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amer1canparatro
Contributor
Contributor

ESXi Install to External HDD

Hello,

I am interested in salvaging a notebook with a failed host HDD.  My idea is to install ESXi on an external HDD and then virtualize it's licensed Windows Vista back on the notebook.

Off of my first try, I booted ESXi with a flash drive and am unable to activate boot process.  The screen that I am seeing is a message that indicates that the host HDD is inoperable.  My question is, is there a way for me to install ESXi onto an external drive in order to salvage the notebook?

Thank you for any/all help or suggestions.

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3 Replies
amer1canparatro
Contributor
Contributor

One last item.  I have prepared the systems BIOS to boot from a flash drive first, external HDD second, CD ROM third, etc.  Wanted to make sure this information was included.

System:

HP Pavillion dv6700

Iomega external HDD:  250 GB

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RvdNieuwendijk
Leadership
Leadership

I moved this discussion from VMware vSphere™ PowerCLI to VMware ESXi 5.

Blog: https://rvdnieuwendijk.com/ | Twitter: @rvdnieuwendijk | Author of: https://www.packtpub.com/virtualization-and-cloud/learning-powercli-second-edition
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zXi_Gamer
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Just curious,, do you really need ESXi  in salvaging a notebook with a failed host HDD.

How about having a usb disk and booting the notebook with a live cd

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