Creating a Bootable VMware ESXi USB Drive

vSphere installer comes in an ISO format however VMware doesn’t have any official tool to convert that image to a bootable USB drive. The 3rd party tool Rufus is the quickest and easiest way to convert that image so you can load vSphere on those hosts that don’t have a CD-ROM drive.

The steps are pretty simple:

1. From the drop down select your USB drive
2. Navigate to your download ISO
3. Optionally name your USB drive
4. Click the Start button

Now get a cup of coffee and when you return your USB key will be ready to go. Don’t forget to safely eject the drive when done!