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No Network Adapters were detected in ESXi V5.5

Hi,
I am install ESXi V5.5 on a ThinkServer T140 box and I keep getting the error message "No network adapters were detected" on built-in NIC on MoBo, two different PCI Network Cards (Intel and 3Com).
Since I have not run into this situation ever, I just don't know what to do next.
The only option on the screen is REBOOT. It does not give me the option to load the driver like Windows OS does.

Thanks.

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Paul Solovyovsky

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sglee

ASKER

I just tried to install ESXi V5.0 on the same machine and got the same result. So it is not specific to V5.5.

sglee

ASKER

In the future I will have to double-check to see if the computer is compatible with VMWare.
I simply did not know this because every server that I have installed so far were DELL, HP, and INTEL.

Paul Solovyovsky

I've had even similar issues with Dell and HP, after upgrading to 5.5 I had to get drivers updated manually, specifically for the 10GB nics but a lot of these are version specific. You may want to review the community boards to see if there is a driver that will work.

sglee

ASKER

If I can find the NIC driver for VMware from manufacturer website, how can I load that during the installation of ESXi ?

SOLUTION

Paul Solovyovsky

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insidetech

Another option would be to disable the on MB NICs and use standard run of the mill Intel NIC.
See link to select...

www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=io

Santosh Gupta

hello Sglee,

first check the compatibility of NIC with ESXi , if it is compatible with ESXi then download appropriate driver (.vib) for NIC and combine it with ESXi using "Rufus" or "ESXi customizer" and after that use that customize file for installation.

SOLUTION

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

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sglee

ASKER

Thanks for the information above. I guess I have been lucky in my previous ESX installations with respect to Server/RAID controller purchases.

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

It's always worth checking the HCL, or you'll end up down the Whitebox route.