pfSense not recognized on boot drive after successful (?) installation
-
Hello!
Im a new user currently trying to install pfsense to use in a home setting and mess around with it but I am having some issues installing it on my old Razer Blade. I am able to install (seemingly) without an issue with a usb drive, but upon trying to boot to the actual target hard drive on the laptop I get an error telling me to reboot with a proper boot device.
I do not think this is relevant but the only different reaction that I have been able to get out of the computer so far is when I leave the USB boot drive installed. The boot order will cycle to the USB stick but it will boot in a different resolution than it does when trying to boot to that drive manually for normal installation attempts.
Initially the target drive in the laptop wouldn't even show up on the boot list but I was able to correct this by enabling CSM. I am now stuck on this issue. I have tried to reinstall pfsense using GPT, BDS, and MBR with no different results. I even attempted to switch between AHCI and IDE on the BIOS on each installation to test but with no success. I have also tried to use a different usb stick for installation. I have considered testing with an external hard drive but there is a logistical issue that prevents me from doing that currently and that would only be a temporary solution.
A little lost at what else I can attempt to try and get the software working on my current hardware. Any suggestions are appreciated.
The Model # for my laptop is: Razer RZ09-01302E41
-
These kinds of installation issues are quite rare.
I'm not sure we have enough information to precisely tell you the problem or how to fix it, but maybe we can start to work it out.
FreeBSD (and thus pfSense) can boot using UEFI since FreeBSD 10.1, however, depending on the BIOS/UEFI in your laptop it might help to enable CSM (Compatibility Support Module) to allow booting in legacy BIOS mode. CSM enabled should generally be the most safe option (my experience).
Regarding AHCI or IDE this is mostly to do with your SATA ports, but may affect USB drives aswell. AHCI mode should be default, IDE being legacy mode for very many years now.
Installation to USB drives is generally a bad idea, since the controllers and NAND chips on USB drives are not really geared for that kind of workload. You should REALLY consider installation to a small SSD or even a Harddrive. At least to work out if the issue is related to the one or more USB drives, that you have attempted to use.
