IBM x3650 will not boot from USB

bootibmusbvmware-esxivmware-vsphere

Hello serverfault community, and thank you in advance for your time.

Summary: I have an IBM x3650, which I bought secondhand (eBay). I am trying to install and run VMWare ESXi 5.5 on it via a USB flash drive, but it will not boot from a USB flash drive. It simply does not give me option anywhere to boot from a USB device.

Details: I have turned on the USB-related option in the BIOS. I have visited the F12 boot device menu, and there is no USB option. I have booted from the ESXi installer CD, which was able to identify both of the flash drives I plugged in, but only after I pulled them out and plugged them back in. The device summary in the BIOS recognizes my mouse and keyboard in any port, but never sees any other connected USB devices.

Models, versions, etc: Server chassis identifies itself as a 797961U, but motherboard is different from the one in IBM's 7979 User Manual. It is running BIOS v1.19 (latest that I can find). I have tried a Kingston Datatraveler and Sandisk Cruzer Fit. I have tried all 6 external USB ports. There is no internal USB port on this model.

Question: Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a way of tackling this that I haven't considered? Do I have any recourse through IBM with a secondhand server?

Best Answer

Reading regarding this on IBM support forums the suggestions to get it working are:

  1. Make sure you have latest Bios Ver.
  2. Make sure you have USB options selected in BIOS
  3. Insert USB and boot server
  4. Select F12 (Boot options) during boot up.
  5. USB will be displayed, select it and you will be prompted if you want to make it "Persistent" Boot.

People report that Sandsik Cruzer's and some other USB's just seem to not work. So try different USB devices with F12 option.

SanDisk Cruzer does not work. I tried some others which did not work either despite doing everything described in various forums. I went and bought a Imation for a few dollars and it worked perfectly for ESXi 5.1 as described in the forums.

Source: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/forums/html/topic?id=77777777-0000-0000-0000-000014877599

It seems you already have latest BIOS and you have mentioned enabling USB in BIOS, so I would try different USB sticks, even the cheaper ones you have around just to see if you can get it working.