netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder

[Clouseau]

There is something wrong in ISO image download. I need ISO file to virtual machine, but gz -package has inside only a folder called netgate-installer-amd64.iso, not ISO file that can be mounted.

I think this case is installation related issue.

[Gertjan]

@Clouseau

The current ISO installs the installer.
Run - boot into - the installer. From there on you're guided to the final install, a bit as before. See the official Netgate pfSense documentation.
The actual files (most current!) will get downloaded and put into place at that moment.

[Clouseau]

@Gertjan Sorry - I don't really follow you.
I just need the ISO file, not set of files in folder.

[SteveITS]

@Clouseau you can just burn the file without extracting:
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/write-memstick.html#:~:text=Etcher%20can%20use%20compressed%20images

[ivo.a.v.tavares]

I must say this gimmick of have to install the netgate installer just to have the ISO file is making me think whether I should use it at all... I'll probably just use some other opensource firewall, like OPNsense. It is much simpler to obtain the file...

[patient0]

@ivo.a.v.tavares what are you babbling about? Write the ISO file to either an USB stick, burn it to a CD ROm or mount the ISO file in something like Proxmox and install pfSense?

[stephenw10]

Mmm, not able to replicate that. The ISO file is gzipped. You can extract it and upload it to a hypervisor to install a VM.

If you're seeing the ISO contents it looks like your OS has "helpfully" mounted the file which is probably not what you want.

[Shack]

@stephenw10 I unzip the installer gz file and see the same. So how to fix? Talking Win 11. I expect to see a iso file too.

On another note, I have a 2.7.0 bootable DVD from the time before this net install bullplop started. But when I install from it, the system won't update to 2.7.2, let alone 2.8. Unsure why that is.

[SteveITS]

@Shack said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:

update to 2.7.2

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/2-7-1.html#troubleshooting

[Shack]

@SteveITS said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/2-7-1.html#troubleshooting

Can you provide a hand holding how-to to get the current version to work? I get tons of errors when trying to extract the net installer gz file both on Win 11 and Fedora 43. That would save the trouble of update-go-round from 2.7.0 perhaps.

[SteveITS]

@Shack Etcher can burn the .gz file directly, no need to extract it.

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/write-memstick.html

[Shack]

@SteveITS Will any software do the same on a DVD? I have blank DVDs coming out my ears.

[Shack]

Nevermind, I futzed around until I found Trend Micro Unarchiver One on my box and it extracted the net installer ISO. I will write it to a DVD and try it.

[Shack]

Well booting from the DVD gives me a screenful of "vm_fault: pager read error, pid 1 (init)" and nothing else.

[stephenw10]

From 2.7.1 run certctl rehash then check for upgrades again.

Are you actually booting a real DVD? Does the DVD drive work reliably? They are pretty much all ancient and full of dust at this point. Can you not boot from USB?

But you should be able to upgrade from 2.7.1.

[SteveITS]

@stephenw10 said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:

actually booting a real DVD? Does the DVD drive work reliably? They are pretty much all ancient and full of dust at this point.

[ivo.a.v.tavares]

What happens if I want to use the ISO in GNS3 for network experiments, and not in a VM?
I just need the pfsense amd64.ISO. I don't want to install it in a full VM.

[stephenw10]

You want to boot and run it 'live' from the ISO? Waaay back in the day I think pfSense supported that. m0n0wall did, with config on a floppy disk! But that hasn't been an option for many years.

[Shack]

@stephenw10 Yes the DVD (actually BD) drive works great. I eventually found a 2.7.2 ISO in my files and wrote it to a blank and it installed perfectly, then updated to 2.8.1 trouble free. No net install rigmarole needed.

The box in question is a 2012 model mac mini. It probably could boot from a flash disk, but I have mountains of blank DVDs sourced from Goodwill on hand, while I have had limited luck writing ISOs to flash disks. And writing an image of 900 megs or so onto a flash disk seems wasteful to me compared to a blank DVD. That wastes DVD space too of course, but I paid almost nothing for the blanks. I got them from a store called a Goodwill outlet where they sell stuff by the pound vice normal Goodwill stores where each item has a price sticker.