Console entry required on boot?
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For each of the most recent pfSense+ updates, on reboot pfSense required a carriage return entry on the console before it would boot.
This is not the most convenient since it means I have to get my laptop and connect the serial cable.
Is there a setting that will allow pfSense to boot directly to the GUI without console input? I can't find one.
I do not know if pfSense will boot without the console input on a regular reboot (no update). Haven't had occasion to reboot.
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@hspindel that is unusual and should certainly not be necessary. What device is pfSense+ running on and have you a console cable connected all the time?
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Yeah, with patient0 here.
If we all (a million or so ?) pfSense users had to use the console to proceed booting, you would find thousands here yelling about it.
The good news is the bad news : you're the one and only seeing that behavior.So : Which pfSense ?
Try all default settings **With the console connected, have the entire boot sequence logged to a file.
Show the file (post it, for example here pastebin.com and post the link here - remove private stuff) and you get the 'why' answer in minutes.** = assign a WAN, assign a LAN, change the admin password, never ever enter or touch DNS settings, and test again : the issue will be gone.
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The most recent two upgrades:
pfSense 26.03 and 26.03.1
Running on Netgate 8200.
I do not have a serial cable connected at all times - I had to connect one to get pfSense to boot.
I don't think I can provide the requested log of the boot sequence. Nothing at all was written to the console prior to me hitting enter. I don't even know if this situation is reproducible if I reboot without it being part of the upgrade process.
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@hspindel said in Console entry required on boot?:
I don't even know if this situation is reproducible if I reboot without it being part of the upgrade process.
Can you try a regular reboot? You may want to involve someone from Netgate, either @stephenw10 on this forum or open a TAC support request (https://www.netgate.com/tac-support-request).
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Carriage return? I haven't used that term since the days when I serviced Teletypes!
I've used both ssh and the serial port and have never experienced that problem.
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Where does it stop in the boot process waiting for you to hit return?
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The few times I've seen this it was caused by a custom script run at boot that wasn't correctly 'backgrounding' itself.
Another possibility is a password protected certificate in use. But you would be prompted for the password if that happens.
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@JKnott said in Console entry required on boot?:
Carriage return? I haven't used that term since the days when I serviced Teletypes!
Well, when I started in computing teletypes were state of the art. :-)
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@stephenw10 said in Console entry required on boot?:
Where does it stop in the boot process waiting for you to hit return?
Blank screen.
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@stephenw10 said in Console entry required on boot?:
The few times I've seen this it was caused by a custom script run at boot that wasn't correctly 'backgrounding' itself.
Another possibility is a password protected certificate in use. But you would be prompted for the password if that happens.
I don't think I have any custom scripts. There are some custom dnsmasq options. There is one custom patch, but it is disabled.
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@patient0 said in Console entry required on boot?:
@hspindel said in Console entry required on boot?:
I don't even know if this situation is reproducible if I reboot without it being part of the upgrade process.
Can you try a regular reboot? You may want to involve someone from Netgate, either @stephenw10 on this forum or open a TAC support request (https://www.netgate.com/tac-support-request).
Yes, I will try a regular reboot sometime. Have to wait for a convenient time when the router isn't critically needed.
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@hspindel said in Console entry required on boot?:
@stephenw10 said in Console entry required on boot?:
Where does it stop in the boot process waiting for you to hit return?Blank screen.
Mmm, not useful.
How about what is shown when you press return?But, yes, you'll probably need to log the console output across a reboot so we can see where is stops. And possibly why.
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@stephenw10 said in Console entry required on boot?:
@hspindel said in Console entry required on boot?:
@stephenw10 said in Console entry required on boot?:
Where does it stop in the boot process waiting for you to hit return?Blank screen.
Mmm, not useful.
How about what is shown when you press return?But, yes, you'll probably need to log the console output across a reboot so we can see where is stops. And possibly why.
After I hit return, pfSense just goes through its normal, length bootup.
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But what exactly is the first thing shown?
There are a few points during boot up that the 8200 might be interrupted and each would have a different potential cause. So it might stop very early in Blinkboot. Or at the FreeBSD loader prompt. Or later at the mountroot prompt. Or at some point during the pfSense_rc bootup scripts.
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@stephenw10 said in Console entry required on boot?:
But what exactly is the first thing shown?
There are a few points during boot up that the 8200 might be interrupted and each would have a different potential cause. So it might stop very early in Blinkboot. Or at the FreeBSD loader prompt. Or later at the mountroot prompt. Or at some point during the pfSense_rc bootup scripts.
Exactly the first thing shown is a blank screen.
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@hspindel said in Console entry required on boot?:
Well, when I started in computing teletypes were state of the art. :-)
Yep. Me too. I started in the telecom industry in May 1972 as a bench technician overhauling Teletypes. Later on I became a computer tech and all the computers had a M33 Teletype for the console.
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@JKnott I can hear the room clattering. My background at that time was radio news room.
Ted
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Although I haven't needed to reboot to test this out, I think I've found the issue.
The file /boot/loader.conf needs to have:
boot_serial="NO" -
@hspindel loader.conf is overwritten at boot, try loader.conf.local which you may need to create.
However is that not https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/config/advanced-admin.html#serial-terminal ?
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