Trouble installing PFSense on Soekris 6501-70
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Oh, OK. Nevermind then.
I was just reffering to this:
@tom-28:Let the system upgrade itself to 2.2.2 and that build was being reported as 8.3.
Failing to reboot is usually the cause when you see that.
Steve
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I have the same problem on Soekris
1 Seconds to automatic boot. Press Ctrl-P for entering Monitor. F1 pfSense F6 PXE Boot: F1
Then it reboots. Release 2.2.2 too.
Additionally at installation I see a crippled boot menu.
First I see this
nsSeconds to automatic boot. Press Ctrl-P for entering Monitor. onboooott//ccoonnffiigg:: --SS111155220000 --DD
Then the cursor jumps around untill it finally draws something like a boot menu but it's unreadable
+ e + W | | | | . ] | B | . r | B | . t | [ | . t | R | | | | : | O | . ) | [ | . . | C | | | | | | | | | + + + \ H- \ey24:0 8086 8185 06040000 0107 0010 08 00 01 3FFF2000 A2FFA100 11 ke25:0 8086 8180 06040000 0107 0010 08 00 01 5FFF4000 A4FFA300 05 /k26:0 8086 8181 06040000 0107 0010 08 00 01 0FFF1000 00FFA000 09 [/code] The numbers are remains of the soekris bios output the rest has been drawn by the boot menu I set the soekris console speed to 115200 and after boot from install USB I see normal output, just the menu is totally crippled and I have to use trial and error to select the right option. Once on harddisk however it does not boot anymore, I tried easy and advanced install and standard or modified kernel, nothing works. This is not my first pfsense I installed on soekris but the first one that does not boot after install on harddisk.
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I'm having the same difficulty on a 6501-30.
I installed just fine, but can't boot afterward.
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So, I was able to install 2.1.5, and then upgrade to 2.2.2.
That's strange. Anyone able to venture a guess as to why? -
Hmm, the boot loader in 2.2 somehow incompatible? Seems odd though.
Steve
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Hope it helps: I am running a net6501-70 with pfSense 2.2.2 i386 nanoBSD on a compact flash card.
I marched the whole upgrade path: 2.1.5 -> 2.2 -> 2.2.1 -> 2.2.2, no experience so far with a fresh installation. Luckily I never had a reboot issue.
Peter
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Adding another data point, I see the same issue only with a fresh 2.2 install on my net6501. I installed 2.1.x and then upgraded and it runs fine that way, probably not worth the effort tracking it down further at the moment. There are some installer changes happening for 2.3 that might make for an interesting test once they materialize in full.
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May want to add an installation note somewhere in the official documentation at doc.pfsense.org for the Soekris installs out there.
We know it affects the 6501-30 and 70 whatever jimp has.
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Has anyone tried a NanoBSD install to see if that works? Or if it's just a full install?
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I've got a net6501-50 running 2.2.2-nano-i386 off USB.
As far as I remember, I just wrote nano to the stick and popped it in. The x64 build did not work.edit-the issue with x64 is the missing mptable support in the kernel (see http://wiki.soekris.info/Net6501_freebsd)
Should work with these additions-
device atpic # Optional legacy pic support
device mptable # Optional MPSPEC mptable support -
I just started having the same issue with a clean install on a Soerkis6501 using pfSense-CE-memstick-serial-2.3.1-RELEASE-i386.img from a USB to install pfSense 2.3.1 on a CF….
Any ideas? ??? -
I've loaded 2.3-i386 nano on a usb stick and just popped it in, works fine. Haven't tried 2.3.1, or an msata yet. (Hardware is 6501-50)
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I've loaded 2.3-i386 nano on a usb stick and just popped it in, works fine. Haven't tried 2.3.1, or an msata yet. (Hardware is 6501-50)
Yes, mine works too with USB stick however I want to use my CF since it I have it and it was working fine before…
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I had a net6501 back in for a little polishing up, so I did a few tests-
2.3.1-nano-i386 on a USB works fine.
Installing 2.3.1 to msata is still broken and won't boot.
2.1.5 appears to be the last version that would boot properly from msata on a net6501. You may be able to load 2.1.5 and upgrade- untested.
Others have reported success by installing the msata in a laptop, installing, then changing fstab and installing in the net6501- untested.
As this appears to be a quirk will Soekris hardware, I don't see this getting fixed unless someone figures it out and submits a reasonable patch.
I'm just going to run nano on mine. -
What I actually did and solved the problem was to install 2.1.5 from memstick to my CF, then use the web UI to upgrade directly to 2.3.1 and restored my config! :)
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Solution/Workaround:
I had the exact same continuous reset problem described in this thread. I found a solution/workaround allowing me to do a brand new install on my Soekris 6501 of pfSense version 2.3.1 using an mSATA drive as the storage.The workaround is to download the 4GB embedded version, and use Physdiskwrite to push the disk image to the mSATA drive (using PhysDiskWrite and an inexpensive USB mSATA adapter), just like the mSATA disk were a CF card. I'd have preferred to run the 'full' version, on this ample mSATA drive, but at least I'll keep this Rackmount Soekris employed for a few more years.
I would not hold your breath for a 'real' fix since this the 6501 doesn't appear to have been very popular. Also, don't bother buying an mSATA drive larger than 4GB. My 30GB Intel 525 runs a 4GB image just fine.
I hope this helps someone.
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I am running a 6501-70 still with version 2.2.6 nanoBSD (i386) on a 32 GB Transcend mSATA.
I did this installation after booting the pfSense-memstick-serial-2.2.6-RELEASE-i386.img.gz from a USB stick and fetching the nanoBSD image and gunzip it to mSATA on the fly. I had no reboot issues.
I am interested in the current state of pfSense 2.3.x with this hardware, because I am planing to make a full install on the same mSATA as soon as NUT package is ported to 2.3.x.
When scanning this thread, it's hard to see what is not working as expected. Have I got it right that full installations of versions 2..2.x and 2.3.x are affected only?
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I am just failing to boot a 2.2.6 or a 2.3.2 full installation (i386) on mSATA of my Soekris 6501-70. Though installation just goes fine my machine is caught in a boot cycle where right after the loader selecting
F1 pfSense
the machine straightly reboots.
I would like to install from the 2.1.5 memstick serial to subsequently upgrade to 2.3.2 but I am unable to find it. Could anybody please help me with the old version?
Update:
May be I should make a full installation to an 8 GB Sandisk Cruzer Fit. Will the USB stick be more sensitive to write operations than the mSATA or vice versa?Update2:
I am no longer looking for the 2.1.5 image und would like to give feedback: I have used the memstick-serial installer (version 2.3.2, i386) to install to an USB stick placed inside the Soekris case. This full installation starts just fine. -
Hi guys, did anybody report this to FreeBSD (hxxps://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/)? They might be able to resolve it.
I have the same issue on 6501-50 and it seems if affects 6501 in general. -
Did you try it with a vanilla FreeBSD install? It was my impression the issue was pfSense specific and not a FreeBSD problem.