ESXi 4.1.0 Hangs on bootup.

[JPL201110141]

I have a Dell Perc 6i RAID controller.  It took 20 hours to verify the array integrity after a power failure.  ESXi will not boot.  I don't even see an error.  The system just hangs after the post screen.  I have run ESXi repair.  I've gone into the Perc BIOS to verify that the drives are healthy and optimal.  The system does not freeze up, it just sits there as if it is waiting for something.

I would appreciate any and all the help / comments / suggestions that anyone has to offer.

My next step is to install ESXi on a 1gb flash drive but I won't know what to do next. 

Thanks.

[idle-jam]

Get the USB key installed with ESXi and make it boot from the USB key. Once booted up you shall then see your datastore, if you could not see then the LUN then it's bad news.

[JPL201110141]

I have 2 UUIDs installed and now I'm in debug mode.  Did I mention I'm a complete n00b with Linux?

[idle-jam]

hmm i do now understand the UUIDs part as UUID only appear in virtual machines. you're in the debug mode of the initial ESXi or the USB bootable.

i would suggest going vmware support if you have a valid one as your system could be revived from there.

How is the USB boot up does it work? Have a look at this steps: http://www.techhead.co.uk/installing-vmware-esxi-4-0-on-a-usb-memory-stick-the-official-way

[dquintana]

Hello JPL, try with a usd drive is a good option, but you verify if the controller has the batteries in good conditions? same for the system board.

Regards

[JPL201110141]

I installed ESXi on the thumb drive the official way. 

When ESXi was loading it had a purple screen and suggested I enter debug mode. "Two filesystems with the same UUID have been detected.  Make sure you do no have two ESXi installations".  Which doesn't make any sense to me.  I mean, yes, there are 2, so what? And If there the original can be detected then it must be intact, so why isn't the first one loading?

[JPL201110141]

I have an external UPS.  I do not have an internal UPS for the controller.  Since the issue, I have disabled "write back" and enabled "write through".  The power failure was the result of installing a USB 3.0 card and forgetting to plug back in a power cable on the motherboard.  When I realized my error the only option I had was to switch off the power supply (reset switch didn't work).  Then the array was "degraded".  Since then the array has been fixed and integrity verified (no drives were replaced, the drives show no SMART or functional faults).  But ESXi wont boot.  I've run the repair install but that hasn't fixed anything. 

[JPL201110141]

I fixed the problem.  There was something wrong with my array.  I have no idea what was wrong.  It spent 20 hours verifying the integrity of the array and didn't report any problems.  However after I took the loss and deleted and rebuilt the array it started right up.  I'm now reinstalling my guest OS's.  I didn't back them up because they were only 24 hours old.

[idle-jam]

sorry i was away then. but glad to hear that everything is working fine at your end.

[JPL201110141]

I wouldn't say fine.  I had to start all over. But at least it is working now.  *joy*

And thanks everyone for the help/suggestions. 

[idle-jam]

you have a valid support call i would log a case with them studying the log files and getting the root cause ..

[JPL201110141]

I reinstalled/repaired ESXi, and ESX, both failed to boot but could see the array.  As SOON as I rebuilt the array  from scratch it worked.  I changed nothing else. I would submit the log but I think that would be a waste of their time.