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    Proventia MX1004 Guidance

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • D Offline
      Drekarg
      last edited by

      I know the password but I can't enter it.

      I was using 9600 baud rate to view the bios every other rate I entered produced unreadable characters or a blank screen.  I did not try as high as high as 115200 though so I will try that now.

      Thanks for the fast replies.

      Greg.

      Edit: A baud rate of 115200 gives me a blank screen.

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      • D Offline
        Drekarg
        last edited by

        Success! while I was trying the different baud rates again I tried a different CF card which started pf sense right away.

        However I still have no keyboard control to say yes to setting up the VLANS.

        IPconfig now shows 192.168.1.1 but I cannot connect to it via the browser.

        So close now can see it but not use it.

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        • stephenw10S Offline
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          Nice.  :)
          Where are you running ipconfig?
          It presumably lists the available interfaces about the VLAN question. One possibility is to pre-configure some interfaces so that you don't need to enter anything from the serial console. It would be a good idea to have a working serial console though.

          Steve

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          • D Offline
            Drekarg
            last edited by

            Running ipconfig from the command prompt.

            I've got different cables on the way so hopefully interchanging them will allow me to type in PuTTY and have a fully working serial console.

            Can the pre-configuration of the interfaces be done from within windows or on another unit running the CF card?

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            • stephenw10S Offline
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              I'm slightly confused. How are you running ipconfig if you can't type anything? Or is that on some downstream client? If so how come it's showing 192.168.1.1 which is the default LAN address?

              To preconfigure the interfaces you would have to mount the CF card, which is UFS, and edit the config.xml file. I would try to do that from a FreeBSD machine since it will mount UFS no problem. You could use a PC-BSD live CD.
              The is facility to do this built into pfSense known as 'pre flight install' however I'm not sure if it's in the Nano images.  :-\ Anyone?
              https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Booting_Options#Customizing_the_boot_environment

              Steve

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              • D Offline
                Drekarg
                last edited by

                I'm running ipconfig from the windows command prompt.

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                • D Offline
                  Drekarg
                  last edited by

                  Ok so it was the cables that were the problem. I have now installed pfsense on the on board 40gb HDD but now I'm stuck again.

                  I have said no to setting up vlans and have set my wan and LAN interfaces but get no IP address displayed to access the web GUI. When I manually set a gate way ip I still cannot access the GUI.

                  The only thing I know I'm doing wrong is on the wan side using the (dying) router my ISP provided without putting it in bridged mode. I don't want to mess with it to much as the firmware is in German and if wife and daughters lose there Internet my life will be hell.

                  Would this affect the LAN side? I have a draytac vigor 120 on the way I plan on using. Your help is much appreciated.

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                  • stephenw10S Offline
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    @Drekarg:

                    if wife and daughters lose there Internet my life will be hell.

                    ;D  Probably best avoid that then.

                    Did you accept the defaults for the LAN address? Did you set the WAN to DHCP? Is it receiving an IP address from the router? How are you trying to connect to the webgui, from where?

                    Steve

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                    • D Offline
                      Drekarg
                      last edited by

                      I modified the lan IP adress so it was not the same as the isp router.

                      wan is set to DHCP.

                      there is an ip displayed.

                      trying to load the web gui in chrome.

                      This is what I'm seeing.

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                      • pttP Offline
                        ptt Rebel Alliance
                        last edited by

                        @Drekarg:

                        I modified the lan IP adress so it was not the same as the isp router.

                        wan is set to DHCP.

                        there is an ip displayed.

                        Is the ISP router also on the 192.168.1.0/24 IP range ?

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                        • D Offline
                          Drekarg
                          last edited by

                          Yes 192.168.1.1/24 which is why I changed it.

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                          • pttP Offline
                            ptt Rebel Alliance
                            last edited by

                            You Can't have WAN & LAN on the same network segment…

                            Change your LAN to some like 192.168.2.1/24 ;)

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                            • D Offline
                              Drekarg
                              last edited by

                              Still does not work unfortunately, going to reinstall and try again.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • stephenw10S Offline
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                Are you seeing a link connection, LEDs light up etc?
                                Once you've changed the LAN to 192.168.2.1/24 as PTT suggested you should be able to connect.
                                Are you sure which port is msk2?

                                Steve

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                                • D Offline
                                  Drekarg
                                  last edited by

                                  Ok guys after the reinstall it's all working! Thank you so much for all your help.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • stephenw10S Offline
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by

                                    Excellent!  :)
                                    The msk driver supports a number of different NICs but some are liable to occasionally suffer a bug and stop sending traffic. If that happens you will see messages in the system logs 'mskX watchdog timeout', Rebooting will bring them back online but a permanent work-around is described here:
                                    https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/PfSense_on_Watchguard_Firebox#Known_Issues_2

                                    Steve

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                                    • I Offline
                                      ipnightly
                                      last edited by

                                      Just wondering what CF card you managed to install pfsense on ?

                                      I have tried several cards without much success, although I have booted pfsense from a USB stick and did an install to the hard drive, without too much bother.

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                                      • stephenw10S Offline
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by

                                        What image did you write to the cards? How did you write it? What was the result that lead you to believe it failed?

                                        Steve

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                                        • I Offline
                                          ipnightly
                                          last edited by

                                          I wrote the 2.1.5 4G nano image to 3 CF cards. ! Sandisk Ulta 4Gb and 2 Transcend 4Gb 133x. Booting the memstick image on a 4gb pendrive, was a delight.

                                          Using the CF, the box tries to boot okay but it is painfully slow. Once the config starts the "spinning line" changes position every couple of minutes!
                                          I did try booting from the USB pen drive with a view to doing an install in the same manner as I had already done to a 2.5" HDD in the same box. The result was much the same. Both drives were identified at boot and progress was slooooow.
                                          I gave up in the end and used the 2.5" HDD install that I had already completed and that I am currently using.

                                          I wrote all the images using physdiskwrite and after I have run diskpart to "clean" them.
                                          I had the Sandisk running in a WG X1000, but it was too noisy and used too much power ( well compared to the PIII laptop I was using and this MX1004.

                                          I am just using the box because of its low power requirements and thought with the CF they would be even lower and generate less heat also.

                                          I have a spare box, so I can try out any suggestions without any bother.

                                          Thanks.

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                                          • I Offline
                                            ipnightly
                                            last edited by

                                            A quick update.

                                            I found an old 512mb CF and installed a 512Mb nanobsd 2.1.2 on to it.
                                            The device booted no problem and had it up and running in minutes.

                                            Just need to find out if the image or the CF's are the problem.

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