This article describes how to create bootable USB ESXi Installer Flash Drive with Windows. Installing an ESXi host with a bootable USB drive is a suitable method for physical servers that have no remote management. You can format a USB drive to boot the ESXi installation or upgrade.
VMware ESXi is one of the best popular type 1 hypervisor. Many users know how to burn an installation ISO image to a CD/DVD to install VMware ESXi. Though, what if there is a physical server that doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive, only USB ports? Can you install ESXi from a USB disk?
Create a Bootable USB ESXi Installer Disk with Rufus
Before you Install VMware ESXi 8.0, first you must download the ISO image and then create a bootable USB disk. Download the VMware ESXi 8.0 for VEP Switch image from the VMware website.
Save the downloaded ISO image to a recognizable and accessible location on your system.
Download Rufus tool
Connect your USB disk to your Windows computer.
Double-click on run Rufus
Select your USB Device
In the Drive Properties section, click on the Select button next to the Boot selection.
The Browse window opens.
Go to the location where the VMware-VMvisor-Installer-8.0.0-21203435.x86_64.iso file is located and then choose open.
Click on the start button to start creating bootable USB media ESXi 8.0.
Rufus USB disk Erase data warning choose ok.
Rufus software will start to create USB bootable ESXi Installer. This will take a few minutes.
Create ESXi 8.0 Installation USB Media
Download Universal USB Installer from their Website.
Double-click to install the universal USB Installer.
Accept the license agreement.
Choose “try unlisted Linux ISO” and then click on the browse button.
Click on the ISO image of ESXi 8.0 (VMware-ESXi Installer-8.0b.iso file).
Select Create
Click yes
Its starts extracting the VMware ESXi 8.0.iso file before copying it to the USB.
Universal USB installer copied files, click close.
Now you need to change the boot order in the system BIOS into the USB boot option.
