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    FireBox x700 isn't booting anymore

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    • P
      power_matz
      last edited by

      Hello all,

      I was running pfsense 2.0 on a Watchguard Firebox x700 for a long time.
      Then one night it crashed. I rebooted the machine but it isn't booting anymore.

      I put in the original CF card but is is stuck at the "starting firmware" display.
      Then I resetted the CMOS but nothing changed.

      Does anybody here have a clue for me whats wrong with this machine?

      Best regards
      Matthias

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      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by

        A number of others have resolved problems by removing and re-seating the RAM and CPU in those boxes.

        Steve

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        • P
          power_matz
          last edited by

          I changes memory and reseated CPU and some connectors: no success.
          Any ideas left?

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          • stephenw10S
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            I assume you have connected a console cable and are seeing nothing?

            Most likely: the boot loader on the CF card has been damaged. Try re-flashing it or using a different card.

            Steve

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            • P
              power_matz
              last edited by

              Hi,

              I put in a CF card with FreeDOS on into the x700. It booted to the three beeps.

              After putting in a CF card with a new install of pfsense 2.0 it did not boot.

              Should I reflash the BIOS? Does anybody here have a original BIOS for the x700?

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                If it's booting the FreeDOS image then there's nothing wrong with the BIOS.
                Given the trouble you've had with both boxes I think there's a good chance that either the image is not being written to the card correctly or the card has some how become corrupt.
                I'm not sure how the corruption could remain past writing the image since it is a bit for bit copy.

                Are these cards usable in another machine? Can you try reformatting them first?

                Steve

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                • P
                  power_matz
                  last edited by

                  The 4GB card with pfsense 2.01 on it runs perfectly in the x750e.
                  I have a HD with 2.0 on it. This one runs without problems in a x700 of a friend.
                  In my x700 nothing happens.
                  The box beeps after powering it on. Then after a while the armed LED goes out and the fans are turning a little bit slower. Thats all…

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Ah, well that sounds more like a hardware failure, possibly the PSU.

                    Steve

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                    • P
                      power_matz
                      last edited by

                      Let me guess: it is no standard PSU in those fireboxes, right!?  :-[

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                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        No it's not standard.  ::)
                        You could try connecting to your friends PSU. Bit of a risk though.

                        Steve

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                        • P
                          power_matz
                          last edited by

                          OK, today we changed the connectors. So my box was running with the other PSU. But the behavior was the same.
                          But I have seen that all the capacitors around the CPU where blown up a little bit.
                          I work in a company with a hardware department. I kindly asked one of the colleagues there to change them. He will do it.
                          So I can see that this is the reason. He was pretty sure that this will cause that behavior. After 10 years they will dry out and that causes the blow up.

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                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            The capacitor plague strikes again!
                            Seems a little odd that it would boot to the three beeps on the FreeDOS image though.

                            Steve

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                            • U
                              Unubtanium
                              last edited by

                              ON the first x500 i did buy from ebay also had the  capacitor plague, it was three of them.
                              It booted fine but after two min it rebooted. Figured it had to do with the watchdog timer.
                              So got some replacement and changed them and it was all fine.

                              Hope it will be fine for u too when they are changed

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                              • P
                                power_matz
                                last edited by

                                I ordered seven 2.220uF capacitors (all placed around the CPU). They will be replaced next week.
                                But only three of them are blown up. To be save I will have replaced them all ;-)

                                I will tell you if it succeeds…

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                                • stephenw10S
                                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                  last edited by

                                  The same three as Unubtanium I wonder?
                                  A photo of this would be good to help others is a similar situation.

                                  Steve

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                                  • P
                                    power_matz
                                    last edited by

                                    Here are some photos of the capacitors

                                    https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109040794494370941171/albums/5699649906141445665

                                    I replaced all of them.

                                    My firebox is up and running again!  ;D

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                                    • U
                                      Unubtanium
                                      last edited by

                                      From waht i can see on the pics almost all of them are the same as i had to change, i only changed 2 by the CPU and one a bit future away from the CPU.  And remember my firebox did boot up and did run for 2 min before it restarted. Timed it with a stopwatch so are sure that one of them had to have have something to do with the hardware watchdog .  :)

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                                      • stephenw10S
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by

                                        Nice one.  :)

                                        Steve

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