 3 and 4 (if the screen continues to show the "relocating modules" mesg)
- the relocating modules message has something with ESXI not liking the video card. Anyways, this just means you won't be able to use the local display to manage ESXI but you can still use vshpere client to manage the system remotely.
5) setup your management ip and launch the vsphere client to manage your new esxi host.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
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esxi 6.5
I successfully installed VMware ESXi 6.5 on my NUC5PPYH (Intel Pentium N3700, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) using these steps on Windows 10:
- Configured a static DHCP lease on my router for the MAC address of the NUC
- Updated BIOS to latest version 0059, loading BIOS defaults
- Downloaded and installed VMware-PowerCLI-6.5.0-4624819.exe
- Downloaded ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1
- Downloaded and installed rufus-2.12.exe
- Downloaded ESXi drivers for onboard network and SATA : net55-r8168-8.039.01-napi.x86_64.vib, sata-xahci-1.39-1.x86_64.vib
- Created an empty C:\Temp directory and put the .vib files in there
- Ran the customizer PS script like so: .\ESXi-Customizer-PS-v2.5.ps1 -pkgDir C:\Temp
- Wrote the created ESXi-6.5.0-20170104001-standard-customized.iso on a USB stick using Rufus
- Wrote a kickstart file (see below) and copied it as ks.cfg on the USB stick
- Ejected the USB stick from Windows, put it in the NUC and booted it
- Pressed Shift + O when the ESXi installer started booting up
- Changed the command line to: > runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg
- Waited for about 15 minutes for the installer to finish
Since the system is lacking support for the Braswell graphic chip you wont see anything on the screen happening besides that last line "Relocating modules and starting up the kernel...".
Just ignore it. :smileycool:
Please note that the ks.cfg script will erase all contents of the drive inside the NUC!
----<snip>----
# ks.cfg: scripted installation file for ESXi 6.5 installation
# Accept the VMware End User License Agreement
vmaccepteula
# Set the root password for the DCUI and Tech Support Mode
rootpw mypassword
# Install on the first local disk available on machine
clearpart --firstdisk --overwritevmfs
install --firstdisk=local --overwritevmfs
# Set the network to DHCP on the first network adapter
network --bootproto=dhcp
# reboots the host after the scripted installation is completed
reboot
# enable SSH and the ESXi shell
%firstboot --interpreter=busybox
vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh
vim-cmd hostsvc/start_ssh
vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_esx_shell
vim-cmd hostsvc/start_esx_shell
----<snap>----
**************************************
This description Worked for me on my Intel NUC5PPYH
But I made a minor change in the ks.cfg:
# Set the network to DHCP on the first network adapter
network --bootproto=dhcp --device=vmnic0
**************************************
Another formula
**************************************
I had to try several times until I got it working:
THIS IS A GUIDE TO INSTALL ESXI FROM - AND INSTALL ONTO THE SAME - USB-STICK
1.) BIOS: reset to default ! and DISABLE UEFI boot - leave only legacy usb (if you leave uefi the shift+o commands will be ignored)
2.) Remove ANY HDD/SSD/WHATEVER from the NUC - you will add it again later
3.) Make the aforementioned boot stick from rhoenies post.
4.) Make a ks.cfg file on the stick with the following content
----<snip>----
vmaccepteula
rootpw whatever
network --bootproto=dhcp
clearpart --firstdisk --overwritevmfs
install --firstdisk --overwritevmfs --novmfsondisk
reboot
----<snap>----
5.) Plug the stick into your NUC and press Shift+O at the ESXI bootloader
6.) Type: >runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg ignoreHeadless=TRUE and press Enter
7.) ESXi will now be installed (takes about 15 Minutes) - then the machine will reboot
8.) After reboot your NUC will complain: "no disk found" - reboot and enter BIOS
9.) Enable UEFI boot and check the box at "Boot usb disk first". Check "suppress alert messages" too.
11.) Save bios and shutdown -> Now you can reinstall your HDD/SSD
12.) Remove the stick from your NUC, plug it into you computer and make following change inside BOOT.CFG: "kernelopt= installerDiskDumpSlotSize=2560 no-auto-partition ignoreHeadless=TRUE"
13.) Now plug your stick back in and enjoy your fully working ESXi host by just acccessing it over https://IP-ADDRESS/ui
14.) After trying every bios option possible I gave up: you can't run a NUC5PPYH without a monitor or a vga dummy connected. So if you plan on running your NUC complete headless I recommend ordering a 5$ hdmi dummy.
If you encounter Problems it is usually related to your USB-Stick. You can try this:
>runweasel ks=usb:/ks.cfg ignoreHeadless=TRUE preferVmklinux=TRUE
But if it doesn't help try a different USB-Stick. I recommend not to use a USB 3.0 capable one.
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