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    Error updating EFI loader - not a size issue

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • H
      henkx
      last edited by

      Hello
      I run into similar error during upgrade of my pfsense box from 2.7.1 to 2.7.2
      9e3412fb-7c44-40df-9a83-e0b3c9bebff4-image.png

      However my efi/boot partition is large enough
      8c18e5df-b41a-4ff6-9132-afc9013bd2a7-image.png

      So the cause of the error is due to something else, could someone point me in the right direction.

      Kind regards
      Henk

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • jimpJ
        jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
        last edited by

        Since this is different I split it off from the other thread.

        If the partition is large enough it's possible there is some other problem there. Try running a filesystem check on that partition:

        # umount /boot/efi
        # fsck_msdosfs -fy /dev/gpt/efiboot0
        # mount /boot/efi
        

        If that doesn't find any problems, see what else is already in that directory, it should look like this:

        # ls -l /boot/efi/efi/boot/
        total 656
        -rwxr-xr-x  1 root wheel 657920 Dec 12 20:36 bootx64.efi
        

        And see what other files are on that partition:

        # find /boot/efi/
        /boot/efi/
        /boot/efi/efi
        /boot/efi/efi/freebsd
        /boot/efi/efi/freebsd/loader.efi
        /boot/efi/efi/boot
        /boot/efi/efi/boot/bootx64.efi
        

        Now repeat those same two commands after unmounting /boot/efi to make sure something didn't copy those files "under" the mountpoint when /boot/efi wasn't mounted:

        # umount /boot/efi
        # ls -l /boot/efi/efi/boot/
        ls: /boot/efi/efi/boot/: No such file or directory
        # find /boot/efi/
        /boot/efi/
        # mount /boot/efi
        

        If your output differs from above, it may be necessary to do some manual cleanup. Similar to the other thread but not identical.

        Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

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        • H
          henkx
          last edited by

          Hello Jimp,
          thanks for the above information.
          I ran the filesystem check on /boot/efi, result the partition is OK.

          When the efiboot partiton is

          • NOT mounted, the folder /boot/efi is empty
          • mounted the folder /boot/efi contains:/boot/efi/
            /boot/efi/efi
            /boot/efi/efi/freebsd
            /boot/efi/efi/freebsd/loader.efi
            /boot/efi/efi/boot
            /boot/efi/efi/boot/bootx64.efi

          which are the same as you showed.
          So it is unclear to me why the boot-partition can not be updated.
          I have the utility beadm installed on the box, could that be aproblem? I don't see why, if so can yoy briefly clarify.

          Kind regards Henk

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • jimpJ
            jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
            last edited by

            Something like beadm shouldn't interfere with anything since that would only affect ZFS, and the EFI partition is DOS.

            If the output of all that is OK and the package still won't update, I'm not sure what you might be hitting. There is a small possibility it's the disk itself but that seems unlikely.

            Maybe make sure you do not have any installation media plugged in while performing the upgrade (memstick, ISO image/disc, etc).

            If that isn't what happened, you could try reformatting the EFI partition to see if it helps. The following commands do that and also clean up the EFI dir in case there is something there that isn't showing in the commands you ran for some reason.

            # mkdir -p /tmp/efitmp
            # cp -Rp /boot/efi/* /tmp/efitmp
            # umount /boot/efi
            # rm -rf /boot/efi
            # mkdir -p /boot/efi
            # newfs_msdos -F 32 -c 1 -L EFISYS /dev/gpt/efiboot0
            # mount_msdosfs /dev/gpt/efiboot0 /boot/efi
            # cp -Rp /tmp/efitmp/* /boot/efi/
            

            The usual disclaimers apply there.

            If all else fails, you may have to reinstall.

            Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

            Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

            Do not Chat/PM for help!

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            • H
              henkx
              last edited by

              Hello Jimp,
              thanks again for your swift and helpfull response.
              I also though beadm wouldn't cause the problem due to your mentioned reason.
              Could it be the drive as I amusing an Intel Optane drive 16GB? I would find that strange as I did manage to install pfsense 7.2.1 on the drive with the current boot sector.

              Kind regards Henk

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • jimpJ
                jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                last edited by

                I wouldn't expect that to be an issue if it installed there but I'm not sure if there might be something about that drive that may not work as expected.

                For example sometimes when an SSD is failing one of the symptoms is that you can read from it but not write in certain areas. This could be a similar problem.

                Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

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                Do not Chat/PM for help!

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • H
                  henkx
                  last edited by

                  Hello Jimp,
                  I want to let you know I solved the problem and it now writes the boot record and succesully finished the upgrade to 2.7.2
                  The problem was not an install media that was connected but an 2nd ssd with pfsens installation (which of course also contains a EFI boot partition). I disconnected it and voila.

                  Thanks again for your help.
                  Kind regards Henk

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                  • jimpJ
                    jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                    last edited by

                    If you want to keep the other disk connected you could wipe the metadata from the disk as described in the documentation:

                    https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/troubleshooting/multiple-disks.html

                    However, if it's not needed it's probably best to disconnect/remove it as you have done.

                    Remember: Upvote with the ๐Ÿ‘ button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                    Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                    Do not Chat/PM for help!

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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