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    clean install of 2.7.2 fails to boot

    Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • M
      mMerlin
      last edited by

      I am trying to do a clean install of version 2.7.2 to an XCY 4 lan NUC box. The install seems to go ok, but freezes on reboot. The last displayed line on the console is 'Mask….
      If there are some logs that might be useful to track the issue, can you point to where they would be stored? I can boot from a non pfsense live boot usb stick to get access to the system.

      I previously had a clean install of 2.7.0 working. Something messed up trying to upgrade to 2.7.1. A clean install of 2.7.1 failed as above. I managed to reinstall 2.7.0, though update and package areas looked and acted strange. After the 2.7.2 install fail, I tried to go back to 2.7.0 again, but have been unable to find the sequence that lets me install packages. Keep getting an error retrieving the package information.

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      • S
        SteveITS Rebel Alliance @mMerlin
        last edited by

        @mMerlin pretty sure there was a similar description in the last month or two…are you restoring a configuration that has video/serial set?
        https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/troubleshooting/boot-issues.html#booting-with-an-alternate-console

        Re packages, not sure you can select a 2.7.0 branch anymore…however also see the note in the 2.7.0 release notes: https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/2-7-1.html#troubleshooting

        Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
        When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
        Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

        M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M
          mMerlin @SteveITS
          last edited by

          @SteveITS No restore attempted. This is a clean, bare metal install without reference to any existing xml file. After install it fails to boot. I am used hdmi and usb keyboard console.

          Only looking a package install for previous version, because new version not fully installing. I saw those warnings about version mismatch. I do not even get the choice to try. No packages are available to download. Error retrieving package information.

          Attempting to update the 2.7.0 install from the console gets errors that:

          • not possible to determine pkg remote version (3x)
          • error occurred fetching package (8x)
          • no meta file (2x)

          Those problems could be related. If it can not get updates, it probably can not get packages either. I DO have internet connectivity (IPv4 only). I can connect to web sites using devices on the LAN interface.

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          • M
            mMerlin @mMerlin
            last edited by

            Additional information.

            • A clean, bare metal install of version 2.7.2 locks up on the initial reboot after install.

            • Installing 2.7.0, then doing minimal configuration from the console, and attempting to update from the web configurator fails.

            • Doing some configuration in the web configurator for 2.7.0, followed by an attempt to update from the console (or ssh) fails

            • Doing a bare metal of install of version 2.7.0, doing initial configuration from the console AND running update from the console (before loading the web configurator) … WORKED

            After the upgrade to 2.7.2, and the needed reboots, packages are available to install in web configurator.

            There is some problem here, but I have a work around to get past it.

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            • M
              mMerlin @mMerlin
              last edited by

              Continuing the chain.

              After I had 2.7.2 working, I found a problem with the way I had it configured. To start over, I did a reset to factory. However after that the system is not booting. The symptom looks the same as what I got for a bare metal install of version 2.7.2. It gets up to the 'mask' line then freezes. Time to do the full install from 2.7.0 again, then upgrade to 2.7.2, and make sure not to do a reset to factory again. Hopefully back to xml and restore work better.

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                It sounds like an EFI console issue.

                You might try escaping to the loader prompt fro the menu and just running boot there. That can pass similar issues when booting from the installer:
                https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/15074

                Steve

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                • M
                  mMerlin @stephenw10
                  last edited by

                  @stephenw10
                  That's it. The referenced issue had a usable work around. 2.7.1 and 2.7.2 'need' to have a serial port active to successfully boot UEFI (without some tweak at least).

                  This is a hardware appliance. Since I was not using the serial console, I had the serial port disabled in the BIOS. Enabling that let the system boot.

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Ah nice. Interesting. I'll pass that to our devs who are looking at it. 👍

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                    • M
                      mMerlin @stephenw10
                      last edited by

                      @stephenw10 said in clean install of 2.7.2 fails to boot:

                      Ah nice. Interesting. I'll pass that to our devs who are looking at it. 👍

                      It turns out that is not quite enough. That got past the existing boot freeze, but I decided to start over with a clean bare metal install from the 2.7.2 iso. Even with the serial port enabled, I was getting the freeze on boot. Following the other instructions on the issue are getting past that, but it is needed on every boot. Good thing I do not expect to need a reboot very often once I get the configuration set up.

                      Catch the initial boot menu (7). Enable verbose (5), turn off verbose (5), exit to the main menu (1) normal multi user boot (1)

                      7 5 5 1 1

                      It seems to need something 'bumped' in the boot. Other variations have worked, but not always. It is not just a simple delay either. 7 «wait» 1 1 fails.

                      S M 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S
                        SteveITS Rebel Alliance @mMerlin
                        last edited by

                        @mMerlin said in clean install of 2.7.2 fails to boot:

                        needed on every boot

                        There, I finally placed where I'd seen the "mask" message:

                        https://forum.netgate.com/topic/184214/not-booting-after-upgrade-or-clean-install-to-ce-2-7-1
                        "For some reason only booting with Verbose-ON works"

                        Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                        When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
                        Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • M
                          mMerlin @mMerlin
                          last edited by

                          I found a better fix for my specific environment.

                          I changed the BIOS settings on the XCY hardware box to turn off UEFI, then did another clean install of pfsense version 2.7.2 specifying MBR instead of GPT. With a full 'legacy' install, the boot process now runs to completion without any manual intervention.

                          I went that path because all of the information I saw here was referencing UEFI.

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                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            Yes it is entirely in the uefi console. If you're able to boot legacy instead that avoids it.

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                            • B
                              bobsuruncle @stephenw10
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10 I am having this issue as well with a bare metal install with 2.7.2-relesase. It started after upgrading from 2.6. In my bios I noticed I have options for: windows 7 UEFI, windows 8 UEFI, windows 7 legacy, windows 8 legacy. Any clue on which of the "legacy's" I should choose? Also, will I need to reinstall or would a simple bios change fix it?

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                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                You would probably need to re-install after changing the boot type so the correct loader gets added. I've no idea what the difference between Win7or8 would be. It probably makes no difference for pfSense(FreeBSD).

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                                • B
                                  bobsuruncle @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10 i changed the bios to "legacy win 7" as opposed to uefi and rebooted. Pfsense booted as normal and hung at the same area that is related to this defect. I then booted a usb installer and reinstalled. One item I noticed was that the installer defaulted to gpt and I had to change it to mbr. You would think it would choose mbr for a non eufi bios. After the install, the work around appears to be working. Thanks for your help.

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                                  • A
                                    asage
                                    last edited by

                                    I had the same exact issue with my box. First couldn't update to 2.7.2 from 2.7.0 due to a bug with cert hashes. Had to run certctl rehash to update then after the update it wouldn't boot with no real error message. Luckily I stumbled on this thread. I was surprised to find that indeed using boot menu options 7 5 5 1 1 booted fine, but as they said above it's an every boot thing. My Lenovo M90q doesn't have a serial port so I attached a USB serial port which didn't do anything. In the end I updated my BIOS and it boots right up every time. Must be a UEFI bug that was patched.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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