Am trying to install Windows 10 (or even Windows 7) 64 bit onto an HP xw8600 box. This box normally runs my ESXi 6.5 server but I think I want to dual-boot ESXi & some version of Windows. Am aware that this is NOT a supported configuration for ESXi; I plan to dual-boot via the system BIOS F9 key which HDD to boot from on system start.
Here's what I'm doing (or attempting, at this point):
1) I have an old Seagate 2TB drive that I plan to boot from. Yes I know an SSD would be better & I may clone a successful install onto an SSD if I can get this **bleep** Windows install to work.
2) I have reset the xw8600's BIOS settings to their defaults.
3) I've tried booting from both a Windows 10 Pro & Win7 Pro install USB. Both boot up successfully. The Windows 7 install completes then blue screens on the first boot up to Windows 7. The Win10 install freezes up completely after I select the aforementioned 2TB seagate drive & requires a hard reset (unplugging the power cord) to get the system back.
I'm suspecting there's a BIOS setting that's hampering both installs. I've owned this box for over 10 years & I know this box was running Windows successfully at one point (I think Win10) but I cannot remember how I installed Windows on it back then. ANY assistance would be GREATLY appreciated!