netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder
-
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.
-
@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.
-
Hmm, well the Net Installer ISO is still a valid ISO. It should boot. Do you have any additional output from the failure?
-
@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.
-
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 ??
-
Mmm, Etcher is the only way to go IMO! At least until someone does something better. It was a game-changer for us in support when they released it. I have seen Rufus do weird things numerous times. Mostly when it tries to create a multiboot drive with several ISO images. I've yet to see Etcher fail in any OS given a valid image.
-
@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?
I just tried the net install DVD with the 2014 mini. It gave some error messages after the boot menu and ended up with a "mountroot>" prompt. Hitting enter caused a kernel panic "panic: mountroot: unable to (re-)mount root." and a "db>" prompt. So it's back to the old reliable 2.7.2 DVD.
-
Hmm, weird. How is the DVD drive attached on that?
-
@stephenw10 said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:
Hmm, weird. How is the DVD drive attached on that?
I used a 4K UHD capable BD drive connected via USB for the latest install.
-
said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:
@stephenw10 said in netgate-installer.iso.gz has no ISO file - only folder:
Hmm, weird. How is the DVD drive attached on that?
I used a 4K UHD capable BD drive connected via USB for the latest install.
So in order to satisfy my curiosity, I connected the UHD BD drive to another mini and gave it a try. This time I got to the install menu. The previous tries were with a standard BD drive, which had made successful installations previously. This UHD drive is practically new with little mileage on it. So I can conclude that the ISO can work, which is good news if it gets to the point that using old version ISOs such as the 2.7.2 on hand won't do a scratch install and update to the current version. Until then I think I'll stick with that ISO.
