New computer with PFSense?
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ALSO burned on a DVD+R Memorex disk holding 4.7 GB total memory. If that's any help as well.
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If you are very new to this kind of stuff, and you want a cheap and fast computer that is very secure, try linux MINT with MATE desktop. It will make good use of that computer and will run very well on its limited resources compared to windows. And its free.
I suspect you didn't set up the correct boot order in bios.
I'd suspect that pressing the del key on boot gets you into bios.
I'd bet that advanced bios is where you can select boot order (Which you should set to CD 1st and HDD 2nd)
Then press the F10 key and save and reboot.
(BTW - How to blow away pfsense and replace it with a Desktop OS isn't strictly speaking what people do here)
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That is a new question! ;)
It may be setup to dual boot pfSense and some other OS (like Windows, Ubuntu etc) but that is not normally the case. By default pfSense removes everything else when it's installed. Do you see a boot loader menu before pfSense starts booting? It will be plain white text on a black background.
Steve
I do! But it automatically shifts to PFSense after 5 seconds I think and it doesn't look like anything OS related.
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You bought a used computer that boots to pfsense and don't know how to load an OS cause you want it to be used as a PC correct? :P
You going to need an OS install disc of your choice which will be Windows XP, 7.. Or even Ubuntu. Boot to the CD and follow the instructions. You will definitely need an installation disc, look around on the computer does it have a Microsoft sticker on it with the product keys? Cause you'll need that too if you going to run windows or you could buy a fresh copy.
Why would someone sell a PC that still has a firewall installation on it? Seems silly to me, they could have at least told you what you were buying.
I've also tried an Ubuntu Installation Disk, however, it was a CD+R and putting that in the disk drive yielded no results whereas putting the Windows
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I'd be surprised if it was setup to dual boot. pfSense has a boot menu of sorts itself, that's probably what you're seeing.
Getting down to basics here, perhaps the DVD drive has been disconnected? That is something someone might do for security purposes to prevent a random OS being booted when it was serving as a firewall. Or the cable might have just fallen out!
When you go into the BIOS setup does it show the DVD drive as being connected anywhere?
The DVD drive might be broken or very dusty so it's not recognising the disk. You could try booting from a USB drive with Ubuntu on it (see ubuntu website for instructions).Steve
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My 2 cents….
Download an ISO Image of Hiren's BootCD, Version 9 or older ( this is more simple to use ) and burn to CD
Check the BIOS as mentioned in the posts above. Make CD/DVD boot BEFORE HDD or use F12 to select boot options and choose boot from CD/DVD.
Reboot into the Hiren's Disc, on screen one, hit enter on the MORE line in options, on the SECOND DOS screen select MBR Tools, on the next screen select option 1
MBR Work 1.04b. Click enter on all options CHANGE NOTHING including swap files and it will open.When it opens, select option 3, then enter then Y then enter, then select option 4 click Y and then enter, then select option 5 click Y then select number 2 click Y then enter. This makes the HDD read as NEW (RAW) and any data that was once on it is unrecoverable. This method is like a level 9 DOD wipe, and any previous data on it is gone forever, i have tried this many times, and NO DATA RECOVERY SOFTWARE available has ever found anything on any HDD i have wiped this way, so you should have no trouble installing anything new.
Click E to exit MBRWork the screen will come up to R:// with a blinking cursor.
Remove the Hiren's disc from the CD/DVD drive, and replace it with your Windows,Ubuntu or other O/S disc.
Type reboot and it should start into the install of the O/S you have chosen, then just follow the prompts to install your new system.Overall this is not a bad PC, would be fine for most user's not into games
Specs :
Processor
Processor type Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Processor speed 2300.0 MHz
Memory
Memory size 3072.0 MB
Display
Included monitor No
Graphics
Primary Graphics Chipset Nvidia GeForce 6150SE
Video Bus Integrated
Video Memory Type Using main memory
Storage
Raid type none
Drive size 320.0 GB
Expansion slots
Open PCI Express X16 Slots 2.0
Open PCI Express X1 Slots 1.0
Number of PCI slots 3.0
Number of PCI-Express Slots 1.0
Green
Energy Star compliant 0.0
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD±RW
Included Software
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
Ports and Connections
Ethernet Type Ethernet (10/100 Mbps)
Available InterfacesUSB - Universal Serial Bus (rear) (x4)
USB - Universal Serial Bus (front) (x2)Slots 3
Parallel Port No
Case
Chassis style Tower (Mini)
Internal Drive Bays 2
External Drive Bays 3As a general use, or student PC this would be fine. Would make an excellent Office PC as was wanted aswell.
Drivers for Windows are here :
http://support.gateway.com/us/en/emac/product/default.aspx?modelId=1299
I would install Vista Ultimate as the O/S, to make use of the shared memory and easier security control. If you need a copy let me know by PM.
