Installing ESXi 8.0 on legacy hardware.

VMware deprecated a significant amount of hardware and operating systems with the ESXi 8.0 release. However, it is still possible to install on unsupported hardware at your own risk.

This information is primarily intended to support the homelab community but could be used as a reference for other use cases.

The initial part of setup works as expected. You set your default keyboard language.

Set the root password

and then you are presented with the following screen .......

ESXi 8 supports TPM 2.0 and above for advanced security. TPM 1.2 or lower is not supported by these functions. However, you may be offered the option to override if other functionality is supported.

Acknowledging the warning sends the next dialog...

press Enter to confirm that you want to Force the Installation and the installer will continue.

You will be able to complete the steps for setup. Some features may not be available and your system will likely be at risk. 

WARNING: This is NOT recommended for a production environment. Make a business case and spend the money on the proper hardware before using this option in a critical setting.

Hope you found this useful!

Jason

installing VMware ESXi version 8 over existing partition

When installing ESXi or vSphere on a host which has an existing bootable partition from am older version or perhaps vSan data on existing partitions, some special steps may need to be take .

This is primarily for homelab users, but can serve as a reference for other situations.

During the installation process, the installer will notify you if partitions already exist. In my case I had one drive that was for booting the prior version and 2 vSAN drives which I plan on rebuilding. The installer flags these with the * and # symbols as noted in the key above.

I want to install over my prior boot media, so I select the drive that "* Contains a VMFS partition", but you have to be cautious here. VMFS partition doesn't just mean prior boot media, it could mean a VMFS datastore. Some systems may have been configured with a local datastore, overwriting this partition would cause a permanent loss of data. I am hopeful that you do not need this data and the point is moot, but be vigilant none the less.

Once the drive is selected and confirmed, a new dialog appears if a prior version is detected. You are offered the choice to "Upgrade" or "Install" if upgrading is a supported option.

As I am intending on overwriting this media, I select "Install" and press Enter to confirm.

You will be presented with the choice for the default keyboard and the installer will continue from this point as if it was a new system.

Hope this helps!

Jason