boot from USB, no install option in menu

[BloodyIron]

Since last time I posted here I got temp banned, despite reading the manuals and searching for hours, and stating that i had searched in my original post, I'm going to be a bit more verbose this time as clearly some admins are trigger happy.


I have used the FreeNAS 8 img file to format a USB key to be bootable, since the target system has no optical drive. It is bootable and completes booting, however when I am presented with a numerical menu there is no install option in that menu, nor was I presented with an install option at an earlier stage of boot. This is different from my experience using the iso's as I recall there being an install option in the menu in previous installations I've done with optical media.

Now, I have also tried a few USB formatting tools to boot the iso off a USB, but the farthest I've gotten is getting to the point where it appears the kernel has finished loading and it's now trying to mount the cdrom, but can't because either I messed up the formatting or whatever, but it can't find a cdrom device to mount and just loops.


Can I please get some advice on this matter?

 

[pirateghost]

If you used the instructions to make a bootable usb thumbdrive, there is nothing more to do....you dont install from USB

 

[BloodyIron]

Surely there must be a way to install from USB. I'm not interested in running my whole OS from a USB stick, there's already an OS drive in there, and I don't want to get into a silly argument about "just do it, booting from USB is okay", I'm not interested in that.

Have you heard of a way to install from USB?

If you used the instructions to make a bootable usb thumbdrive, there is nothing more to do....you dont install from USB

 

[pirateghost]

FreeNAS is designed to run off a thumbdrive. Why are you wasting a hard drive/port for the OS?

if you want to install to hard drive, you can use the same method you used on the hard drive as you did with the usb

 

[BloodyIron]

I trust a dedicated drive more than a USB stick, and I get a lot better performance than my piddly little USB stick. The reason doesn't really matter.

Do you know of a tool to take any freebsd based iso and format a USB drive to boot it? As I mentioned I've had mixed results.

That comment on formatting a drive with the img file is interesting, but I don't think that really helps me in this case. I might as well just slap a temporary optical drive in this thing, it would be the same amount of work, but then I don't really learn anything.

FreeNAS is designed to run off a thumbdrive. Why are you wasting a hard drive/port for the OS?

if you want to install to hard drive, you can use the same method you used on the hard drive as you did with the usb

 

[cyberjock]

I trust a dedicated drive more than a USB stick, and I get a lot better performance than my piddly little USB stick. The reason doesn't really matter.

Do you know of a tool to take any freebsd based iso and format a USB drive to boot it? As I mentioned I've had mixed results.

That comment on formatting a drive with the img file is interesting, but I don't think that really helps me in this case. I might as well just slap a temporary optical drive in this thing, it would be the same amount of work, but then I don't really learn anything.

Emphasis mine.

What you need to learn is:

1. You don't install from USB stick.
2. FreeNAS is designed to be installed to a USB stick and not kill it with excessive writes.
3. Installing to the hard drive really doesn't help performance significantly.
4. Everyone that tries to defy one of the 3 rules above ultimately posts here because they can't get it to work...just as you have.

So take the advice of pirateghost and either use the IMG file to install or give up. If you don't want to take his advice feel free to continue with whatever ideas you've thought up until you get it to work.

I find it fascinating that people still insist on not installing FreeNAS the way it is described. Nobody would try to install Windows to a USB stick because it wasn't designed to, yet people try to install FreeNAS to a hard drive even though it wasn't designed to.
3.

 

[gpsguy]

Since you can see the "numerical menu" - you already have it installed on your USB stick.

If it picked up an IP address via DHCP, you'll see it listed at the bottom of the screen. You can access the web gui and configure it from there. If not, you'll need to configure your network, using the items listed in the menu.

It is bootable and completes booting, however when I am presented with a numerical menu there is no install option in that menu