riccume Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Why oh why did I switch my server off?! Before leaving everything worked fine; I powered the server down via the web interface and left. When I came back (10 days later) and hit the power button, the server powered up but the web interface and the shared drives didn't become available - first time it has happened. After several reboots I connected an external monitor and found that the boot hung at "Verifying DMI pool data...". In some cases it moved to "Update successful" but no further action. The USB key lighted up at start-up and in some cases remained steady on, while in some others it went back off. So far I've tried the following (in this order) to no avail (system details at the end): - Checked the BIOS for boot priority and played around with quick boot / USB 2.0 enable/disable settings - Moved the USB key to other USB ports - Formatted the USB key using the HP tool (saving the content beforehand), downloaded the latest AiO package, run the make_bootable utility from the USB key, copied back the original content and tried again Finally, I prepared another USB key (no brand, just a promotional one I had in the drawer) with the latest AiO package - with this one it works at times but not consistently (i.e. on most occasions it still hangs at boot). I'm beginning to suspect that the motherboard is at fault but would like to explore more before going through the expense and time to subsitute it. Any suggestions? Maybe try a new brand-name USB key and see if I can get it working? Or something to do with 2012? (silly I know but I am lost here...) Case: Liam Li PC-Q8 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-D510UD Power Supply: Antec 380W EarthWatts Green RAM: 1GB SATA Ports: 4 integrated plus PCI 2-ports controller HDDs: 6 Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB USB Key: Sandisk Cruzer Micro
ixnu Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Can you read files from the original USB flash drive in a different system? Can you boot a different system with the original USB flash drive? It sure sounds like an MB issue. I would attempt to narrow down the problem to the either a general booting problem or just a USB boot problem. Maybe try alternative methods for booting including a separate supported USB flash drive (maybe even with a different distro like http://www.pendrivelinux.com/), a Live disto DVD (http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php), and maybe even a disk drive if you have any extra SATA ports.
riccume Posted January 3, 2012 Author Posted January 3, 2012 Yes I could read files from the original USB flash drive in Windows; I successfully copied them off the USB key. Also when I formatted the USB key I got no error message. No DVD player or extra SATA ports, but I can try a different distro on USB.
ixnu Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Can you reliably boot (at least to to the kernel loader) the original USB key on a different system? This would indicate there is nothing wrong with the USB key. Right now it seems that you are not sure if you have a working USB key.
riccume Posted January 3, 2012 Author Posted January 3, 2012 No different system I'm afraid - I'd think that my best bet to single out the MB is to prepare some additional USB keys (I have another couple I can use) and try them on my (only) system.
Frank1940 Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 No different system I'm afraid - I'd think that my best bet to single out the MB is to prepare some additional USB keys (I have another couple I can use) and try them on my (only) system. Stick your USB drive into your windows machine and see if it will boot. (Of course, you should not format any drives or anything else!) If it boots up, you know the problem is in your server.
Tight_wad Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 I would consider disconnecting any hard drives in the test computer if possible. I made the mistake of not doing so, and my hard drive would no longer boot windows anymore. Not that it will happen but be careful if you leave drives hooked up.
riccume Posted January 3, 2012 Author Posted January 3, 2012 Things getting a little strange. The "old" USB key boots up perfectly and consistently on my Windows laptop and continues to never boot up on the server. BUT, with the same exact server configuration, the "new" USB key which I had prepared yesterday with the latest AiO package boots up perfectly and consistently on the server (I'm using the USB port on the back both with the new and the old USB flash drive). I'd seem that the server has decided it does no longer "like" the old USB flash drive but is quite happy with the new one. I've asked Tom to kindly authorize the new USB key, but out of curiosity any ideas what might be going on?
riccume Posted January 4, 2012 Author Posted January 4, 2012 OK we seem to be back in business: 1) Got the registration key for the new USB flash drive from Tom (thanks!) 2) Formatted the new USB flash drive using the HP tool 3) Copied all files from unRAID Server 4.7 AiO.zip to the USB flas drive 4) Copied to the USB flash drive the folders Config, Packages, and Unmenu, which I had saved from the old USB flash drive 5) Copied the registration key to the Config folder 6) Ran the file make_bootable.bat 7) Plugged the USB flash drive in the server, powered up and all seems to be good! I can only assume that the old USB flash drive is no longer working properly; it boots up properly on some systems (my laptop) but no longer on the server. Thanks!
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