Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Not able to install Pfsense 2.3.5 and 2.4.3 on ESXi 6.7

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
    5 Posts 5 Posters 4.3k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • A
      abharti
      last edited by

      Hello all,

      I was trying to install Pfsense 2.3.5 and 2.4.3 on new ESXi 6.7 but whenever i power on the VM it says "Operating system not found".

      While creating the VM i tried with Compatibility version 6.5 , 6.7 , 6.0 with Guest OS family as Other. Guest OS only gives option of "FreeBSD Pre-11 version(64bit)" when compatibility version selected as 6.5 but going with this option does not help in the end and error comes up as operating system not found. When compatibility selected as 6.7 it does give other Free BSD option like version 11, 12 or more, Pre-11 etc. but with every option selected i could not make it work.

      FYI, i have a working Pfsense box on another environment which is on ESXi 6.5 however on this new environment of ESXi 6.7 i am getting challenges in getting it installed.

      Any suggestion how to proceed on this or which specific version /settings to select?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by

        Well you should select the correct FreeBSD version if that's available. https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Versions_of_pfSense_and_FreeBSD

        So it fails to boot the installer or fails to boot after the install?

        Steve

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • A
          AndyC
          last edited by

          I just installed pfSense 2.4.3 on ESXi 6.7 without any issues. I chose: Guest OS: FreeBSD 11 (64-bit)
          If you get "Operating system not found" perhaps the ISO wasn't mounted correctly?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • GPz1100G
            GPz1100
            last edited by

            Boot order in the VM bios?  Although, that should automatically default to the iso (assuming its valid and mounted correctly) if the hd is blank.  Maybe try recreating the vm.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • E
              eastman
              last edited by eastman

              tl;dr check if file format is .iso not .iso.gz

              I'll reply to this thread even when it's old as it was one of the first which came up when googling "Operating system not found".

              I spent quite awhile searching for an answer and then I realised that the pfSense ISO file, which I downloaded from official site, is in iso.gz format. I didn't notice this first as I'm working with small laptop screen and the file format was always cut from the screen.

              You have to extract the .iso.gz file so you have only .iso file.

              I installed pfSense CE 2.4.4 with Guest OS: Other and Guest OS Version: FreeBSD 11 (64-bit) on ESXi 6.7 U2, though I used VM compatibility ESXi 6.7.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • First post
                Last post
              Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.