sglee
asked on
VMWare fails to boot after update
Hi,
I have a VMWare host that won't boot from USB flash drive.
I don't have backup USB flash drive.
The computer itself & HDs in RAID are OK because it goes thru post-boot process if I keep the USB flash drive out of the server. But when I boot the host with USB flash drive plugged in, I can see the light blinking in the USB flash drive constantly blinking, but does load ESXi.
Assuming all the virtual machines are good in RAID, what options do I have?
Thanks.
I have a VMWare host that won't boot from USB flash drive.
I don't have backup USB flash drive.
The computer itself & HDs in RAID are OK because it goes thru post-boot process if I keep the USB flash drive out of the server. But when I boot the host with USB flash drive plugged in, I can see the light blinking in the USB flash drive constantly blinking, but does load ESXi.
Assuming all the virtual machines are good in RAID, what options do I have?
Thanks.
John Tsioumpris
Assuming that your VMs are fine in the RAID you could create a new USB Esxi ...boot it and "import" your VMs...take a look at the detailed instructions on this blog post
What did you update....
.
Rollback
Shift R at ESXi bootto roll back.
.
Rollback
Shift R at ESXi bootto roll back.
ASKER
@John,
Thanks for the link. I will try that if I can't get this USB to boot.
@Andrew
I can't access this host via vCenter or vSphere Client. Do you want me to press,<Shift>-<R> on the host machine? if that is the case, exactly when do I press <Shift>-<R> during boot process?
Thanks for the link. I will try that if I can't get this USB to boot.
@Andrew
I can't access this host via vCenter or vSphere Client. Do you want me to press,<Shift>-<R> on the host machine? if that is the case, exactly when do I press <Shift>-<R> during boot process?
ASKER
@John,
The link that you provided explains how to create ESXi on USB flash drive, but I did not see where it explains about import process once I re-create ESXi on the new USB flash drive.
The link that you provided explains how to create ESXi on USB flash drive, but I did not see where it explains about import process once I re-create ESXi on the new USB flash drive.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER
@John,
Adding to Inventory steps below:
______________________
Click the Configuration tab.
Click Storage.
Right-click on the appropriate datastore and click Browse Datastore.
Navigate to the folder named after the virtual machine, and locate the virtual machine.vmx file.
Right-click the .vmx file and click Add to inventory. The Add to Inventory wizard opens.
______________________
I think I have done this before and it was a very simple process. With that I have a question.
If I use another USB flash drive (while keeping the original USB intact) to create ESXi V6 on it, am able to boot ESXi OS and from the vCenter, I can add each .vmx file (to add to Inventory), would this process somehow prevent me from using original USB on the same host in the future?
Adding to Inventory steps below:
______________________
Click the Configuration tab.
Click Storage.
Right-click on the appropriate datastore and click Browse Datastore.
Navigate to the folder named after the virtual machine, and locate the virtual machine.vmx file.
Right-click the .vmx file and click Add to inventory. The Add to Inventory wizard opens.
______________________
I think I have done this before and it was a very simple process. With that I have a question.
If I use another USB flash drive (while keeping the original USB intact) to create ESXi V6 on it, am able to boot ESXi OS and from the vCenter, I can add each .vmx file (to add to Inventory), would this process somehow prevent me from using original USB on the same host in the future?
Sorry i am a bit confused...the problem was getting back your Vms...is this resolved ?
Can you define "prevent" ....do you mean something like making your VMs only work under one particular installation of ESXI ?
Can you define "prevent" ....do you mean something like making your VMs only work under one particular installation of ESXI ?
ASKER
Sorry about the confusion. Let's forget about it as I am going to focus on creating a new USB Esxi for now.I inserted ESXi v6.01 DVD into DVD-ROM and new USB flash drive. It asked me where I wanted to create ESXi (Volume on RAID controller or 16GB USB flash drive) and I highlighted 16GB USB drive. Then after scanning the system, it gave me this warning message.
Should I ignore it?
Check WHY this is unsupported?
Is this host on the HCL?
This is not the reason for update failure...
If usb is not booting you don't have a Shift R option!
Is this host on the HCL?
This is not the reason for update failure...
If usb is not booting you don't have a Shift R option!
What is your server..maybe you need a specialized ISO from the manufacturer....like the ones provided by Dell /Hp...
ASKER
Server is 2011 made INTEL BXSTS100A 2U box with INTEL XEON E5620 2.40GHZ on INTEL S5500BCR motherboard and LSI Megaraid SAS9260-8I HD controller.
If this is a simple warning, I may have seen this in 2011 when I tried to setup ESXi first time, I like to proceed as long as the VMs in my RAID HDs are safe.
If this is a simple warning, I may have seen this in 2011 when I tried to setup ESXi first time, I like to proceed as long as the VMs in my RAID HDs are safe.
ASKER
"maybe you need a specialized ISO from the manufacturer." ---> I don't recall using any specialized ISO for this server in 2011.
ASKER
In 2011 when I set up ESXi on this server, I may have installed ESXi V5 originally. Then upgraded to V5.5 and then to V6.0.
ASKER
I looked up the error code and it was about NIC.
I proceeded with the installation and was able to add each VM to inventory.
Thank you for your help.
I proceeded with the installation and was able to add each VM to inventory.
Thank you for your help.
Glad it worked out...