ESXi encounters a purple screen of death (PSOD) during PXE boot. #PF Exception 14 in world #####:bootstrap IP 0x4200280b1dfb1 addr 0x4521659e0000

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• PXE booting a customized ESXi image results in a purple screen of death (PSOD) shortly after the kernel loads, halting the boot process and blocking the ESXi installation.
• PXE boot setup utilizing a custom ESXi image, which was created through a third-party automation tool.
  
  #PF Exception 14 in world #####:bootstrap IP 0x4200280b1dfb1 addr 0x4521659e0000
  BootModule_loadAll
  LegacyBootVMKernel

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 9.x

Cause

ESXi follows a predefined sequence for loading boot modules specified in the boot.cfg file, and altering this order can lead to a Purple Screen of Death (PSOD), cause services to fail during startup, or result in unexpected service behavior.

Resolution

As defined in the documentation,

• For Esxi version 8.x
  • Installing ESXi by Using a Script 
• For Esxi version 9.x
  • About the boot.cfg File

Modifications to the boot.cfg file should be approached with caution. While changes to the kernelopt line are permitted, all other entries should remain unaltered to ensure system stability.
Note: In vendor-provided ESXi images, additional modules may be included; however, these are incorporated only after thorough testing and validation to ensure compatibility and stability.

To resolve the issue:

1. Perform a comparison between the boot.cfg file from the custom-built image and the one included in the official ESXi ISO of same build.

2. Adjust the sequence of module entries listed under modules= in the boot.cfg file of the PXE boot image to precisely align with the order specified in the official ESXi ISO.

3. Attempt PXE booting the Esxi using the updated image.