Trouble "installing" with 2.3.3 installer downloaded March 21

jamesonp

If you want an installer use the CD image installer and write it to the USB drive with Rufus.

LilJohn

@jamesonp:

If you want an installer use the CD image installer and write it to the USB drive with Rufus.

Rufus does not like the CD ISO at all.

From this download page:
https://www.pfsense.org/download/

I select:
File Type: Install
Architecture: AMD (64-bit)
Platform: USB Memstick Installer
Console: VGA

This results in a file:
pfSense-CE-memstick-2.3.3-RELEASE-amd64.img

Using rufus on the above file works but results in my original post issue. It isn't an installer like I would expect but a "runner".

If I change Platform from USB Memstick Installer to CD IMAGE (ISO) Installer, I get a file:
pfSense-CE-2.3.3-RELEASE-amd64.iso

If I select the above ISO with rufus, I get:
"This image is either non-bootable, or it uses a boot or compression method that is not supported by Rufus…"

Supay

The memstick option is an installer still. You just select multiuser and let it boot then install from there. If it can't even get past that initial load and USB is dying, I'd say that something is possibly faulty with your hardware setup or you are using something which BSD is lacking support for. What are you using?

LilJohn

@Supay:

The memstick option is an installer still. You just select multiuser and let it boot then install from there. If it can't even get past that initial load and USB is dying, I'd say that something is possibly faulty with your hardware setup or you are using something which BSD is lacking support for. What are you using?

The hardware is as follows:
CPU : Intel i5-4570S 4/4 65W
Motherboard : SuperMicro MBD-X10SLV-Q-O has two Intel Gigabit Lan Ports
16Gb RAM

Plus an Intel X550 card added in. I also have an Intel 530(???) SSD in 2.5" size waiting for pfSense.

I will give the MultiUser a try and see what happens.

LilJohn

Multi User option from menu presented in original post was tried.

It does exactly as stated. It freezes when it goes past uart0 and uart1. The "laser" in my mouse goes out.

At no point do I get the option of "install".

The equipment in previous post was running Windows 7 for a solid 2 years with no issues so I may be fighting a pfSense compatibility issue.

Keyser Soze

Try setting your bios to boot to legacy and not UEFI mode.

LilJohn

@Keyser:

Try setting your bios to boot to legacy and not UEFI mode.

Will try this in a bit.

It is currently still trying to push through the UARTs… It is now to a uart4 so some progress. It is just VERY slow progress :p

LilJohn

Sadly, I'm not finding the option to boot to legacy.

I was able to burn the ISO to a disc and try booting it.

Just like the other image, it starts with:
1) Boot Multi User
2) Boot Single User
3) Escape to loader prompt
4) Reboot

After selecting "Boot Multi User", it stalls out at uart1… and probably just like the other "installer", it will slowly go through them and accomplish exactly nothing in 30 hours.

So I am now back to the question of "where do I get the option to install"? Not once since I started this thread with various downloads have I ever seen the word install when running something I downloaded.

This is beyond frustrating since I now have my fiber connection that I need to start locking down/learning.

heper

its a hardware issue (compatibility or failure)
disable every useless feature you can in your bios & disable UEFI.

if none of the above work, try 2.4-Beta, its equipped to handle the mess that is UEFI

LilJohn

@heper:

its a hardware issue (compatibility or failure)
disable every useless feature you can in your bios & disable UEFI.

if none of the above work, try 2.4-Beta, its equipped to handle the mess that is UEFI

Do you think the Intel X550-T2 network card would cause an issue?

I tried to do a search and didn't find much of a mention of the card except for my two posts.

Blade Runner

Please list all actions prior to burning img/ISO.

I downloaded both versions, extracted img/ISO, and burned to USB jump drive and CD without issues.

LilJohn

@Blade:

Please list all actions prior to burning img/ISO.

I downloaded both versions, extracted img/ISO, and burned to USB jump drive and CD without issues.

I believe my media is in good shape and working as developers expected. I was expecting first prompt to include something like "Install pfSense" instead of the single user/multi user menu choices.

I used the ISO in a Hyper V VM and it appears to be good and went through the single user/multi user and eventually ended up in some install related steps.

It appears I may be fighting hardware issues now.

LilJohn

I thought I'd bring this back up to for the final resolution for this.

I tried a 2.4 snapshot and it froze up same as before. I was never able to find a legacy vs UEFI switch.

I turned off a bunch of the hardware in the BIOS and was able to get to the installation process. Most of what I turned off was serial port related.