clean install of 2.7.2 fails to boot

mMerlin

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.

mMerlin

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.

stephenw10

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

mMerlin

@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.

stephenw10

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

mMerlin

@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.

SteveITS

@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"

mMerlin

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.

stephenw10

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

bobsuruncle

@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?

stephenw10

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).

bobsuruncle

@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.

asage

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.