SOLVED HELP!! Upgraded to 11.2 & can't boot up server

[AltecBX]

Hi Guys, I upgraded from 11.1 to 11.2 and now I can't boot up. My boot device is the 16GB thumb drive. I have over 50TB and worried AF as what's going to happen. In the last 5 years of running FreeNas, I never had a problem upgrading to the next version. I'm attaching a picture of the prompt I get when I reboot.

Anybody with a resolution?

Thanks

 

[Basil Hendroff]

Using the bootloader, can you boot back into the 11.1 environment, or you don't get that far?

 

[AltecBX]

Using the bootloader, can you boot back into the 11.1 environment, or you don't get that far?

It doesn't let me get to that screen.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

Are you using mirrored boot drives?

 

[Basil Hendroff]

Do you have the config saved somewhere? If so, build a new 11.1 boot disk (preferably using a different USB stick) and restore the config to that. You could start with 11.2, but this way, as long as you don't upgrade the ZFS flags on the volume, you retain the option of downgrading back to 11.1.

 

[AltecBX]

I don't have mirror boot drives. I don't have any config or backup of the thumb drive. Currently, have (1) boot 16GB USB drive and (12) 8TB drives split into (2) different pools (6 dries sin each Z2 pool). I did do the ZFS flag 2 weeks before the upgrade, which stated I couldn't downgrade in the future.. The main plugin I run in this server is Plex. I have over 50TB of data collected in the last 15 years which I can't afford to lose.

Can you let me know the best way to get my server running to the same state as before? I just purchased (2) 32GB thumb drives
Is there a way to see what's in the thumb drive?

 

[SweetAndLow]

Reinstall 11.2 on a new usb. If it boots import your pool. If it doesn't boot go back to 11.1 and import your pool.

It's super strange that after 5 years you never saved your config file.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

So you did upgrade from 11.1 to 11.2 at least two weeks ago? If so, you've been running on 11.2 for a couple of weeks and it's only just failed? If that's the case, likely the issue is with the USB stick.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

There's a couple of lessons to be learned here. Mirror your boot drives and backup your config regularly.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

You may be able to recover your config from the system dataset. Check out the post https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/update-went-wrong.74084/page-2#post-514298

 

[AltecBX]

Reinstall 11.2 on a new usb. If it boots import your pool. If it doesn't boot go back to 11.1 and import your pool.

It's super strange that after 5 years you never saved your config file.

Hey SweetAndLow how's it going. I remember from the 2014 time you helped me set up my server up. THANKS!
But yea I didn't even know I had to do this. When I get the server back up I'll start saving the config file. Lesson Learned!
I also don't think I can go back to 11.1 due to the ZFS flag change.

So you did upgrade from 11.1 to 11.2 at least two weeks ago? If so, you've been running on 11.2 for a couple of weeks and it's only just failed? If that's the case, likely the issue is with the USB stick.

Yep. You know what, now that I recall, I remember getting a red notice saying that the boot device was degraded.

 

[AltecBX]

There's a couple of lessons to be learned here. Mirror your boot drives and backup your config regularly.

I will do this now that I know the risk of things going bad.
Let's just say that the boot 16GB USB thumb drive went bad, what's my next step?

 

[Basil Hendroff]

Let's just say that the boot 16GB USB thumb drive went bad, what's my next step?

Not sure what you're asking? In a mirror?

 

[AltecBX]

Not sure what you're asking? In a mirror?

No. Let's consider me a newbie, even though I've been around for 5 years.
Before upgrading, I was getting a red notice on the upper right side that my boot device was degrading. If it is the boot device (16GB thumb drive), then what's my next step to replace this thumb drive for a new one?
If this was a Windows environment, it'll be simple; just copy thumb drive A (16GB degraded) to thumb drive B (32GB new). In this case, I just removed the 16GB thumb drive from the FreeNAS and plugged it in my Window machine. It says it can't see it and wants to format it.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

As @SweetAndLow has stated, you need to reinstall 11.2 on a new USB. Follow the instructions at https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2/install.html#preparing-the-media.

 

[AltecBX]

As @SweetAndLow has stated, you need to reinstall 11.2 on a new USB. Follow the instructions at https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2/install.html#preparing-the-media.

Thanks, Seymour Butt. I'm in the middle of this now. Once I have this up, will my plex settings and data be there? In other words, does the plugin data and setting sit on the drives or the USB boot drive?

 

[SweetAndLow]

Thanks, Seymour Butt. I'm in the middle of this now. Once I have this up, will my plex settings and data be there? In other words, does the plugin data and setting sit on the drives or the USB boot drive?

Settings are part of your config file. Plugins/jails and data are part of the pool. If your system dataset was on the pool you can recover your config file and be back to normal. If it wasn't then you will have to reconfigure everything.

 

[Basil Hendroff]

Your data and jails are in the pool and not the boot device so they should be fine. Once you import the pool, you may be able to recover your config as well. See entry #10 above.

 

[Chris Moore]

I have over 50TB and worried AF as what's going to happen.

The boot media is separated from the storage pool to protect your storage, so your data should be safe, it is just a matter of fixing the boot media. We have seen a lot of failures of USB media in conjunction with the latest upgrade.

 

[AltecBX]

wwzz

Settings are part of your config file. Plugins/jails and data are part of the pool. If your system dataset was on the pool you can recover your config file and be back to normal. If it wasn't then you will have to reconfigure everything.

Your data and jails are in the pool and not the boot device so they should be fine. Once you import the pool, you may be able to recover your config as well. See entry #10 above.

The boot media is separated from the storage pool to protect your storage, so your data should be safe, it is just a matter of fixing the boot media. We have seen a lot of failures of USB media in conjunction with the latest upgrade.

Thanks. This is very reassuring that I can be back up before the end of the day. Will keep you posted!