Computer froze after installation

[Gertjan]

@Sengoku said in Computer froze after installation:

install pfSense on a brand new mini PC

Using the console /USB access ?
Using a HDMI (or VGA) screen ? In that case, before FreeBSD, or Linux, or Windows etc etc etc etc boots, you'll see BIOS messages on the screen. Even when there is no 'hard' (SSD) at all, you'll see messages.

Same thing for a console / USB access : you would see something on the console access that indicated that a 'disk/partition' is used / selected to boot into.

[Sengoku]

@Gertjan said in Computer froze after installation:

@Sengoku said in Computer froze after installation:

install pfSense on a brand new mini PC

Using the console /USB access ?
Using a HDMI (or VGA) screen ? In that case, before FreeBSD, or Linux, or Windows etc etc etc etc boots, you'll see BIOS messages on the screen. Even when there is no 'hard' (SSD) at all, you'll see messages.

Same thing for a console / USB access : you would see something on the console access that indicated that a 'disk/partition' is used / selected to boot into.

I went to go record a video of what happened after I push the power button on my PC to show it just displayed a black screen, and for the first time, it actually loaded pfSense. It brings me to the login prompt, but when I enter the default "admin/password" it says Login incorrect. Here's a picture of what my screen looks like:

What should I do from here with a login incorrect error?

[Gertjan]

@Sengoku

Ah, ok, get it.

At that moment, the system hasn't even fully booted the kernel yet.
The file system hasn't even loaded yet.

The config.xml is corrupted is identical to a Windows PC with a corrupted or missing registry : it's game over.

Re install.

[SteveITS]

@Sengoku said in Computer froze after installation:

when I enter the default "admin/password" it says Login incorrect

The default password is "pfsense" (but obviously your config file is toast)

[rcoleman-netgate]

@SteveITS said in Computer froze after installation:

The default password is "pfsense" (but obviously your config file is toast)

The boot login/password here is root/root I believe.

Worth noting: this is NOT a normal login to need/use

[stephenw10]

Yes, that's a failed boot. I would just reinstall clean from USB again so you are starting from a known good install.

Steve

[Sengoku]

Thanks, everyone, I managed to get pfSense reinstalled successfully. It turns out the reason I was getting a black screen that never went away is because my USB 3.0 devices were causing the issue for whatever reason. Kept having the problem, then as soon as I moved my USB 3.0 flash drive (pfSense install) to a 2.0 port, and removed my 3.0 mouse, it would give me a normal display. I assume the drivers maybe weren't supported by the pfSense box? I have new questions now that I've posted in the Wireless subforum, but I'll copy/paste it here as well:

"Hey everyone, so I was recently at the Pros v. Joes CTF at BSides in Vegas (my team won, yay!) and realized I need to understand pfSense better for the future. I have an existing Synology 2600ac router, with (2) Synology MR2200ac mesh routers. I've installed pfSense on a mini PC, and got to the point where it says to connect the WAN and had to push pause as I realized I got slightly ahead of myself. My mesh routers are hardwired (one goes all the way out to my pole barn, through 2 switches.) Would connecting pfSense be as simple as connecting the modem to one of the ethernet ports on my pfSense box, then connecting the pfSense (via ethernet) to one of the LAN ports on my existing main Synology 2600ac router, and expecting that the downstream mesh routers should still work fine? Despite being on the team winning the CTF, I was in no way doing the pfSense/firewall part, so I am not versed in this very much -- I was hunting rogue processes, subprocesses, disabling the script they had which created about 1,500+ admin users, etc. for 2 days (the red team had weeks in the systems before the CTF.)

In addition, I've had weird little finicky things happen with the mesh router in my pole barn before. For example, when I've had to reset the mesh router in the pole barn, I have had to physically bring it back inside, connect it directly (not through the 2 switches) to the main router, and then re-link it back up. Once I do that, I can bring it back out to the pole barn, connect the ethernet up (which has gone through 2 switches to get there) and then it works fine. I'm worried that this finicky part may get screwed up on my part with the addition of the pfSense box. Is this an unjustified concern?

I appreciate any help."

[stephenw10]

That depends on the capabilities of the main node of the mesh. Some of those devices can only work in mesh mode when running as a router. If you put it in a bridge mode to act as an access point only it may not. But that's what you want to do. If you just put pfSense in between the existing modem and router you will have, at least, two NAT translations on client traffic which should be avoided.

Steve

[Sengoku]

@stephenw10 said in Computer froze after installation:

That depends on the capabilities of the main node of the mesh. Some of those devices can only work in mesh mode when running as a router. If you put it in a bridge mode to act as an access point only it may not. But that's what you want to do. If you just put pfSense in between the existing modem and router you will have, at least, two NAT translations on client traffic which should be avoided.

Steve

Just to add to this in case anyone is ever searching and comes across it: I called Synology and they said that I should be able to plug the modem into the pfSense box, plug the ethernet from the pfSense into the WAN port of the Synology 2600ac, and then I should be able to manage the mesh routers (Synology 2200ac) from the Synology 2600ac controls, as well as use the functionality of pfSense.

I appreciate everyone's quick responses to my questions, thanks!

EDIT: After re-reading your response, I missed the part about the two NAT translations if just putting the pfSense in between the modem and router. What is the downside of this and is there any way to correct it? I think he said if I put the 2600ac (main router) in bridge mode, the mesh routers downstream wouldn't work correctly.

[stephenw10]

The downsides of double NAT are:
Much more complex to setup port forwards
UPnP cannot work
Traffic is still limited by the firewall and NAT capabilities of the other router. Sometimes that can be significantly limited for state table size etc.

Yes setting the main router in bridge mode is the way to remove that. Leaving only pfSense NATing the connection.

Steve