Upgrade ESXi to 6.5 from a USB Drive

Here’s an easy three step process to update your ESXi host to the latest build using a USB Flash Drive.

Step1- Download latest ISO VMware vSphere Hypervisor(ESXi) 6.5 ISO
https://my.vmware.com/en/group/vmware/evalcenter?p=free-esxi6

Step2- Download and run Rufus
https://rufus.akeo.ie/

Step3- Click the CD icon and point to the ISO you downloaded, leave everything else default and click start
(Note you may get a popup requesting to replace the menu, to avoid issues with the USB key not booting you’ll need to click Yes to download the updated file.)

I have performed this method on versions 5.5 and 6