ZFS not mounting and nForce 570

[Gummibear1986]

Hi

I have an issue whereby I install FreeNAS on to my system, update to the latest version, and then create my ZFS pool. However, after rebooting following the creation of the pool, every single time and every single installation atttempt, it cannot mount the ZFS pool. An import does not work, and the GUI just says 'unknown'.

I have done the same thing on another system (a HP Microserver) and it runs like a dream, first time round, however I have more drives than the Microserver can handle so this is not the best solution to me.

My spec on the system is:

AMD Athlon X2 64 4200+
4GB DDR2 800 RAM
MSI K9N Ultra Motherboard (with nForce 570 Ultra MCP)
6x 1TB Western Digital drives

Before it starts a whole new debate about requirements, i'm well aware that the RAM is technically insufficient, however for my needs it is plenty. And before anyone suggests that the reason it wont mount i because of RAM, the Microserver also only has 4GB RAM.

I have searched high and low for a solution to this, and the best information I have found is that simply FreeNAS (or should i say FreeBSD) has an issue with Nvidia chipsets - i have seen that many people seem to be using Nvidia chipsets so I am a little confused as to why i am having issues. Never the less, none of the information i have found about the issues with nForce chipsets actually provide any great level of detail as to the reason for the problem nor a solution.

I am at the mercy of the FreeNAS gods, i really want to get this going. Any help or guidance you can offer would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance :)

 

[Ericloewe]

Before it starts a whole new debate about requirements, i'm well aware that the RAM is technically insufficient, however for my needs it is plenty. And before anyone suggests that the reason it wont mount i because of RAM, the Microserver also only has 4GB RAM.

And that is supposed to invalidate the minimum requirements? They're called minimum requirements for a reason, and the reason is not a conspiracy by DRAM manufacturers.

I have searched high and low for a solution to this, and the best information I have found is that simply FreeNAS (or should i say FreeBSD) has an issue with Nvidia chipsets - i have seen that many people seem to be using Nvidia chipsets so I am a little confused as to why i am having issues. Never the less, none of the information i have found about the issues with nForce chipsets actually provide any great level of detail as to the reason for the problem nor a solution.

Nvidia chipsets are easily the worst choice (excluding VIA chipsets, but few people show up here with Pentium 4s) you could make for any system. They're unreliable, very badly supported and only exist on outdated hardware.

 

[Gummibear1986]

And that is supposed to invalidate the minimum requirements? They're called minimum requirements for a reason, and the reason is not a conspiracy by DRAM manufacturers.



Nvidia chipsets are easily the worst choice (excluding VIA chipsets, but few people show up here with Pentium 4s) you could make for any system. They're unreliable, very badly supported and only exist on outdated hardware.

Hi

I'm not saying that it invalidates the minimum requirements nor that there is a conspiracy, i just saying that for my purposes 4GB seems to be sufficient, and i accept any problems which may occur from not meeting these requirements. As i said, the Microserver seems to work flawlessly despite not meeting this minimum requirements.
I've seen so many posts and debates about the minimum RAM required, but i didnt see any sense in flogging a dead horse. It has been covered many many times before and i just didnt want it to become the focus of this thread.

The issue I have is with the nForce chipset, and i am hoping for other people who may have experienced similar problems to share thier experiences and any possible fixes/solutions. I appreciate that Nvidia chipsets aren't great, but I am trying to recycle hardware that I already have as opposed to going out and buying new for what is serving occasional requests.

 

[Fraoch]

I don't mean any offense here, but:

i have seen that many people seem to be using Nvidia chipsets

Really?!?

I don't mean this to run you down or anything - you asked how to make this work and I am giving this to you honestly. Don't try to run modern FreeNAS on an nForce chipset. At the very least, if you do, you'll be on your own, because (probably) no one will have experience with it, because it really just will not work.

The whole 4 GB RAM thing is a minor issue compared to this.

 

[cyberjock]

Before it starts a whole new debate about requirements, i'm well aware that the RAM is technically insufficient, however for my needs it is plenty. And before anyone suggests that the reason it wont mount i because of RAM, the Microserver also only has 4GB RAM.

So fscking what?!

So let me get this straight. You know that we recommend 8GB of RAM minimum for stability. You know that without 8GB of RAM people can (and have) suddenly lost all of their data for no reason whatsoever. You knew we were going to make a recommendation you are going to ignore, so why are you asking for our recommendations? You've made it clear, based on your decisions already, that we should be ignored. So why are you even posting!? Why would any of us provide any kind of time on you when you have already made it very clear our advice isn't worthy to be followed.

We don't care what your other system does. We know, from years of observation and experience, that the minimums we set ensure a consistent and stable environment for FreeNAS. Anything less and you stand a very high risk of having random problem. Gee, you are having a random problem. Anyone think there may be a link?

Frankly, I'm a bit tired of people like you that come in here, tell us you don't have the minimum, then try to argue with us that the minimum is okay because your other system works fine. That doesn't prove a damn thing to anyone here that has experience with FreeNAS. We've seen people that were stable on 2GB and others that weren't with 6GB. We already know, through lots of experimenting, observation, and trial and error, that 8GB of RAM is required for proper operation of FreeNAS at the most basic level. So why should I care what your other system does? We know that the experience with FreeNAS with less than 8GB of RAM is, at best, inconsistent.

I'm not saying that it invalidates the minimum requirements nor that there is a conspiracy, i just saying that for my purposes 4GB seems to be sufficient, and i accept any problems which may occur from not meeting these requirements.

Yet you posted anyway. To put this back in your lap...

You seem to need help, and you aren't accepting your problems because you are asking a bunch of us, that are unpaid volunteers, to try to help you. (Sound familiar at all?)

We've already tried to help you by spending our time on documentation that correctly recommends 8GB of RAM. You've already rejected that advice and, apparently, feel that we owe you something more than that.

Sorry, we don't.

And I won't even discuss the whole nvidia nforce chip on FreeBSD argument, but since we already know that without 8GB of RAM the OS is unstable and inconsistent in its behavior, how the hell are we ever supposed to rule out what is to blame on the nforce chip and what is due to RAM when you've got two very solid reasons for <insert-whatever-behavior-you-don't-like> is happening?

It's not a coincidence that nobody here has added any value to you with regards to solving your problem. They all read the first post and said "not worth my time... where's that damn ignore button?"