Install fails with error 19, no matter what

[Idan Presser]

Hi guys!
I'm new to the forums and this is my first time installing FreeNAS, but I've built a few servers over the years and know my way around a computer...
Like many others before me, I've encountered the dreaded error 19 during install, I'll walk you through what I've tried so far, but first here are the rig specs:
Gigabyte GA-B150M-HD3
Intel Pentium G4400
G.Skill 8GB DDR3 (run clean 10 memtest cycles)
WD red 3TB x 6
SanDisk cruzer fit 16GB

I've started by burning the 9.3.1 STABLE 64bit ISO (SHA256 verified) onto a 32GB cruzer pop. received error 19 and started digging through the forums.

• First I've disabled XHCI and fast booting -> Error 19.
• Then moved the two disk-on-keys to USB2 ports -> Error 19.
• Then reformatted the pop and reburned the ISO -> Error 19.
• Then "zeroed" the pop using DD -> Error 19.
• Then tried to add "set debug.acpi.disabled="hostres"" to the loader -> Error 19.
• Then tired 3 more disk-on-keys, formatted, zeroed, burned -> Error 19.
• Then found an old external cd-rom, burned the image to a disk, booted -> Error 19.
• Then downloaded and verified 9.3 release, burned to CD -> Error 19.
• Tried to mount the CD using cd9690:/dev/acd0 ro, cd9690:/dev/cd0 ro, cd9690:/dev/acd0, etc.
• Tried to boot from CD and mount from DoK, boot from DoK and mount the CD, but Error 19...
• I even tried to disable the onboard LAN (Realtek unfortunately) although I'm quite certain it has nothing to do with the mounting error.

I've been at it for 24 hours strait, with no luck :/

I'm close to giving up and settling on an old Debian distro, but I want ZFS...

Please help!

EDIT: made it a bit more legible

 

[anodos]

Looks like bleeding-edge desktop hardware. Your hardware is probably not supported.

 

[Idan Presser]

Thanks for the quick reply @anodos , I really hope that's not the case... but I would expect there to be a different error for unsupported HW, right?
In any case, since I last posted I also updated the BIOS to the latest version, still no luck :/

 

[Mirfster]

Just some thoughts:

1. Is the USB stick plugged into a 2.0 port (not a 3.0 that was lowered to 2.0)?
2. What did you use to create the USB stick; rufus or something similar?
3. How are the hard drives connected (if at all right now)?

Also, while you may not like this (since you already purchased the board) a quick look up of the specs shows this regarding memory:

1. 2 x DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory
   * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed.
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for DDR3/DDR3L 1866(OC)/1600/1333 MHz memory modules
4. Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
5. Support for non-ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules

 

[Idan Presser]

Hi mirfster, thanks for your input. As for your questions:

1. The USB sticks were all plugged on a USB 2.0 (black, not blue) ports.
2. I used the recommended Win32DiskImager, on a Windows 10 machine, and it worked great.
3. The hdds were all connected via the onboard SATA (6 onboard SATAs are the main reason I chose this motherboard in the first place), but I since disconnected them to see if that helps (no success stories there either).

I know the motherboard doesn't support ECC, that's unfortunate but not the end of the world. The server is behind a UPS at all times so I don't worry about abrupt shutdowns, and I put the memory through intensive tests and it came out error free.

I'd be grateful for any insight you may have about the problem.
Thanks again!

 

[Mirfster]

Based on what you have tried thus far (which seems like everything), it may be like anodos stated that the hardware is not supported.

Pretty sure you may have seen this thread: "Mounting Failed with Error 19"; but listed in as a "just in case".

Only other things I can think of are:

1. As a test try an older version of FreeNas (9.2) or even the newer 10.x; just as a test
2. Check FreeBSD and see if this is listed anywhere on there for compatibility (yeah this is a reach)

I know the motherboard doesn't support ECC, that's unfortunate but not the end of the world. The server is behind a UPS at all times so I don't worry about abrupt shutdowns, and I put the memory through intensive tests and it came out error free.

Not wanting to preach, but not running ECC puts you at greater risk. Please see cyberjock's "ECC vs non-ECC RAM and ZFS" thread. /EndPreaching :)

 

[anodos]

As far as I know, Intel abandoned ehci in skylake. xhci-only. Even for USB2. This may explain some of the problems, but not all unless you're using a USB CD drive. Otherwise, I've been terrifically unimpressed with desktop hardware of late. When it comes to working properly, the cheap stuff is more miss than hit.

 

[Idan Presser]

OK, We have some progress!
Older version (9.2 release) didn't work, and I haven't had the time to check v10 Alpha, (It's being downloaded as we speak), BUT:
After @anodos mentioned the early demise of EHCI, I replaced the USB cd-rom with the (SATA) DVD out of my PC and attached it to the server -Voila! I got to the first blue screen of the installation. no Error 19!

The problem now is the setup doesn't recognize any and all usb sticks (which is to be expected if XHCI is present in USB2 and is not supported).

So now I have a logical problem: how do I install the system on a thumb drive so I'll have my 6 precious SATA ports available for the reds?
one temporary solution would be to install the OS on an old 1TB SATA HDD I have laying around. I know I won't be able to start building the pool (I need all 6 drives online for that), but I need to know everything else will work, and if everything goes smoothly, I'll buy a 16GB SSD for the OS and a PCIe card with a few extra SATA ports for it (but I want to know I'm not hitting any other obstacles before I commit to another expense).

BUT I will need to use those USB3 ports when the system is up and running, so my last question would be "Will FreeNAS, once installed, support the XHCI/USB3 Ports?"

Thanks for your help!

 

[anodos]

Don't buy a 'pcie card with a few extra ports'. They're universally crap and will put your data at risk. Get an M1015 HBA off ebay or a LSI 9211-8i and flash it to the P20 IT firmware. That will give you an extra 8 SATA ports.

 

[Mirfster]

BUT I will need to use those USB3 ports when the system is up and running, so my last question would be "Will FreeNAS, once installed, support the XHCI/USB3 Ports?"

Hmm, just saw this on the "Hardware Requirements" (for v10.x):

Compact or USB Flash:
The FreeNAS® operating system is installed to at least one device that is separate from the storage disks. The device can be a USB stick, compact flash, or SSD. Technically, it can also be installed onto a hard drive, but this is discouraged as that drive will then become unavailable for data storage.

Note: if you will be burning the installation file to a USB stick, you will need two USB slots, each with an inserted USB device, where one USB stick contains the installer and the other USB stick is selected to install into. When performing the installation, be sure to select the correct USB device to install to. In other words, you can not install FreeNAS® into the same USB stick that you boot the installer from. After installation, remove the USB stick containing the installer, and if necessary, configure the BIOS to boot from the remaining USB stick.

When determining the type and size of device to install the operating system to, keep the following points in mind:

• the bare minimum size provides room for the operating system and two boot environments. Since each update creates a boot environment, consider using a larger boot device or deleting older boot environments once you are sure that a boot environment is no longer needed.
• when using a USB stick, it is recommended to use a name brand USB stick as ZFS will quickly find errors on cheap, not well made sticks.
• when using a USB stick, USB 3.0 support is disabled by default as it currently is not compatible with some hardware, including Haswell (Lynx point) chipsets. If you receive a “failed with error 19” message when trying to boot FreeNAS®, make sure that xHCI/USB3 is disabled in the system BIOS. While this will downclock the USB ports to 2.0, the bootup and shutdown times will not be significantly different.
• if a reliable boot disk is required, use two identical devices and select them both during the installation. Doing so will create a mirrored boot device.

Not looking like it, unless I read that all kinds of wrong...

 

[Idan Presser]

Don't buy a 'pcie card with a few extra ports'. They're universally crap and will put your data at risk. Get an M1015 HBA off ebay or a LSI 9211-8i and flash it to the P20 IT firmware. That will give you an extra 8 SATA ports.

Thanks for the tip! you think I should invest in a HQ card even though it will only be used for the OS drive? (the OS loads itself to RAM on boot, correct?)

Hmm, just saw this on the "Hardware Requirements" (for v10.x):
Not looking like it, unless I read that all kinds of wrong...

Thanks for the link, that's a big disappointment - this means I won't be able to use any of my USB Ports AT ALL? (I transfer TBs of data every week VIA USB3, downloading the data to another PC and then transferring via LAN sounds tedious (Read: Deal-breaker)). any ideas on how to overcome the problem?

You both have been very helpful. and I appreciate it very much!

 

[Mirfster]

I won't be able to use any of my USB Ports AT ALL?

I am basing this off of the earlier comment:

The problem now is the setup doesn't recognize any and all usb sticks (which is to be expected if XHCI is present in USB2 and is not supported).

any ideas on how to overcome the problem?

Only thing I can think of is connecting the USB3 device to a workstation and copying it via LAN. You wouldn't need to first download the data to the PC first then. I know, not that much help... But that is all I got on it. ;)

 

[Idan Presser]

OK, I still haven't decided what to do.
Thanks again for all your help!

 

[anodos]

Thanks for the tip! you think I should invest in a HQ card even though it will only be used for the OS drive? (the OS loads itself to RAM on boot, correct?)

Thanks for the link, that's a big disappointment - this means I won't be able to use any of my USB Ports AT ALL? (I transfer TBs of data every week VIA USB3, downloading the data to another PC and then transferring via LAN sounds tedious (Read: Deal-breaker)). any ideas on how to overcome the problem?

You both have been very helpful. and I appreciate it very much!

Well, the HBA opens up the possibility of having even more drives. If you have a chassis that supports 12 drives, then adding another 6 will just be a matter of buying drives, installing them and telling freenas to expand your pool with a second 6-disk raidz2 vdev.

For most purposes, a USB connection is slower than a gigabit network connection (especially if you're using USB2).