Hi everyone,

I am facing an issue where my Unraid 7.3.4 server is permanently stuck in Safe Mode, and I cannot get it to boot normally. Because of this, all my plugins and the "Apps" tab are missing.

Here is exactly what happened and what I've tried so far:

1. How it started: I was experiencing motherboard/USB boot loops with my Type-C flash drive, so I decided to use the new Unraid 7 feature and migrated my installation to Internal Boot on my NVMe SSD. The migration process went fine, but the system booted into Safe Mode right after.

2. What I've tried to disable it:

   • Checked the main page: the array is started successfully, and the "Reboot in safe mode" checkbox is completely unchecked.

   • Attempted multiple normal reboots, but it bypasses the setting and goes straight back into Safe Mode.

The system web UI works, and my data drives are mounted, but since it is forced into Safe Mode, none of my custom plugins or Docker containers can start. I assume if I can find a way to break out of this Safe Mode loop, everything will appear back as normal.

My Hardware:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-11700

• Motherboard: MSI MAG B560 TORPEDO

• RAM: 16GB DDR4

Any help or ideas on what file or configuration switch might be forcing this behavior after an Internal Boot migration would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

---

Attach Diagnostics ZIP to your NEXT post in this thread.

Also go to Settings - Boot Parameters and check safe mode is not enabled there.

arexilslabs-safemode-diagnostics-20261026-0209.zip

13 hours ago, JorgeB said:

Also go to Settings - Boot Parameters and check safe mode is not enabled there.

Yes, I attached a screenshot to the message, and it's posted there.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by arexils

What do you get from command line with this?

cat /boot/syslinux.cfg-

30 minutes ago, trurl said:

What do you get from command line with this?

cat /boot/syslinux.cfg-

That seems to say default boot is no GUI

Thanks. Since you boot from the internal NVMe, the server uses GRUB and not syslinux, so the syslinux.cfg- file in /boot is not used. Your boot log shows the server is starting the "Unraid OS GUI Safe Mode (no plugins)" boot menu entry. Please post the output of:

cat /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Paste it as text, not a screenshot.

16 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

Thanks. Since you boot from the internal NVMe, the server uses GRUB and not syslinux, so the syslinux.cfg- file in /boot is not used. Your boot log shows the server is starting the "Unraid OS GUI Safe Mode (no plugins)" boot menu entry. Please post the output of:

cat /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Paste it as text, not a screenshot.

# Generated

set default=0
set timeout=5
set timeout_style=menu

insmod part_gpt
insmod zfs
insmod all_video
insmod gfxterm
insmod font
insmod png

# Load font first
if loadfont /boot@/grub/themes/unraid/terminus-14.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=auto
  terminal_output gfxterm
    
  # Set the theme variable GLOBALLY
  set theme="/boot@/grub/themes/unraid/theme.txt"
  export theme
else
  terminal_output console
fi

menuentry "Unraid OS" {
  echo "Loading..."
  linux  /boot@/bzimage unraiduuid=1796939588860663645
  initrd /boot@/bzroot
}

menuentry "Unraid OS GUI Mode" {
  echo "Loading..."
  linux  /boot@/bzimage unraidguimode unraiduuid=1796939588860663645
  initrd /boot@/bzroot
}

menuentry "Unraid OS Safe Mode (no plugins, no GUI)" {
  echo "Loading..."
  linux  /boot@/bzimage unraidsafemode unraiduuid=1796939588860663645
  initrd /boot@/bzroot
}

menuentry "Unraid OS GUI Safe Mode (no plugins)" {
  echo "Loading..."
  linux  /boot@/bzimage unraidguimode unraidsafemode unraiduuid=1796939588860663645
  initrd /boot@/bzroot
}

menuentry "Memtest86+" {
  linux  /boot@/memtest
}

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by arexils
snippet

Thanks, that grub.cfg is the default one and it is set to boot "Unraid OS" (normal mode, no safe mode) after the 5 second countdown. Nothing else in Unraid changes the boot entry, so with this config the server should only boot into safe mode if the "Unraid OS GUI Safe Mode (no plugins)" entry is selected in the boot menu.

Please connect a monitor and keyboard, reboot, and watch the boot menu:

- Which entry is highlighted when the menu first appears?

- Does the countdown run and boot by itself, or does it stop?

Then use the arrow keys to select "Unraid OS" (or "Unraid OS GUI Mode" if you want the local GUI) and press Enter. Plugins and the Apps tab should load on that boot. After that, reboot once more without touching anything and let us know which mode it boots into.

Also, if there is any KVM switch, IP KVM or other remote console device connected to the server, please mention it.

Note that safe mode only disables plugins and the array autostart, Docker containers still run once the array is started.