I just got a Zimaboard and I want to install Proxmox 8 onto a 250Gb USB that will occupy one of the USB ports on the Zimaboard. I do not want to touch the CasOS installation on the 32Gb eMMc chip so it’s available if I ever want to use it in the future. The problem is that unless you have a KVM, it looks like there is either no information on how to do it or it cannot be done. At this time I have attempted nothing. I haven’t even powered up the Zimaboard for the first time yet. I think I need at least 4 USB ports to do the install without a KVM.
1st port for the bootable 256Gb USB to hold Proxmox VE.
2nd port for the keyboard.
3rd port for the Proxmox ISO USB.
4th port for a mouse.
I have some ideas on how to do it but I’m not sure any of them will work. Idea 1: Buy a USB hub with at least 4 USB ports on it and plug it into one of the Zima USB ports. Question here is will the driver for the hub load into the Zimaboard BIOS when I power up? Idea 2. Plug in two ethernet to USB adapters or get a keyboard with built-in USB ports. The same question here as for idea #1. Idea 3. I also bought a PCIe to 4-Port USB adapter card but it comes with a mini-CD that has the drivers that need to be installed first. The questions are: Is the install doable through the BIOS? Do I need to SSH in and to an install the drivers that way? Do I need to open CasaOS first, do the install, and then reboot into BIOS? Any details on how that’s done? If anyone out there has installed Proxmox onto a bootable USB plugged into Zimaboard (without a KVM) how did you do it? HELP!!
So, there were 23 views so far and nobody in this forum has any idea how to install Proxmox on a Zimaboard without using a KVM? Not even the moderators??
Thank you for your reply. Much appreciated. That PCIe to USB board came with a mini CD that has drivers to install. So, you were able to use the USB ports on the board when booting into BIOS with no drivers installed first?
Good question. I bought the PCIe to USB card from IceWhale. Here. It is an accessory card that can be used with Zima products. Then I came here to the Zimaspace community for advice from someone with install experience because there’s no instructions in the box and the included CD threw me for if I need it or not. You’d think they would mention in the “What’s Included” section that there is a driver mini-CD for the card and why it’s there. The overview says Plug-and-Play Support and then when you open the box there is a mini-CD with drivers. So I’m thinking, “Which is it, plug-and-play or not?” I figured my question is not that complicated so I thought I’d ask. Then I get crickets. I’m just not set up for easy ethernet access near a tabletop where I can do the Proxmox install so I’m trying to not fail on the first session and then having to try again another day. I’ll give the install a try this weekend.