No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found

When I tried to run the VMWare ESXi installer from a USB stick (after creating the installer on a USB from the ISO), I got the following error:

SYSLINUX 3.85 2010-02-20 CBIOS Copyright (c) 1994-2010 H. Peter Anvin et al
No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found!
boot:

The solution was pretty simple thanks to this post. I just needed to rename a couple files on the USB as follows:

  • isolinux.bin to syslinux.bin
  • isolinux.cfg to syslinux.cfg

It worked flawless. But if that does not work for you, you may try formatting the USB as FAT instead of FAT32.

2 thoughts on “No DEFAULT or UI configuration directive found”

  1. I am trying to find a solution to this problem. I have a new machine I am trying to load FREENAS onto from a USB. I have tried the FAT. I cannot rename the folder/files because I don’t have them on the USB. Any ideas on what else I can try?

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