ESX / ESXi Bios Tools

Discussion in 'Virtualization' started by pix, Nov 22, 2009.

  1. edelweiss

    edelweiss MDL Novice

    Jul 18, 2010
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    Thanks, thanks, thanks!!!
     
  2. pwswitch

    pwswitch MDL Novice

    Dec 31, 2007
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    I found vmware iso mod here: sysin.org/blog/vmware-esxi-6-sysin/
    pan.baidu.com/s/1cGZj4eonUZxj7ws4fYbNlg?pwd=9ir6
    But i cant download from pan.baidu.com
    Can anyone download this iso and upload to any server? thanks.
     
  3. Gelip

    Gelip MDL Senior Member

    Feb 28, 2011
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    #503 Gelip, Nov 5, 2023
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2023
    How manually unpacking ZL file with objdump.exe or objcopy.exe ?

    Edited
    =====

    OK, I have already managed in Ubuntu:
    Code:
    apt install qpdf
    zlib-flate -uncompress < efi64.rom.zl > efi64.rom
     
  4. Tito

    Tito Super Mod / Adviser
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    Nov 30, 2009
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  5. simkard

    simkard MDL Junior Member

    Aug 26, 2007
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    @pantagruel : Thanks for your hard work on these ESXi BIOS/UEFI mods, cheers !

    I may have missed something at some point as I have an ESXi 7.0u3g and did the following :
    1. Install a Windows Server 2022 trial 180 days
    2. Shut down, copied EFI64 MOD SLP 2.6 ROM file to the VM directory
    3. Edited the VMX file and added this line : efi64.filename = "ESXI_7.0.3_EFI64_DELL_2.6_SLIC.ROM" under firmware = "efi"
    4. Note that I used efi64.filename and not efi20.filename as ESXi7u3g VM version is virtualHW.version = "19"
    5. Booted the VM
    6. Started SLIC Toolkit v3.2 to check for correct SLIC tables to be shown/identified from UEFI but it seems to be stuck at : Dumping SLIC Data now , Please Wait ...
    7. Checking in tab "Advanced", I can see the following :
    upload_2024-2-6_22-22-9.png

    Any chance I did something wrong in the steps ?

    Thanks
     
  6. pantagruel

    pantagruel MDL Addicted

    Aug 30, 2007
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    #506 pantagruel, Feb 6, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2024
    Your guest may be activated. SLIC Toolkit can't deal with EFIs so the SLIC/Cert info isn't reported correctly.

    EDIT:
    Check EFI SLIC Status with RW - Read & Write utility under ACPI
    Check activation status with slmgr.vbs /dlv
     
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  7. simkard

    simkard MDL Junior Member

    Aug 26, 2007
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    #507 simkard, Feb 7, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2024

    Attached Files:

  8. Gelip

    Gelip MDL Senior Member

    Feb 28, 2011
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    @simkard
    SLIC ToolKit V3.2 not support UEFI. AIDA64 reads the SLIC table nicely:
    ACPI_SLIC.png
     
  9. pantagruel

    pantagruel MDL Addicted

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    Maybe don't use the trial version, download the full version.
     
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  10. simkard

    simkard MDL Junior Member

    Aug 26, 2007
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    Shouldn't the standard ISO be activated like the other with some slmgr.vbs commands logically ?
     
  11. pantagruel

    pantagruel MDL Addicted

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    #511 pantagruel, Feb 7, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2024
    Yes, the same, but don't use the trial version. I have Server 2022 Standard (Dell OEM:SLP) running in a VM, there was no need to use DISM, I just used SLMGR commands. Actually, it should just activate automatically if the SLIC, cert, and key are present.

    EDIT: I mean to say don't use a trial ISO, download a non-trial (full) Server Standard 2022 ISO. I don't think a trial installation can be converted to a regular or OEM:SLP installation.
     
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  12. simkard

    simkard MDL Junior Member

    Aug 26, 2007
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    Ok, so it is what I use to install. I didn't use a trial ISO downloaded at Microsoft so the root cause isn't from this reason it seems :(
     
  13. pantagruel

    pantagruel MDL Addicted

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  14. simkard

    simkard MDL Junior Member

    Aug 26, 2007
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  15. simkard

    simkard MDL Junior Member

    Aug 26, 2007
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    Well I managed to convert my TRIAL edition to a true one (STANDARD or DATACENTER) usig these commands :
    • DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
    • NOTE : If "Current Edition" output value contains "ServerXxxxxxEval" then you need to change it to something else (Standard or Datacenter) using one of these commands :
    • Dism.exe /Online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:<STANDARD PRODUCT KEY GOES HERE> /AcceptEula
    • Dism.exe /Online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:<DATACENTER PRODUCT KEY GOES HERE> /AcceptEula
    upload_2024-2-7_15-50-6.png

    Now I have a totally activated Windows Server 2022 Standard with a Dell SLP 2.6 on my ESXi 7.0u3g
    upload_2024-2-7_15-52-45.png

    Cheers and thanks for the hard work done on the BIOS/UEFI firmware files by @pantagruel !
     
  16. pantagruel

    pantagruel MDL Addicted

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    #516 pantagruel, Feb 7, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2024
    In this post

    https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/esx-esxi-bios-tools.12982/page-26#post-1824322

    you were using Server Standard 2022 evaluation. Why don't you just do a clean install using a non-evaluation ISO and follow the steps here:

    https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/esx-esxi-bios-tools.12982/page-22#post-1502019

    EDIT: So your problem was the evaluation (trial) ISO.
     
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  17. pantagruel

    pantagruel MDL Addicted

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