How to Install ESXi 7 in a Laptop with USB Network Adapter

If you’re building a home ESXi lab with a Wifi laptop, ESXi installation will fail as it expects a cable connection to a Network Adapter. The walkaround is to use a USB to Network Adapter card.

Read this guide to learn how to install ESXi 7 on a laptop with a USB-to-network adapter interface card.

Before you proceed with the steps below, create a folder to save all downloaded file.

Step 1: Connect the USB NIC Cable to the PC

This step is obvious but I included it to highlight that you need to purchase a USB-to-NIC adapter cable. Then, connect the cable to a USB port on your laptop.

After that, connect an RJ45 cable to the other end of the cable. Finally, connect the RJ45 cable to a port on your internet router.

For my lab, I used UGREEN USB to Ethernet Adapter from Amazon.

To successfully install ESXi on a labtop with a USB to NIC device, you need to inject the device’s driver into the ESXi installation media. However, to do that, you must download the ESXi installation base image.

Meanwhile, the download requires running some PowerShell commands, so you need the VMWare PowerCLI PowerShell modeul. Interestingly, the commands require Python and a tool called PIP to install additional Python modules.

These subsections guide you through the steps to install these tools.

1. Install VMWare PowerCLI Module PowerShell Module

I have written a guide for this in another article. Here is the link, Install VMWare PowerCLI Module PowerShell Module.

2. Install Python, PIP, and PowerCLI PIP Modules

Install Python, PIP, and PowerCLI PIP Modules

3. Download the USB NIC Fling Driver

Click – ESXi700-VMKUSB-NIC-FLING-39035884-component-16770668.zip to download the ESXi USB to the network card driver.

Step 3: Download the ESXi 7 Zip Base Image

1. Run PowerShell as Administrator. Then, cd to the folder you created earlier.
2. After that, run the command below to add the VMWare ESXi base image depot to the PowerShell session.

The command will take a while to complete.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

3. Once the last command is completed, the ESXi image profiles becomes available. Although not require, if you wish to list all available image profiles, run the Get-EsxImageProfile command.

However, to download the “ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard” image profile to a zip file, run this command – the download will take a while.

Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard" -ExportToBundle -filepath ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard.zip

At this point, you should have the USB Net Adapter driver and the ESXi base image zip files.

4. Before moving on, it is a good idea to remove the VMWare ESXi base image depot from the PowerShell session. To do that, run this command:

Remove-EsxSoftwareDepot https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

Step 4: Create a Custom ESXi 7 ISO Image

In this section, you’ll inject the USB Network Adapter card driver into the downloaded ESXi 7 image, then export the image to an ISO file.

1. Add the ESX offline depot ZIP and the USB net adapter files to the current PowerCLI session.

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot .ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard.zip
Add-EsxSoftwareDepot .ESXi700-VMKUSB-NIC-FLING-39035884-component-16770668.zip

2. Clone the ESXi 7 image profile, ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard to a new image profile.

New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-standard" -name "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter" -Vendor "itechguides.com"

3. Inject the USB Net adapter driver to the new image profile – “ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter” – created in step 2:

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter" -SoftwarePackage "vmkusb-nic-fling"

4. Finally, export the ESXi 7 image profile with the USB Net adapter driver to an ISO image. You may also want to export it to a zip file in case you need to inject more drivers into it in the further but this is optional.

Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter" -ExportToIso -filepath ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter.iso
Export-ESXImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter" -ExportToBundle -filepath ESXi-7.0.0-15843807-USBNetAdapter.zip

Once you complete the steps in this section, you should have a new ISO image and a zip file (if you exported the new ESXi image to a zip dile).

Step 5: Create a Bootable ESXi 7 Installation Disk

1. Insert a free USB stick to the PC you created the ESXi ISO iomage. Drive should be at least 512 GB.
2. Download Refus bootable disk creator. Then, double-click the downloaded exe file to load the disk creator.

Rufus should auto-detect your USB stick. However, If it does not detect the USB, it may mean that the PC is presenting the USB stick as a USB drive.

To force Rufus to detect the drive, expand “Show advanced drive properties,” then check the “List USB drives” checkbox.

3. Load the ESXi 7 ISO file by clicking the SELECT button.

4. Finally, click Start to start creating the bootable installation file.

If Rufus displays the “the iso image seems to use an obsolete version of menu.c32” message, click Yes.

Step 6: Install ESXi 7 with the USB Net Adapter

Start the computer you’re installing ESXi 7 and boot it to the BIOS. Then, change the boot order to boot from the USB drive first.

Also, disable UEFI secure boot. If this is enabled, ESXi installation fails.

Restart the computer and install ESXi.

Conclusion

Installing ESXi 7 on a laptop with a WiFi net adapter is impossible as the installation requires a connection using a cable. Fortunately, there is a walkaround which is creating a custom ESXi image with a USB net adapter driver injected into the base image.

In this guide, I simplified the steps to complete this seemingly complex task. I hope you’ve successfully installed this popular hypervisor on a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop for your home lab.

Why not share your experience with me and other readers by responding to the “Was this page helpful?” below? You may also find additional guides in the “Related Articles” below.