Add the VMware depot index to the software depot

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot <a href="https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml">https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml</a>

Add the USB 3.0 Network Adapter VIB to the software depot. You’ve vSuperstar William Lam to thank for this!!

https://github.com/lamw/ax88179_178a-esxi

Add-EsxSoftwareDepot c:\image\vghetto-ax88179-esxi65-bundle.zip

Clone an ESXi image (the one specified below is 6.5u1) give it a name and set a vendor

New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-20170702001-standard" -name "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -Vendor "dojohnson.co.uk"

Remove the current e1000e driver from the newly created ESXi image

Remove-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -SoftwarePackage "net-e1000e"

Remove the current ne1000 driver from the newly created ESXi image

Remove-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -SoftwarePackage "ne1000"

remove the current USB NIC driver from the newly created ESXi image

Remove-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -SoftwarePackage "vmkusb"

Add the USB NIC VIB we added to the software depot earlier, to the newly created ESXi image

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -SoftwarePackage "vghetto-ax88179-esxi65"

Add a working version of the e1000e driver, to the newly created ESXi image

Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -SoftwarePackage "net-e1000e 3.2.2.1-2vmw.600.3.57.5050593"

export the new image to an ISO

Export-ESXImageProfile -NoSignatureCheck -ImageProfile "ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7" -ExportToISO -filepath c:\image\ESXi-6.5.0-u1-NUC7.iso

Once you have the exported ISO, download rufus and build a bootable ISO