Hello,
I have a server that was previously working in all versions of ESXi. We tried to update to 6.5 and the server is stuck on relocating modules and starting up the kernel.
Here is a list of the things attempted:
*Set the ignore headless option
*Modified different BIOS options around the VGA (no BIOS update available)
*Tried serial logging, console works but no logs output
*Created a custom ISO with drivers specific to the build (used in previous versions)
*Vanilla ISO
*Removed drivers one by one (over 30) and tried to boot
*Tried a kickstart file
*Created a 6.5 build in workstation (installed ESXi to the USB stick) and plugged that into the server to "fake" an install. Still stuck at boot. Tried waiting up to 30 minutes to try and ping the box. I read that if you can force ESXi to install, it will still boot but not show anything past the "relocating modules" screen. This did not work for me.
*Looked at booting ESXi barebones with minimal modules, but I am unsure of what can be removed.
From everything I've read it appears to be driver and or hardware related. I am looking for anything that can help pinpoint the fault.
