I know it's a long time since you posted this issue, but I had the same issue myself.
It seems that a lot of people are having keyboard problems with ESXi 4.1, but the main resolution has been to plug in a different kind of keyboard - not very useful if you're trying to install ESXi on top of VMWare Server.
Anyway, taking a slightly different approach, I experimented with the kernel boot parameters and I found that adding acpi=off to the command line allowed the installation to continue.
So to do this, at the VMVisor (ESXi) boot menu, press Tab. Change the command line to read:
mboot.c32 vmkboot.gz acpi=off --- vmkernel.gz --- sys.vgz --- cim.vgz --- ienviron.vgz --- install.vgz
You should now be able to press Enter at the appropriate point and continue your installation.
After installation, you'll find the keyboard doesn't work again. This is okay as you can do everything from the VSphere Client anyway. But if you want the keyboard to work at the console, then first install the VSphere client.
Then connect to your ESXi machine and click the Configuration tab.
Under Software you should find an Advanced Settings option (scroll down if you can't see it).
Select this option then click VMkernel.
Now uncheck the box that says VMkernel.Boot.ACPI.
And click OK.
When you Reboot your ESXi machine (you can do this from the VSphere Client), you should now be able to use the keyboard at the console.
Best Answer
Once you have added you USB controller to the VM you need to add a device separately.
Go to
Edit virtual machine settingsand clickAdd...then chooseUSB deviceand clickNext>you should get a list of available devices to choose from. Select the one you want and clickNext>thenFinish.