SOLVED Can't install TrueNAS to SSD

[zis8snbt4p]

Hi,
This is my first foray into installing TrueNAS and I am struggling with the installation a bit.
I have an LSI HBA crossflashed to IT mode (that is how it was sold to me, I haven't verified that this is the case because I don't know how yet). 8 disks are connected to it 6 HDD's and 2 SSD's.

I have reached the Console Setup and gone to Install/Upgrade where it takes me to a screen to select the disks where I am going to install it on. There are 2 SSD's and 6 HDD's as expected but now the interesting bit.
When I try to select the SSD it briefly shows a message
mount : -: No such file or directory

If I select any of the HDD's it doesn't say anything.

So far I have only attempted to install on the SSD's and after installation reports itself as complete I can't boot TrueNAS.
Another issue that I have is that when I install the disk id's are in the form da[0-7] but if I press F11 to select the disk to boot from then it has a different 4digit hex ID. How can I match these?

Update 1:
I tried installing to the HDD as well and I get the same thing. The installation seems to go ahead successfully but when I reboot the system the system goes on a blank screen with a blinking cursor.

Update 2:
Hardware:
Supermicro X9Dri-LN4F+
2xIntel Xeon E5-2650v2
2xWD-Blue SSD WDS250G2B0A
6xWD Red Plus 4TB SATA WD40EFRX
LSI 9211-8i, SAS2008
4x16GB Samsung ECC DDR3 M393B2G70QH0
All of the drives are plugged onto the HBA through 2x Mini SAS to SATA Cable (SFF-8087 to SATA Forward Breakout)

 

[morganL]

For completeness can you describe the hardware and SSD?
Is there any evidence that you can read and write to the SSD?

 

[HoneyBadger]

So far I have only attempted to install on the SSD's and after installation reports itself as complete I can't boot TrueNAS.

If you are attempting to boot from an SSD attached to the HBA, this sounds to me like there is no boot ROM on the HBA itself.

If you relocate the SSD to a SATA controller port, can you boot from it then?

Side note - the selected "boot" device is not (officially) usable for storage purposes in the pool, so if you're hoping to be able to do something with those SSDs in addition to just booting TrueNAS, you may need to change the strategy.

 

[zis8snbt4p]

For completeness can you describe the hardware and SSD?
Is there any evidence that you can read and write to the SSD?

I ought to do this but my toddler doesn't let me.

Supermicro X9Dri-LN4F+
2xIntel Xeon E5-2650v2
2xWD-Blue SSD WDS250G2B0A
6xWD Red Plus 4TB SATA WD40EFRX
LSI 9211-8i, SAS2008
4x16GB Samsung ECC DDR3 M393B2G70QH0
All of the drives are plugged onto the HBA through 2x Mini SAS to SATA Cable (SFF-8087 to SATA Forward Breakout)

No evidence that I can read or write to it yet. I haven't built a PC in more than 20 years so a bit rusty, just wanted to install TrueNAS to start testing the hardware and doing the burn-in stuff as well.

 

[zis8snbt4p]

If you are attempting to boot from an SSD attached to the HBA, this sounds to me like there is no boot ROM on the HBA itself.

If you relocate the SSD to a SATA controller port, can you boot from it then?

Side note - the selected "boot" device is not (officially) usable for storage purposes in the pool, so if you're hoping to be able to do something with those SSDs in addition to just booting TrueNAS, you may need to change the strategy.

I will try to move it to a SATA controller port when I have some time. Thanks for the suggestion.
I do not plan to use the SSD for storage just to mirror the TrueNAS boot drive. I know it is overkill, but couldn't find lower storage SSD.

To complete the picture, I want TrueNAS to be a VM on Proxmox but I will install it first on bare metal according to some instructions here and then copy the configuration to move it to the VM. The HBA will be passthrough to the TrueNAS VM.

 

[zis8snbt4p]

It looks like the HBA is in IR mode instead and this could be the root cause. I am in the process of crossflashing and will update soon.

So I crossflashed the Dell Perc H200 to LSI IT mode by following this amazing guide.
Following the instructions I did not flash a boot rom so I don't see the HBA boot page which previously showed the detected disks.

Unfortunately none of the drives are detected in the BIOS either. When booting into the TrueNAS bootable USB I can see the drives and installation says that it completes successfully. In the boot order page there was a Hard Drive BBS Priority option list (or something like that) and this too is missing now.

Any thoughts? The drives were detected previously with the IR version. I guess the same debugging advised above is still relevant, to remove a SATA drive from the HBA and plug it straight into the mobo to test.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Very strange that they would show up on IR but not IT. Were they previously configured in a RAID volume on this or another controller?

They should be at the very least visible to a smartctl command under an alternative OS.

 

[zis8snbt4p]

Very strange that they would show up on IR but not IT. Were they previously configured in a RAID volume on this or another controller?

They should be at the very least visible to a smartctl command under an alternative OS.

All the drives (SSD + HDD) are new the HBA card was used and it has now been crossflashed to LSI P20

 

[zis8snbt4p]

This link indicates that to use the HBA you may have to program the boot ROM (hope this is the correct term) which is contrary to the advice on the guide to crossflash. I will try this. I hooked SSD straight to SATA ports and they were detected, and they can also be detected when truenas usb is inserted.

 

[Etorix]

If you want to boot from a drive attached to the HBA, then, yes, the HBA needs a BIOS boot ROM (legacy) and/or an UEFI boot ROM.
If it is used only for storage, then deleting the boot ROMs saves time on initialisation. This is the recommended configuration because it removes a point of failure and makes boot quickier.

 

[zis8snbt4p]

Thanks @Etorix. This fixed it for me, I will mark this as solved and ask the author of the guide to add this note because I think it may help others too.