For some inexplicable reason, every time I reboot my NAS, I have to move the Unraid flash drive to a different USB port for it to boot properly. I know this isn’t really an Unraid issue, but I’m at a loss on how to resolve it.

A bit of context:

I recently upgraded my video editing machine and decided to retire my old QNAP 670 Pro (which was running Unraid) and build something new. To save some money, I reused the motherboard and CPU from my old PC for the new NAS — so I know the hardware is solid.

Specs:

• Intel 12600K

• 128GB RAM

• 30TB ZFS pool (connected via HBA)

• 2TB cache

• 4TB SSD array for fast editing (connected via HBA)

• Standard set of home dockers: Home Assistant, the ARRs, Rustdesk, Unifi, etc.

After setting up my pools and everything else, I did a reboot just to confirm all was working. It took a long time to come back online, so I plugged in a monitor — black screen. Tried the reset button, power cycling — same result. The system powers on, the monitor engages, but there’s no BIOS splash, no output at all.

Then I had a weird idea: maybe the Unraid flash drive doesn’t like USB 3.0. So I unplugged my keyboard, moved the flash drive to a USB 2.0 port — and boom, it booted like nothing was wrong.

Now, I’ve rebooted the rig at least three times (most recently after upgrading my trial key to a lifetime license), and every time I have to move the USB stick to a different port to get it to boot. And yes, I’m only using ports directly connected to the motherboard.

I’m stuck on how to troubleshoot this.

My plan is to order a DOM from eBay and wait for it to ship overseas… but if this issue persists with the DOM, I’m in for a world of pain every time I need to reboot.

Things I’ve confirmed:

• Secure Boot is disabled

• Only the flash drive is listed in the boot sequence

• Motherboard firmware is up to date

Any thoughts or suggestions?
Has anyone run into something similar? I’d really appreciate any help or ideas.

Look for a fast boot or similar option in the BIOS, and if it exists, disable it.