PFSENSE PLUS ZFS BOOT RECOVERY GUIDE (ERROR: cannot open loader.lua)

[JonathanLee]

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PFSENSE PLUS ZFS BOOT RECOVERY GUIDE (ERROR: cannot open loader.lua)
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1. ACCESSING THE RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT
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At the 'OK' loader prompt (with pfSense Plus Installer USB plugged in):
OK run usbboot

Once the USB installer loads, select: (S)hell

2. MOUNTING THE ZFS POOL
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Identify and import your existing pool (usually named 'newpfSenseBackup' or 'zroot'):
# zpool import -f -R /mnt newpfSenseBackup

3. FINDING A WORKING BOOT ENVIRONMENT
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List all available environments to find a known-good one (example., IPV6_HOST_ACTIVE):
# zfs list -r newpfSenseBackup/ROOT

4. APPLYING THE FIX (MANUAL ACTIVATE)
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Force the pool to boot from the working environment:
# zpool set bootfs=newpfSenseBackup/ROOT/IPV6_HOST_ACTIVE newpfSenseBackup

5. VERIFYING AND REBOOTING
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Confirm the 'bootfs' property matches your desired environment:
# zpool get bootfs newpfSenseBackup

Unmount the pool to save changes and restart:
# zpool export newpfSenseBackup
# reboot

6. POST-RECOVERY (CLEANUP)
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Once logged back into the pfSense WebGUI:
- Navigate to: System > Boot Environments
- Locate the "bad" environment (e.g., the one ending in ...20250113135850)
- Select it and click the 'Trash' icon to prevent future boot loops.
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I was testing a new complied safexcel.ko driver and well ... it umm was not a good one..

[stephenw10]

run usbboot is a uboot command not something the bootloader can do. So that should be run at the uboot prompt in the 1100 or 2100.