Install Pfsense on M.2 PCIe SSD
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I put together a MiniITX setup that has the capability to use an M.2 SSD. I am trying to install pfsense 2.2.4 on a Plextor M6e 128GB SSD with no luck. It seems that the pfsense installer cant 'see' the drive even though the bios is set to legacy only and the BIOS sees it. I am using an Asus Maximus VII Impact with Bios 2702 installed. I can install it to a SATA drive without issue. Does Pfsense support installations to PCIe based M.2 SSDs?
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If the M.2 is SATA it should just work. If it is NVME then the boot loader will not position itself properly for BSD kernel to load PfSense.
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The Plextor is not NVME it is an AHCI based PCIe SSD. It is not SATA based either.
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AHCI isn't supported on that board, check the HCL http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1150/Z97-A/New_SSD_List.pdf
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The board recognizes the drive just fine. What you linked is outdated information. It is seen in the BIOS just fine, its during the pfSense installation that the problem occurs. It seems that pfSense cannot reconize a PCIe SSD.
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Reading words would be your friend here. The list is linked to is the current list of supported devices. A bios listing a device as present and a bios being able to bootstrap the device. That's why these lists are made, so that people don't buy incompatible hardware and they try to find ways to make it work.
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My friend, I can read words just fine and your link is for SATA based 2.5" drives–ANY 2.5" SATA based drive will work. I had to substitute one that was NOT on your list you linked to make pfsense work. That is NOT my question, my question was whether any installation is possible on PCIe-based M.2 SSDs. Please review my original post to avoid any further confusion.
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Sigh. What he's telling you that when something's incompatible with your MB, it doesn't exactly matter how much it's compatible with the OS you are trying to install. When the MB cannot boot from a device, then it won't work. Doesn't matter how's it "recognized". But I guess this is just hopeless effort. Good luck.
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What is the output of
dmesg
pciconf -lv -
It is not incompatible with the motherboard as I have run Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint with the same set up without an issue. My question is simple, does pfsense support installations on m.2 PCIe-based SSDs?