VMware ESXi 4.1 HPDL380G7 SDCARD

[barrycuda72]

I am trying to install 4.1 esxi to an officially supported HP SDCARD installed in this server.   When it goes to install it states that the SDCARD has bad sectors.   I have 2 identical HP DL380G7 servers and 2 identical SDCARDS and they both do the same thing.  

If I install VMware 5.0 it installs no problems.  I can not upgrade to 5.0 at this moment as we have a few application plugins that are not compatible yet with 5.0.

I have tried 4.1 Update 1 and 4.1 and they both fail.

HP support said call VMware

Thoughts?

[barrycuda72]

I just tried 4.0 and that did work

[Suman_1978 · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Here are some suggestions from my end.

1. Make sure server has latest BIOS.
2. Try to Clear NVRAM/Boot Disk.
3. Make sure the SD Card or USB key is formatted and clean.
4. Server is listed as compatible in VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide for ESXi 4.1.
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php.

Possible Workaround:
Install ESXi 4.0 and then update to 4.1.

On the ESXi 4.1 ISO, copy the file IMAGEDD.BZ2 , unpack it, and you will get a new file called IMAGEDD.
Extract the contents of the file IMAGEDD to the SD Card or USB key, either using dd command in Linux/Unix, or dd.exe for Windows.
Disable "Virtual Install Disk" on the server's BIOS.

You may refer to these forums:

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/ESXi/Install-Vmware-esxi-on-internal-SD-card-DL360-G7/td-p/4678237

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/ESXi/install-ESXi-4-1-HP-version-from-USB-flashdrive/td-p/4680239

Hope this works for you.

[barrycuda72]

We had tried all of the suggestions regarding NVram with the HP tech.

The only solution that worked was to install 4.0 and upgrade to 4.1