Converting vmware server images to esx 3i server images
I had some problems starting images from vmware server, on a new esx 3i server and went out to find a solution.
First off, the disk needs to be converted as it does not have the same format. use the following command and it will make a CLONE (its safe to do on the original disk image)
vmkfstools -i nfsvol/source.vmdk vmfsvol/dest.vmdk
after this is done, you schould be able to create a new machine, and attatch the disk. (if its not converted the infrastructure manager will deny accepting the file and give an error message).
Enable SSH on ESXi 3,5
ESXi 3.5 does ship with the ability to run SSH, but this is disabled by default (and is not supported).
1) At the console of the ESXi host, press ALT-F1 to access the console window.
2) Enter unsupported in the console and then press Enter. You will not see the text you type in.
3) If you typed in unsupported correctly, you will see the Tech Support Mode warning and a password prompt. Enter the password for the root login.
4) You should then see the prompt of ~ #. Edit the file inetd.conf (enter the command vi /etc/inetd.conf).
5) Find the line that begins with #ssh and remove the #. Then save the file. If you're new to using vi, then move the cursor down to #ssh line and then press the Insert key. Move the cursor over one space and then hit backspace to delete the #. Then press ESC and type in :wq to save the file and exit vi. If you make a mistake, you can press the ESC key and then type it :q! to quit vi without saving the file.
6) Once you've closed the vi editor, run the command /sbin/services.sh restart to restart the management services. You'll now be able to connect to the ESXi host with a SSH client.
Update for ESXi 3.5 Update 2 - With Update 2 the service.sh command no longer restarts the inetd process which enables SSH access. You can either restart your host or run ps | grep inetd to determine the process ID for the inetd process. The output of the command will be something like 1299 1299 busybox inetd, and the process ID is 1299. Then run kill -HUP <process_id> (kill -HUP 1299 in this example) and you'll then be able to access the host via SSH.
Create a VMWare Coldboot disk! Say hi to MOA!
Its easy and free! I found this as i had some... "fun" ... machines to convert.
It uses bartpe (a "free" counterpart to win pe) as a base and expands on it.
Some has it even running on vistaPE.
So visit them here and make sure to donate some money if you like their work. i know i do 
Generally they have good info on VM's and how to configure them or rescue them.
How to manually install VMware Converter
I have made a self extracting .exe file with a .cmd installer for vmware converter free for download here
For those interested in doing it manually please read on.
To install vmware converter with a messed up msi installer (or just manually install the agent as a script) just follow this guide 
1. Get the following programs: instsrv.exe and drv_ctl.exe from here and vmware converter software from their website (free to download)
2. Install vmware converter on some machine (does not matter what) and copy the files from c:\program files\vmware\* to a location where you can access it from the new server.
3. extract the files to the server the service will be installed to. (same directory please)
4. install the windows service with the following: instsrv.exe "ufad-p2v" "C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Converter\vmware-ufad.exe"
5. copy this info into a file called something.reg and run it:
----------------------Do not include this line------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ufad-p2v]
"Type"=dword:00000010
"Start"=dword:00000002
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"=hex(2):22,00,43,00,3a,00,5c,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,\
6d,00,20,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,5c,00,56,00,4d,00,77,00,61,00,72,\
00,65,00,5c,00,56,00,4d,00,77,00,61,00,72,00,65,00,20,00,43,00,6f,00,6e,00,\
76,00,65,00,72,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,76,00,6d,00,77,00,61,00,72,00,65,\
00,2d,00,75,00,66,00,61,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,22,00,20,00,2d,00,\
64,00,20,00,22,00,43,00,3a,00,5c,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\
00,20,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,5c,00,56,00,4d,00,77,00,61,00,72,00,\
65,00,5c,00,56,00,4d,00,77,00,61,00,72,00,65,00,20,00,43,00,6f,00,6e,00,76,\
00,65,00,72,00,74,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,5c,00,22,00,20,00,2d,00,73,00,20,00,\
75,00,66,00,61,00,64,00,2d,00,70,00,32,00,76,00,2e,00,78,00,6d,00,6c,00,00,\
00
"DisplayName"="VMware Converter Service"
"DependOnService"=hex(7):00,00
"DependOnGroup"=hex(7):4e,00,65,00,74,00,77,00,6f,00,72,00,6b,00,50,00,72,00,\
6f,00,76,00,69,00,64,00,65,00,72,00,00,00,54,00,44,00,49,00,00,00,00,00
"ObjectName"="LocalSystem"
"Description"="VMware Converter Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ufad-p2v\Security]
"Security"=hex:01,00,14,80,90,00,00,00,9c,00,00,00,14,00,00,00,30,00,00,00,02,\
00,1c,00,01,00,00,00,02,80,14,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,\
00,00,02,00,60,00,04,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,fd,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,\
05,12,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,ff,01,0f,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,\
20,02,00,00,00,00,14,00,8d,01,02,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,0b,00,00,00,00,\
00,18,00,fd,01,02,00,01,02,00,00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,23,02,00,00,01,01,\
00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ufad-p2v\Enum]
"0"="Root\\LEGACY_UFAD-P2V\\0000"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001----------------------Do not include this line------------------------
6. start the service
7. run drv_ctl --inst-nostart vstor2-p2v30 "c:\program files\VMware\VMware Converter\vstor2-p2v30.sys"
8. start the service and you're done
If you want you can run vmware converter directly from the local machine by just running converter.exe from the installation directory.
Good luck!
VMWARE on ubuntu 6.06 LTS Network subnet
If you loose connection with vmware server (1,05 and 1,06 tested) and you're subnetting (like 255.255.255.192 and so forth in the mask), you will have to define NETWORK, and Broadcast. Example below:
auto eth2
iface eth2 inet static
address 200.200.200.73
network 200.200.200.64
netmask 255.255.255.192
broadcast 200.200.200.127
gateway 200.200.200.65
Its a good idea always to use these no matter what.