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

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • stephenw10S Offline
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      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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      • S Offline
        Shack @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @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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        • S Offline
          SteveITS Galactic Empire @Shack
          last edited by

          @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

          Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
          When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, CPU, and/or disk speed.
          Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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          • S Offline
            Shack @SteveITS
            last edited by

            @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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            • S Offline
              SteveITS Galactic Empire @Shack
              last edited by

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

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

              Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
              When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, CPU, and/or disk speed.
              Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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              • S Offline
                Shack @SteveITS
                last edited by

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

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                • S Offline
                  Shack @Shack
                  last edited by

                  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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                  • S Offline
                    Shack @Shack
                    last edited by

                    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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                    • stephenw10S Offline
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      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.

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                      • S Offline
                        SteveITS Galactic Empire @stephenw10
                        last edited by

                        @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.

                        ๐Ÿ˜‘

                        Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                        When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, CPU, and/or disk speed.
                        Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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                        • I Offline
                          ivo.a.v.tavares
                          last edited by

                          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.

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                          • stephenw10S Offline
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            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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                            • S Offline
                              Shack @stephenw10
                              last edited by

                              @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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                              • stephenw10S Offline
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                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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                                • S Offline
                                  Shack @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @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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                                  • P Offline
                                    pwood999
                                    last edited by

                                    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 ??

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