Unable to boot from USB after creating FreeNAS 9.3 installation

[sYndax]

Hey,

I'm new to FreeNAS and just getting started.

I've created an USB Device containing FreeNAS 9.3,
(loaded the ISO Via IPMI and pointed the installer to install on DA6 which is my 16GB Silicon Power DOK).

I've disabled XHCI and XHCI Handoff but then i boot from USB
i just get a blank screen with "-" blinking.

I'm using the latest BIOS from 24/4/14.

What am I doing wrong?

I'm running an X10SLL-F (c2 stepping), Xen 1230V3, 16GB ECC RAM
and M1015 with 6x3TB RED/Green drives.

Thanks!

 

[gpsguy]

try the internal USB port, if you're not already using it.

@DrKK had a similar problem with a new build. See: https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...nstalling-9-3-on-a-supermicro-x10sll-f.25932/

 

[sYndax]

Tried both internal port and external...
:(

 

[DrKK]

Yeah his situation sounds worse than what I experienced. If I understand him correctly, he was able to install 9.3, but now, he can't even get started with the early parts of the boot sequence. This would suggest it's not even getting to the installed OS in the first place, and so is a more fundamental issue.

The only things I can think of:

• The default boot order on this board---at least for me---did not have the USB boot device near the top. Accordingly, it tried to boot from the actual HDD's I had in there. If you have no pool on those drives, and it attempts to do that, then indeed, one possible outcome is a blinking cursor. Check your boot order in the BIOS. Put the USB drive first (if no CD-ROM is expect to be present at any time on the system), or second (if a CD-ROM may be used at times).
• Generally, the boot sequence won't even send video, at all, on the X10 (to my knowledge) if you've a bad CPU SKU. Makes sense, since the video is integrated on the CPU. Therefore, it would seem logical that if you see a blinking cursor, the CPU compatibility is not a problem. But, just for shits and giggles, what's the CPU you have installed there? And what's your BIOS version?
• Things (for me) that seemed logical to disable in the BIOS actually caused me to not be able to boot, like "legacy USB emulation" being disabled. I say, restore all settings to defaults, then once things are booting, then go into the BIOS and take off what you think you don't need (e.g., Intel Virtualization costs a few watts, and you don't need it, turn off both serial ports, etc.)
• Also, your DOK (lol, no one calls it a DOK) may be hosed. Just for experimental control, you ought to try a different (at least 8GB) device if all else fails.

Please report back on this.

I am sort of concerned about this. We expect the X10SLL and X10SLM to be plug-and-go with FreeNAS. It is very disturbing when they're not. I am hoping we discover in your case that it's just a simple setting.

 

[Ericloewe]

Yeah his situation sounds worse than what I experienced. If I understand him correctly, he was able to install 9.3, but now, he can't even get started with the early parts of the boot sequence. This would suggest it's not even getting to the installed OS in the first place, and so is a more fundamental issue.

The only things I can think of:

• The default boot order on this board---at least for me---did not have the USB boot device near the top. Accordingly, it tried to boot from the actual HDD's I had in there. If you have no pool on those drives, and it attempts to do that, then indeed, one possible outcome is a blinking cursor. Check your boot order in the BIOS. Put the USB drive first (if no CD-ROM is expect to be present at any time on the system), or second (if a CD-ROM may be used at times).
• Generally, the boot sequence won't even send video, at all, on the X10 (to my knowledge) if you've a bad CPU SKU. Makes sense, since the video is integrated on the CPU. Therefore, it would seem logical that if you see a blinking cursor, the CPU compatibility is not a problem. But, just for shits and giggles, what's the CPU you have installed there? And what's your BIOS version?
• Things (for me) that seemed logical to disable in the BIOS actually caused me to not be able to boot, like "legacy USB emulation" being disabled. I say, restore all settings to defaults, then once things are booting, then go into the BIOS and take off what you think you don't need (e.g., Intel Virtualization costs a few watts, and you don't need it, turn off both serial ports, etc.)
• Also, your DOK (lol, no one calls it a DOK) may be hosed. Just for experimental control, you ought to try a different (at least 8GB) device if all else fails.

Please report back on this.

I am sort of concerned about this. We expect the X10SLL and X10SLM to be plug-and-go with FreeNAS. It is very disturbing when they're not. I am hoping we discover in your case that it's just a simple setting.

Video on X10 boards has nothing to do with the iGPU, but I'm fairly certain it's not supposed to work without a processor (since the video adapter gets its data from the PCI-e bus).

The Xeon E3 1230 v3 is original Haswell, so it has so reason not to work...

I do see Grub requiring USB legacy emulation, which could explain the issues...

 

[sYndax]

Well the USB is 1st on my boot order, the BIOS is latest (24/4/14), and i'm using V3 1230 Xeon, the USB stick is new...

If I use the CDROM and install on a SSD, it's works fine.

No Matter what I try it won't boot from USB, (even if it's the single boot device).

 

[DrKK]

Video on X10 boards has nothing to do with the iGPU, but I'm fairly certain it's not supposed to work without a processor (since the video adapter gets its data from the PCI-e bus).

The Xeon E3 1230 v3 is original Haswell, so it has so reason not to work...

I do see Grub requiring USB legacy emulation, which could explain the issues...

Yes you're right. I stand corrected. X10 has its own video and ignores iGPU. Thanks.

But I can assure you: Whenever I have put a CPU SKU that did not work with a given X10 or X9, I definitely did *NOT* get any video signal at all. No video output whatsoever. So as you say, there will be no video, without a BIOS-supported CPU.

And I can confirm 100%, if you turn off "legacy USB emulation", it will not boot.

 

[DrKK]

Fascinating. If he uses an SSD to boot from, it's fine.

Well, at least we know that the problem is more than likely some evil combination of SuperMicro hardware and GRUB.

But: that still doesn't explain why *I* don't have the problem. We have the same board, I have (if anything) a similar DOK. My build boots!

You don't think the slowness of a given USB (in a given port, for whatever reason) causes the problem, right? i.e., something in the bootloader has gone by quicker than the USB can keep up with? I'm grasping at straws here, because in my worldview, if a SuperMicro X10 or X9 is problematic with FreeNAS, then an eschatological event is underway.

 

[sYndax]

I honest don't know what else to do, rather than use an SSD...

 

[DrKK]

Try another/faster USB boot device. Just for an inexpensive, but potentially elucidating experiment? Make sure it's at least 8GB ;)

 

[Pat412]

Same Problem with me, I get the blinking "-".

What I tried:

• Various USB-sticks between 8 and 16 GB
• 2 SD-Cards of 8 and 16 GB
• Installation from and to different USB ports on my Supermicro X7SPA-H-D525

What I found out:

1. Only on of the SD-cards (the 8GB one) worked, so that Freeness 9.3 booted afterwards from this device - at least partially
2. The installation-process finished differently for the working SD-card installation than for any of the other installations resulting in a blinking "-":
   • The other installations did not go farther than the following lines:
     
     Code:

     active set on daX
     base-os-9.3-RELEASE-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx

     
     Then it took some minutes before the system rebooted without further messages. After reboot the USB-controller oftentimes did not initialize properly during BIOS post, but hanged on "Initializing USB controllers...".
     I had to power-off, wait some seconds, power-on again to get the USB controller to initialize quick and properly.
     --> I think this is not a boot-up Problem but an issue during installation and the installation process just is not completed.
   • The installation on the mentioned SD-card went well, it seemed there was much more configuration after the output-lines mentioned above.
     Unfortunately the boot process gets stuck somewhere later, but I think that is a different issue.

Hope that provides some hints for the experts around here.

 

[DrKK]

HERE WE GO!

https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...semi-fix-for-mountroot-issues-with-9-3.26071/

 

[Pat412]

GOT THE SOLUTION! :-D

@DrKK: Unfortunately your workaround only helps when you get stuck at the mountroot> problem.
The issue discussed here won't give you any output on booting Freenas but the blinking "-", and no chance of intervention with grub, since not even grub is loaded properly.

As I wrote before, I assumed that the problem is not with the boot up process of freenas but with the installation process.
In my case that was at least partially true:
The Freeness 9.3 installer was perfectly fine, and after it prints the line "base-os-9.3-RELEASE-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx", it takes some 5-10 minutes to copy the data to the target device.
Alas, in the BIOS of my Supermicro X7SPA-H-D525 Mainboard, there is a setting called "Watchdog function", which in my case was set to "enabled". This function resets the system after 5 minutes of non-responsibility.

Obviously, during that copy-process the system was found "unresponsive" by this watchdog, so that a reset always was triggered after 5 minutes, when the installation process was not finished at all! As I did not know that this restart was not normal proceeding of the installation, I did not get suspicious about the restart.

--> A successful installation ends with a user prompt that says: "The FreeNAS installation on daX succeeded! Please remove the CDROM and reboot."

--> Setting Watchdog Function to "disabled" solved the problem and the installation process completed without problems on all my USB sticks, taking between 8 and 14 minutes.

Merry Christmas!
Pat

 

[DrKK]

That's very interesting information, and I am sure, you saved someone's bacon that will come after you.

 

[sYndax]

Well, my installation ended as it should, I was taken back to the Install menu where I choose to reboot the system,

(regardless of the "watchdog" function).

Still no go...

:(

 

[DrKK]

Well,

This really *HAS* to be some situation with BIOS settings, or a hardware problem. Has to be. Because I just put together a whole system last week using this exact motherboard, and did not have the problem. I'm not sure what else I can tell you, sYxdax. The only different is I didn't have an M1015 in mine.

 

[sYndax]

Well, I re-installed from ISO to another USB, (which i did not test before).

Watchdog was disabled from the begining and it works!

Reloaded my configuration and seems to working good...

Still cannot explain this...

 

[Visseroth]

If I might chime in, it is definitely a problem with the installation process.
I also had install/upgrade problems which I posted here... https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?forums/installation.32/
I don't use watchdog because it has caused problems for me in the past, causing reboot loops so there for on my SuperMicro X7DBN motherboard it is disabled.
Anyhow, long story short the only way I completed the install was to mount a new (newly used) hard drive and ISO image to a virtual machine and I completing the install of the image to the drive using the virtual machine then I transferred the drive back to my server and verified success.
Mind you prior to this update/install I have never had any problems doing upgrades/installs.

 

[The Otter]

Thank you Pat!

I have a Supermicro X7DAE+ and the system was rebooting while writing to the boot USB drive. In addition to disabling the "Watchdog function" in the BIOS, I had to disable it via a jumper on the motherboard.

 

[wussupi83]

Thank you "The

Thank you Pat!

I have a Supermicro X7DAE+ and the system was rebooting while writing to the boot USB drive. In addition to disabling the "Watchdog function" in the BIOS, I had to disable it via a jumper on the motherboard.

Thank you The Otter...I couldnt figure out why my system kept rebooting in the middle of the install. I had "Watch Dog" turned off in the BIOS but it kept doing it. The jumper was the right place to look. Very much thank you.