Supermicro server giving me fits

[Ely]

Wasn't sure whether to post here or in the install forum, but since I saw some other Supermicro threads I figured I'd find more seasoned sysadmins here.

I have a 1U Supermicro box that been sitting around collecting dust in the garage because IT packrat. It has an X7DBU board, two dual core Xeon 5050s and 16GB RAM. It's got a few miles on it but still a stable system. Prior to pulling the 600GB WD Raptors for Reds, it happily ran Win 2K8. Older, but still 64bit.

During install, I get to a point where it shows installing some x86 compatibility something or another and reboots. This is with the latest stable 9.10 release installing from thumbdrive to thumbdrive. I've tried installing from and to different USB drives to see if that would make a difference, but nay. I'd thought about trying a spare SSD but I don't have anywhere to pull power unless I use a dual USB to SATA adapter. The missus is getting tired of listening to Xeon fans so I need to regroup before trying again. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[leenux_tux]

Wasn't sure whether to post here or in the install forum, but since I saw some other Supermicro threads I figured I'd find more seasoned sysadmins here.

I have a 1U Supermicro box that been sitting around collecting dust in the garage because IT packrat. It has an X7DBU board, two dual core Xeon 5050s and 16GB RAM. It's got a few miles on it but still a stable system. Prior to pulling the 600GB WD Raptors for Reds, it happily ran Win 2K8. Older, but still 64bit.

During install, I get to a point where it shows installing some x86 compatibility something or another and reboots. This is with the latest stable 9.10 release installing from thumbdrive to thumbdrive. I've tried installing from and to different USB drives to see if that would make a difference, but nay. I'd thought about trying a spare SSD but I don't have anywhere to pull power unless I use a dual USB to SATA adapter. The missus is getting tired of listening to Xeon fans so I need to regroup before trying again. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure if this is going to make any difference as it's difficult to tell of the install image is bad, the destination is bad or there is a hardware compatibility issue. Does the unit have IPMI ? If it does you can attach a virtual ISO image via the IPMI web console and try the install from there.

For me I would also try installing Linux on the server (Centos for example). You state you had Windows Server on it in the past to hopefully there isn't something wrong with the hardware. If CentOS (or whatever distro you choose) works the next step might be to check the BSD hardware compatibility list (https://www.freebsd.org/relnotes/CURRENT/hardware/support.html)

 

[Ely]

Didn't see anything on the HCL that would be cause for concern. Good idea on trying a different distro. I should have a reasonably receny copy of Debian floating around. At least an ISO I can dd to a USB drive and attempt the same install. That would let me rule out media and major hardware failure.

 

[joeschmuck]

Moved thread to Will it FreeNAS.

An option you can try is to use any computer that can boot the ISO image and then install to a USB Flash Drive. Just shutdown when complete and put the flash drive into the computer you want to run FreeNAS on. For instance, I can take my Windows computer and boot from a CD-R that I created with the ISO. You just need to ensure that you don't accidentally select a drive you don't want destroyed. I myself can remove all my hard drives (front load bays).

The missus is getting tired of listening to Xeon fans so I need to regroup before trying again.

What, the sound of a jet engine doesn't make her feel all warm inside? I assume you have a place to put it once it's ready to run.

 

[Ely]

Huh, hadn't thought of that. I've never taken a 'nix system disk between systems, but live ISOs and all. I guess I thought it would cough up a furball like windows loves to.

What, the sound of a jet engine doesn't make her feel all warm inside? I assume you have a place to put it once it's ready to run.

Not in the slightest lol. Yeah, it'll be relegated to the garage. Much like my 3D printer. Apparently she doesn't share my love of the sweet smell of PLA.

 

[Ely]

It's alive! Not without weaving a tapestry of filth, but it's up and running. Seems both the install process and media may have been factors? Boot from CD on a Mac and install to a PNY USB drive....nuts. dd the ISO to the same PNY stick, boot that on a Windows machine and install to a Sandisk USB drive....Jackpot! Actually tried a couple different PNY drives when installing from disk and from USB on the server. Seems like I tried the Sandisk too on the server but that failed as well. PNY was on the HCL too. Ruby Sue falls down a well...