New User Woes

Status
Not open for further replies.

ere109

Contributor
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
190
(Skip to the QUESTIONS to avoid backstory)
I built a new FN machine last month and spent hundreds of hours reading and learning about FreeNAS as I configured my system. I had users and several shares connected and working; I uploaded all of my personal files and media from my previous NAS; I even configured and was using Plex. Then my daughter pushed the power button and forced an improper shutdown.
Since then, I've been plagued by a host of troubles, and I've spent countless hours chasing the source. When the system came back up, the main volume was UNAVAIL (but other drives on the same LSI 2308 controller were still connected). I started a thread in the storage section, read pages of threads, updated firmware, and changed all SATA cables. Sometimes the drives came back, but under heavy load faulted again. Various problems persisted. Then I saved a copy of my config, formatted, and re-installed FN 11.1 from disk.
After that, two of six drives showed up as degraded, so I ran a scrub, which cleaned up 3.2 MILLION errors, according to the final report. I then used the machine for a few days, updated back to 11.1-U2, and backed up my data to a spare drive, just in case. All seemed good.
So I put my config file back. After that, the machine had an abnormal reboot, and the volume was unavail again, and the system was generall unresponsive and wouldn't let me access pages like "users" and "system."

QUESTIONS:
Can a FN config become corrupted and cause hard drive and GUI issues?
Depending on that answer, should I go back to the drawing board and manually configure the entire machine fresh?
I'm trying to hold off on replacing hard drives and/or motherboard (onboard HBA) until I've eliminated all other possibilities.

Thanks
 

DrKK

FreeNAS Generalissimo
Joined
Oct 15, 2013
Messages
3,630
The most likely culprit here is the HBA. The one thing that would be ENTIRELY explained by what you're seeing is the HBA being on the fritz; also, possibly, but less likely, issues with the power supply rails.

Really given what you've already tried, I am hard-pressed to articulate any other possibility. You would not be the first person we've dealt with who, after a sudden sharp power loss, had an HBA that was never "right" again.
 

ere109

Contributor
Joined
Aug 22, 2017
Messages
190
Thank you for the final push. I had to disconnect two drives to fit onto the motherboard base ata controller, but my main ZFS volume just fit (five hard drives, five slots). The system has been running for a few hours without a hitch - as opposed to crashing after twenty minutes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top