Why oh why cannot I not get TrueNAS Scale 22.12.0 installed on my old test system. Let me explain!
I have two systems running TrueNAS Core 12.0.U8.1. The first is my "production" server which is a true server (ASUS P11-C/M4L motherboard, Xeon E-2236 CPU, 64GB ECC memory, 4x4TB Seagate IronWolf drives) and the second is my backup/test server which is not a true server (Intel consumer motherboard, Core2-Duo cpu and 8GB memory, 3x3TB Seagate IronWolf drives). I mostly use this second server as a data backup of my primary server by booting it once a week, then synchronizing all the data files from the primary server to the secondary server. Once synchronization has complete, the system is then shutdown for another week.
However I also use it to test updates before updating the primary server.
Enough said about that. Now what I want to do is test TrueNAS Scale. So I download the ISO and using Rufus, copied it to a 16GB USB stick using an MBR partition scheme and a BIOS or UEFI Target System mode. I've tried writing using both ISO mode and DD mode. ISO mode boots where as DD mode does NOT boot!!
So next, I try booting the USB. As long as I have written the USB in ISO mode, the USB boots fine. I then go through the TrueNAS Scale questions (select device where to install, Admin password etc) and everything appears to go well. Finally after the install has been complete and I'm asked to remove the boot media and reboot the system, I do so, but the system never, ever boots. I'm always left with the message "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". Nothing I can do will get this computer to boot.
I've even gone so far as to create a bootable DVD of TrueNAS Scale, with exactly the same results as above. The DVD boots, I answer the questions, the installation appears to work correctly, but when it's time to boot the new server, it fails with the "No bootable device" message.
I have tried installing TrueNAS Scale as an upgrade to my TrueNAS Core system by first upgrading to version the Core system to 12.0-U3.1 and then when that completed (without issue), selecting the Scale 22.12.0 train, and then upgrading again. Again that appeared to work. This time at least the system was able to boot, but then the screen went blank (I left it for an hour) and never came back!
Granted, for what I use TrueNAS for, version 12.0-U8.1 certainly satisfies my needs (file server, media server and backup server). But my Xeon server sits idle for most of the time and I would like to use the virtualization features offered in Scale as they appear to be much more usable than the bhyv in Core. I have no doubt that my production server will upgrade without a problem, but considering all the problems I have had trying to upgrade my dev server, I don't dare even try upgrading my prod server for fear it will fail miserably.
I've had similar problems with Core installs after version 11.1 and was forced to use the bootable DVD method to get it installed. But at least I was able to get it working.
It seems that the TrueNAS developers don't really have a clue about how to create bootable media for their product. I got numerous Linux, FreeBSD and Windows ISOs that never have a problem booting. In fact I took the Debian 10.9 and 11.4 ISO distributions, created a bootable USB, then booted and installed onto the same system without issue. What gives??
If anybody can point me in the right direction to get TrueNAS Scale installed on my old Core2-Duo system I would appreciate it.
Thank you
Greg
I have two systems running TrueNAS Core 12.0.U8.1. The first is my "production" server which is a true server (ASUS P11-C/M4L motherboard, Xeon E-2236 CPU, 64GB ECC memory, 4x4TB Seagate IronWolf drives) and the second is my backup/test server which is not a true server (Intel consumer motherboard, Core2-Duo cpu and 8GB memory, 3x3TB Seagate IronWolf drives). I mostly use this second server as a data backup of my primary server by booting it once a week, then synchronizing all the data files from the primary server to the secondary server. Once synchronization has complete, the system is then shutdown for another week.
However I also use it to test updates before updating the primary server.
Enough said about that. Now what I want to do is test TrueNAS Scale. So I download the ISO and using Rufus, copied it to a 16GB USB stick using an MBR partition scheme and a BIOS or UEFI Target System mode. I've tried writing using both ISO mode and DD mode. ISO mode boots where as DD mode does NOT boot!!
So next, I try booting the USB. As long as I have written the USB in ISO mode, the USB boots fine. I then go through the TrueNAS Scale questions (select device where to install, Admin password etc) and everything appears to go well. Finally after the install has been complete and I'm asked to remove the boot media and reboot the system, I do so, but the system never, ever boots. I'm always left with the message "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key". Nothing I can do will get this computer to boot.
I've even gone so far as to create a bootable DVD of TrueNAS Scale, with exactly the same results as above. The DVD boots, I answer the questions, the installation appears to work correctly, but when it's time to boot the new server, it fails with the "No bootable device" message.
I have tried installing TrueNAS Scale as an upgrade to my TrueNAS Core system by first upgrading to version the Core system to 12.0-U3.1 and then when that completed (without issue), selecting the Scale 22.12.0 train, and then upgrading again. Again that appeared to work. This time at least the system was able to boot, but then the screen went blank (I left it for an hour) and never came back!
Granted, for what I use TrueNAS for, version 12.0-U8.1 certainly satisfies my needs (file server, media server and backup server). But my Xeon server sits idle for most of the time and I would like to use the virtualization features offered in Scale as they appear to be much more usable than the bhyv in Core. I have no doubt that my production server will upgrade without a problem, but considering all the problems I have had trying to upgrade my dev server, I don't dare even try upgrading my prod server for fear it will fail miserably.
I've had similar problems with Core installs after version 11.1 and was forced to use the bootable DVD method to get it installed. But at least I was able to get it working.
It seems that the TrueNAS developers don't really have a clue about how to create bootable media for their product. I got numerous Linux, FreeBSD and Windows ISOs that never have a problem booting. In fact I took the Debian 10.9 and 11.4 ISO distributions, created a bootable USB, then booted and installed onto the same system without issue. What gives??
If anybody can point me in the right direction to get TrueNAS Scale installed on my old Core2-Duo system I would appreciate it.
Thank you
Greg