Keywords: vmware esxi boot usb iso syslinux "Failed to load COM32 file mboot.c32" Prerequisites: - syslinux is available (e.g. "apt-get install syslinux" on Debian) 1. Ensure that the USB stick is empty by examining (and wiping, if necessary) it with the wipefs command. 2. Partition the USB stick with one large partition. Specifications: size: use the whole disk (OK to use fdisk sizing defaults) type: 0c (FAT32 LBA) bootable: mark the partition bootable 3. Format that partition on the USB stick as FAT 32, e.g.: mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdb1 4. Set up syslinux on the USB stick partition, e.g.: syslinux /dev/sdb1 cat /usr/lib/SYSLINUX/mbr.bin > /dev/sdb (mbr.bin is at the above path when using the Debian package of syslinux; yours may be somewhere else. It should be a very small file.) 5. Mount the USB stick partition and copy the following files to the root directory of it: (These are the paths on a Debian system; where they are may vary) /usr/lib/syslinux/memdisk /usr/lib/syslinux/modules/bios/menu.c32 /usr/lib/syslinux/modules/bios/libutil.c32 These files may already be copied by the syslinux setup process; only copy them if they are not present already: /usr/lib/syslinux/modules/bios/ldlinux.c32 6. Copy the ISO file(s) onto the USB stick. 7. In the root directory of the USB stick, create a syslinux.cfg file containing something like the following (e.g. for VMware 6): (Notes: - The timeout value is in 0.1s units, so 600 = 1 minute. To have an infinite timeout, remove the timeout line or set it to 0. - The '^' character on the last line causes the letter after it to be a hotkey for that menu option.) DEFAULT menu.c32 MENU TITLE ESXi-6.0.0 Install ISO Menu NOHALT 1 PROMPT 0 TIMEOUT 600 LABEL ESXi 6 Installer KERNEL memdisk APPEND iso INITRD /VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.0.0.update02-3620759.x86_64.iso MENU LABEL VMware ^ESXi-6.0.0 ISO Image 8. Unmount the USB stick and try booting from it. EOF