HELP! Got an error and FreeNAS won't boot

[wizengamot]

Okay. I am a techie, but not a BSD/Linux/Unix guy. I am getting an error when booting freenas. First of all it won't boot. Period. Gets to a screen and stops. Rather than try to type everything from boot I took a video and posted to an unlisted url on youtube.

https://youtu.be/8YwnYcuT024

with the above link you can see the video. It was too large 47MB to attach to this post.

Essentially I am looking for triage here. Is all my data gonzo? If there is kind soul out there willing to view the vid and give me their experience opinion that would be great. I am looking for multiple opinions... even if they are the same as it will confirm the diagnosis and we are dealing with the potential loss of about 21 TB of data.

Thanks,
Wizengamot

 

[Meyers]

Looks like it can't mount root which suggests your boot device has failed. It would help if you posted details about your setup.

 

[Chris Moore]

Essentially I am looking for triage here. Is all my data gonzo?

What data? Is this a new build or something that you have had for a while? Exactly what are you working with?
Please reference the,

Forum Guidelines
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/forum-guidelines.45124/

Then provide details on your hardware and software condition.

 

[wizengamot]

Sorry Guys. The computer is a AMD Phenom processor (I don't recall the exact model) with a Gigabyte motherboard. The controller cards are LSI HBA cards. I know this is all a bit generic but I don't have the exact hardware written down anywhere. The data hard drives are mostly NAS WD Reds with a two regular 4TB hds thrown in. There is a total of 12 hard drives each with 4TB configured in 3 separate 4 drive arrays, each array with a single redundant drive (N-1). The Boot Drives are two USB sticks, Transcend Brand 4GB each and they were setup as a RAID 1. I will get all the model numbers for the rest of the config as listed in the guide but it will be a few hours still as I am at work.

If the boot drives are the problem then I have a basic question. Can I remove both boot drives, toss them in the nearest recycle bin and start new and have the ZFS array picked up by a new install without my config file? If I can do this, is there a recommended procedure (disconnect data drives for install, etc) that I should follow? I am not worried about the rest of the config (Jails, users etc) as I can recreate that from memory.

I really appreciate the help you guys provide to newbies like me. It is really kind of you all to help out.

 

[Chris Moore]

The Boot Drives are two USB sticks, Transcend Brand 4GB each and they were setup as a RAID 1.

The new requirement is 8GB minimum but a larger drive is better.

If the boot drives are the problem then I have a basic question. Can I remove both boot drives, toss them in the nearest recycle bin and start new and have the ZFS array picked up by a new install without my config file?

Yes, you can import the existing pool into a new installation of FreeNAS. I would do the installation of FreeNAS with all the data drives disconnected, just as a precaution. Then connect the data drives and import the pool.

Let us know if you have more questions.

 

[Meyers]

The new requirement is 8GB minimum but a larger drive is better.

Yep and the recommended minimum is 16GB.

Do you have x4/x8/x16 PCI-E slots in this machine? I would install something like this and put in two m.2 drives for the OS. USB has given me a TON of problems especially after upgrading to 11.2.

 

[Chris Moore]

Yep and the recommended minimum is 16GB.

I usually suggest a small SSD, but the "Hardware Requirements" published by iXsystems are here:
http://www.freenas.org/hardware-requirements/

If you are buying something to be a boot drive, and you have extra SATA ports to work with, you would be well served by a pair of these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-320-Series-40GB-Internal-2-5-SSDSA2BT040G3-SSD/254186458651
I use a couple of those in servers that I have.
These are also great for boot drives:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SSD-Intel-...-2-5-Solid-State-Drive-DOD-Wiped/333145776806