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