VMware vSphere 5 On Dell PowerEdge Systems Deployment Guide

Installing ESXi on flash media

After installing the USB key or SD card in your system, locate the ESXi installer media that you had created in Downloading The ESXi Installer Media.

To install ESXi on the flash media, complete the following steps:

Turn on the system.
NOTE: Before installing ESXi, you must enable the flash storage device. For more information, see Enabling Or Disabling Flash Storage Device.
Insert the ESXi installer media into the optical drive.
Restart the system.
When the Dell logo is displayed, press F11 immediately.
At the Boot Menu, use the up- and down-arrow keys to select the optical drive and press Enter.
The installer environment starts. When the installer image loads, the system is ready to begin the flash storage imaging process.
CAUTION: Step 6 deletes all data on your USB or SD storage device.
On the Select a Disk page, select the USB or SD storage device on which you want to install ESXi and press Enter.
Type the root password and press F11 to start the installation.
When the installation process is complete, press Enter to restart the system.
When the Dell logo is displayed, press F11 immediately.
At the Boot Menu, use the up-and down-arrow keys to select the internal USB or SD storage device, and then press Enter.
The system boots and starts ESXi.
To enable recurring boot, see Configuring boot sequence to ESXi.
Set the correct licensing mode.
For more information, see Licensing Information.