2.4.0 does not boot without Monitor

Mufflon

Hi,
I know; there are already reported but relating to that top. However, I suggest that this is a new bug:

I recently updated to 2.4.0 and from this point I got the following problem:
Pfsense only boots in case of a plugged in (HDMI) monitor.
Whenever I try to start the machine without a monitor the system seems to remain in a "pre-boot" state.
I also waited for a couple of minutes, but it does not work.
This problem did not arise until the update :-/

Unfortunately, I also lost a previous backup… :-X ;D

Regards from Germany

Toby

Derelict

What hardware?

Can you post hardware specs and other info?

It's a bit like saying my car won't start - what's wrong with it!

Mufflon

Oh, sorry . Forgot this.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6600 CPU. I use a shuttle xpc dh170.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6600 CPU @ 3.30GHz

Current: 3300 MHz, Max: 3301 MHz

4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)

AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (active)

Bios is up to date.

Do you need any more information?

Derelict

Unfortunately, that will probably need to be dealt with on the bios/uefi side. What did you upgrade from? If 2.3.4 that did not support UEFI at all. Perhaps there's a "legacy bios mode" or something on that hardware that might fix that. pfSense/FreeBSD does not care if there is a monitor connected or not, as long as there is a console presented it can attach to.

Mufflon

the previews version was 2.3.4-p1
So, you suggest that it is a hardware problem of my device?
But why did this problem arise recently (and not for the 2.3.4 version)?

Accordingly, UEFI should be enabled/disabled?

(sorry, I still just don't it)

Derelict

FreeBSD 11.1 supports UEFI. FreeBSD 10.3 did not.

It is really hard to say. If you can't boot now (without a monitor connected) I would suggest trying to disable UEFI and trying again.

Mufflon

okay!
This did not lead to a solution.

Mayby, me description was a bit missleading, because the machine itself boots, but not pfsense.

I try to describe the problem in detail:
After the update from 2.3.4-p1 to 2.4.0 the system only starts in case of a plugged-in monitor.
In case of an unplugged monitor the system does not start or does not start pfsense (the machine itself starts!)
Accordingly, I can not access pfsense to get any logs and other info (plugging in the the monitor has not effect, of course)

In this case, I have to plugin the monitor and re-boot the machine. Now, pfsense boots and everything works fine.

To sum up: the machine starts, but not pfsense, in the case of an unplugged monitor.

According to UEFI:
I disabled it, but then I get the message that there is no boot option.

Derelict

Then pfSense/FreeBSD does not have a console to attach to. It is up to the host system to present one.

You are trying to use a system designed for digital signage as a firewall. It is going to be difficult to diagnose if the only available output is to the console and you are having trouble booting without a console.

You might try seeing if it will boot if you change the console to serial in System > Advanced.

Mufflon

okay…

This is the actual setup... and it does not work

https://picload.org/view/dgipwrpl/options.png.html

Derelict

Sorry. That's all I can suggest. Maybe someone else will chime in with other suggestions on that hardware.

Mufflon

Ok… solved it.
There was a very recent (yesterday) bios update.
Now it works perfect.

However, many thanks for assisting me.

So not a bug in pfSense then… hmm, how unusual... not. ::)

Bleupomme

This just happened to me too on a shuttle XPC:

Updated the BIOS, but this did not solve the problem
Brute forced BIOS settings
-> by disabling the Serial ports the computer boots normally

Does pfsense 2.4 default to Serial and wait for some sort of connection when there is no monitor?

My two cents…

No, nothing to do with pfSense.

kpa

The console initialization is the BIOS/UEFI's job, the FreeBSD boot code that looks for a usable VGA/UEFI console blindly trusts what it's told about the hardware, if there is no console present it will not try to use one nor will it fall back to serial console on its own.

Breezelaters

@Bleupomme:

This just happened to me too on a shuttle XPC:

Updated the BIOS, but this did not solve the problem

Brute forced BIOS settings
-> by disabling the Serial ports the computer boots normally

Does pfsense 2.4 default to Serial and wait for some sort of connection when there is no monitor?

My two cents…

This fixed my firewall not booting after upgrading to 2.4 for me on a Shuttle DH110 mini PC. Disabling the serial ports allowed it to boot without a monitor attached to the HDMI port. Thank you!

The only way pfSense could be perhaps invited, could be that someone is taking the false image, not matching
or according to his hardware, otherwise it is often related to the hardware or BIOS of this hardware.

pfSense-CE-memstick-serial-2.4.1-RELEASE-arch.img.gz USB memstick installer (Serial Console)
pfSense-CE-memstick-2.4.1-RELEASE-arch.img.gz USB memstick installer (VGA Console)

pfSense-CE-2.3.5-RELEASE-size-arch-nanobsd.img.gz NanoBSD/embedded (Serial Console)
pfSense-CE-2.3.5-RELEASE-size-arch-nanobsd_vga.img.gz NanoBSD/embedded (VGA Console)

Kenni

@Breezelaters:

@Bleupomme:

This just happened to me too on a shuttle XPC:

Updated the BIOS, but this did not solve the problem

Brute forced BIOS settings
-> by disabling the Serial ports the computer boots normally

Does pfsense 2.4 default to Serial and wait for some sort of connection when there is no monitor?

My two cents…

This fixed my firewall not booting after upgrading to 2.4 for me on a Shuttle DH110 mini PC. Disabling the serial ports allowed it to boot without a monitor attached to the HDMI port. Thank you!

+1 :)

Thank you so much, there are definitely some compatibility issues with Shuttle PCs and pfSense 2.4…I'm using a Shuttle DS77U with latest v1.05 BIOS, a clean install of pfSense 2.4.2 (with ZFS), and the BIOS configured for legacy boot (no UEFI).

Everything was working perfectly fine when connected to a screen through HDMI, but once I disconnected the screen, the system never booted to a working state. Disabling the two serial ports in BIOS did indeed fix the issue.

I don't know when pfSense/FreeBSD starts catching ACPI calls (like when you press the power button), but I did notice that when the system wasn't able to boot, a click on the power button resulted in an instant (hard) shutdown. When the system booted successfully, a click on the power button would result in the OS catching the ACPI call and initiated a proper shutdown. Eg. I assume it starts to respond to such ACPI calls briefly after the kernel has initiated, so it could seem like the kernel never took off. I don't have time for further debugging of the issue at the moment, unfortunately, so this workaround will have to do for now.

NRgia

One of the machines is a Shuttle XH110. The same issue happens. And I use the same workaround.

The idea is, I want to use a nullmodem serial cable + usb adaptor to connect to the system, in order to be able to update BIOS, or see errors, without attaching a monitor, keyboard.

I mean, why have a serial console if we can't use it.

From the comments above I see that there is no agreement on where the root cause is, Free-BSD or Shuttle BIOS.

Can anybody help further?