netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder
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@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 -
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...
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@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?
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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.
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@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.
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@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
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@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.
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@Shack Etcher can burn the .gz file directly, no need to extract it.
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/write-memstick.html
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@SteveITS Will any software do the same on a DVD? I have blank DVDs coming out my ears.
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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.
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Well booting from the DVD gives me a screenful of "vm_fault: pager read error, pid 1 (init)" and nothing else.
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From 2.7.1 run
certctl rehashthen 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.
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@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.
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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. -
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.
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@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.
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Hmm, well the Net Installer ISO is still a valid ISO. It should boot. Do you have any additional output from the failure?
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@stephenw10 said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:
Hmm, well the Net Installer ISO is still a valid ISO. It should boot. Do you have any additional output from the failure?
The DVD booted the system and it got as far as the pfSense text menu before spazzing out with the error I described previously scrolling endlessly on the screen. I have a 2014 model mac mini sourced from ebay on the way to replace the 2012 model so I might try booting the net install DVD on it before using the 2.7.2 DVD to install.
Mac minis really work well for pfSense since they are small, completely silent, and don't use much juice. A dual core 4th gen i7 with 8 gigs memory and 256 gig SSD built in that cost two digit $ on ebay should fill the bill well. I am getting hardware ready for Google Fiber that should be turned on in my area soon so a 2014 model with Thunderbolt 2's 20 gigabit throughput should work better than 10 gigabit Thunderbolt 1 for running a 10 gigabit ethernet card.
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I had to do a new 2.8.0 USB on a new mini-pc the other day, and found issues doing it with Rufus (which has been my goto app for years).
Same USB & ISO file worked fine using Balena Etcher so nothing wrong with the download or USB ??
