Hello!

I have a problem with installing ESXi 4.0. My NIC is not supported. I am using NVIDIA nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet.
Is it possible to install ESXi 4.0 from CD, without using Linux or some other OS?
I have installed Windows XP on my machine, but I want to build ESXi on another partition of my HD.
Is there any driver that I could use to make my NIC supported from ESXi 4.0, and if it is, how I could manage that?

Thank you!
Miroslav

Strange. That's the same NIC as my Tyan board has, and that's recognised without any problem. What errors do you see.

That's the "normal" way to install it, either booting from a CD, or a USB. I didn't think there was a way to install it from another OS.

I don't think you can do that. If I remember correctly, the installer want's to use the whole disk, and partitions it itself.

Cheers.

Thank you vary much for your reply.

I could not check it right now, but I think that my motherboard is ASUSTeK Computer, and I didn't find it supported in HCG. The massages are 'No compatible network adapter found' and something like 'check HCG for a list of supported adapters'.
I knew that I just needed to boot from CD to install ESXi 4.0, without any OS, but I was looking for some drivers to adapt my NIC for ESXi, and there I found linux commands, in implementig these drivers.
While I was trying to install ESXi, I had already installed Windows XP on my machine. Is it problem? If I understood you well, ESXi installation would just remove my Windows installation?

Regards! Miroslav

Yes, ESXi will remove everything that is on that hard drive.

Thank you for helping!

I've checked my motherboard and it is ASUSTeK Computer INC., Model- M2N68 Plus, but I still have problems with booting from my ESXi 4.0 CD.
It says: 'No compatible network adapter found. Please consult the product's HCG for a list of supported adapter.'
Which version of ESXi 4.0 did you use?
I've tried with:
' ESXi 4.0 Update 1 Installable (CD ISO)
Version 4.0 Update 1 | 208167 - 11/19/09'.

Regards!

It's best to start with the most recent ESXi release (update 1 in this case). What's the PCI id for your NIC?

It is 10de:03ef
Will I have to modify oem.tgz?
I don't know how to do that. When I encounter error 'No compatible network adapter found' I could not get into console mode.

Thank you!

l would try to manually load the driver with vmkload_mod first. If the NIC isn't on this list (the list is 4.0 U0 - the update 1 list may have more items) then ESXi won't load a driver for it.

With vmkload_mod you manually load the driver and if that works then all you have to do is to modify oem.tgz to change simple.map

I could not access console, so I could not type vmkload_mod and load a driver.
But, I 've managed to modify oem.tgz and install ESXi4.0 successfully. I followed your instructions on this page (http://www.vm-help.com/esx40i/customize_oem_tgz.php). When I rebooted with Linux CD, I did not manage to untar oem.tgz file in Hypervisor1 partition. When I trid to untar there was only .emptytgz file behind and I didn't find simple.map, so could'n edit that.
I was rebooting ubuntu 9.04, live version, without installing. Is that right?

Thank you!

ESXi uses the oem.tgz file at the root of the ISO image for the install. What get's put on disk is from a DD image buried in the install.tgz file (or other file as they keep changing it).

If you take the oem.tgz file that you used for the install and copy in to Hypervisor1 then you should be Ok.