Netgate APU4-30GB not booting properly

patrickCES

Web GUI does not come up, or I cannot ping after installing a package and it froze. Upon reboot, its in this state. I can get to the interface via Serial but no options work to factory reset it, load recent configurations, etc. The physical reboot button in front doesn't do anything either.

I keep getting the error attached 0_1537909193526_error.txt

What are my next options here? Is there a way to load defaults via USB or reinstall? I can't seem to find a viable solution at this point

stephenw10

Whilst it may be possible to recover from there I would re-install to be sure it's clean.

You can use this image on the APU:
https://nyifiles.pfsense.org/mirror/downloads/pfSense-CE-memstick-serial-2.4.4-RELEASE-amd64.img.gz

I recommend Etcher for writing that image to a USB drive.

If you do not have a backup of the config file you can choose to attempt to recover it during the install process.

Steve

patrickCES

Thank you! I was able to get this resolved by running the bootloader off the USB when plugged into the pfSense and ran the installer through the serial connection. Then, I unplugged the USB, and it booted successfully. If you keep the USB in, it kept trying to boot into that. Restored backup config and now in business

cmaxwell04

This post is deleted!

cmaxwell04

My problem is my APU4 is not booting up on its own . I was able to do a clean install of pfSense 2.4.4.
I had to press the reset button and insert the power cable at the same time to get the USB install started. I had to do the same thing after the install was completed to be able to log in to the Web GUI, so now that’s the sequence I have to do anytime I restart the APU4. It will not boot up on its own anymore. Is there a way to fix this boot issue?

Thanks
Cliff

stephenw10

Sounds like what you would see if the console was disabled in Coreboot:

The serial console can be disabled in BIOS setup if you need the serial port for an external device. To get the serial console back, please press the small pushbutton switch S1 while powering up the board. You can then change the setting in the BIOS.

https://pcengines.ch/ht_com.htm

Steve

cmaxwell04

Hi @stephenw10

Thanks for your help.
This is what I get

stephenw10

If the console is disabled it will be in Coreboot, the BIOS that runs on the APU. You would need to check that.

Steve

cmaxwell04

Here is my bios info from pfSense

BIOS
Vendor: coreboot
Version: SageBios_PCEngines_APU-45
Release Date: Sat Apr 5 2014

stephenw10

You need to use the BIOS setup, before pfSense loads, and check the console is not disabled there.

Steve

cmaxwell04

Sorry, but I’m not sure how to do that

stephenw10

Reboot the APU. Hit F10 to enter the boot menu before it boots pfSense from mSATA. Select option 2 [setup]

SeaBIOS (version rel-1.11.0.5-0-gd34c797)

Press F10 key now for boot menu

Select boot device:

1. AHCI/0: INTEL SSDMCEAC030B3 ATA-9 Hard-Disk (28626 MiBytes)
2. Payload [setup]
3. Payload [memtest]

Check that you have the console and UARTs enabled:

Booting from CBFS..
### PC Engines apu1 setup v4.6.9 ###
Boot order - type letter to move device to top.

  a USB 1 / USB 2 SS and HS 
  b SDCARD 
  c mSATA 
  d SATA 
  e mPCIe1 SATA1 and SATA2 
  f iPXE (disabled)


  r Restore boot order defaults
  n Network/PXE boot - Currently Disabled
  u USB boot - Currently Enabled
  t Serial console - Currently Enabled
  o UART C - Currently Enabled
  p UART D - Currently Enabled
  w Enable BIOS write protect - Currently Disabled
  x Exit setup without save
  s Save configuration and exit

Enable and save them if they're not.

Steve

cmaxwell04

Steve, thank you so much. My problem was the serial console. All is good again.

Thanks,
Cliff

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R Restore boot order defaults
N Network/PXE boot - Currently Enabled
S Serial console - Currently Disabled
E Exit setup with save
X Exit setup without save

stephenw10

No problem Cliff, glad you're back up and running normally.

Steve

Netgate APU4-30GB not booting properly

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