Hi guys,

 

I did a quick search and I couldn't find anything that might answer my question.

 

I am currently in the process of upgrading my server with a variety of enhancements, one of them being an Pro license.

I bought an ADATA USB 3.0 16GB usb flash to boot my system from. (i was previously using a no name 4GB flash)

 

I followed all of the USB flash prep steps correctly and then copied the contents of the old flash drive to the new one.

 

I then tried booting up and I couldnt telnet in or access the web GUI.

I then connected a monitor and saw that my server was sitting in the BIOS. I looked at the list of devices that it said it could boot from and it was empty. side note: I couldnt interact with the BIOS even though I had a keyboard and mouse connected. I thought that was fishy.

 

I did some experimenting and finally plugged my new flash into a USB 2.0 port. I turned on the server, crossed my fingers, and miraculously it booted up and ran normally. I could telnet in and access the web GUI etc.

So I dont know if it booted up because i crossed my fingers or because my flash was plugged into the usb 2.0 port.

 

So yeah, my server will boot when the flash is plugged into the USB 2.0 port, but it will not boot (goes straight to BIOS) when plugged into the USB 3.0 port.

 

I have some theories as to why this is happening, but I have no idea how to start diagnosing the problem. (I used both the 3.0 ports on the MB and the external ports that my case has. Yes, the 3.0 external ports are connected to the MB and work because i ran a keyboard off of them and was able to use the command line when unRaid booted up using usb 2.0.)

 

I understand that the 3.0 port offers almost no advantage at all because the flash is only used during start-up, but I would still like to see the speed increase while booting it up and while copying files to it. It is 3.0 after all, I would like to be able to have those speeds just because.

 

Any thoughts on how to Q&A the problem? I can provide any sort of info you might need about my system (although I am kind of a noob at Linux)

 

I am running on a ASUS F1A75-V PRO FM1 AMD with unRAID 5.0 rc8a.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Update: my old flash will not boot from the USB 3.0 slots either

Is it a native USB3.0 port or provided by additional chipset which added by manufacturer?

I am not sure. Here is the spec page on the ASUS website.

 

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_Socket_FM1/F1A75V_PRO/#specifications

USB 3 works - kinda.

 

I booted and used a Patriot Supersonic Boost XT 16GB USB 3 drive and it boots and works ok.

 

Except that something wasn't right and the drive would corrupt randomly, even in USB2 slots.

 

I tested the drive outside of the server and it was fine and I currently use it as a OS X/Windows 7/Data transfer USB stick with no issues.

 

So I'm not convinced USB 3 is quite there yet with linux...

Some USB 3 ports need additional drivers wich are loaded in the OS.

 

 

Is there any way to add the drivers to make it able to boot from USB 3.0 on startup?

Is there any way to add the drivers to make it able to boot from USB 3.0 on startup?

Short answer...  Get a different flash drive.  Or... You might try enabling USB 3.0 Legacy support in your BIOS, if it exists.

 

Longer answer It will be years before USB 3.0 will be supported by the BIOS and syslinux and GRUB boot loaders and USB 3.0 drivers are a standard part of Linux..

 

Longer answer yet, you are not alone with this issue.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bootable+usb+3.0+linux

 

You may be able to create a custom kernel with the usb-3.0 drivers in it, but it is not a job for the beginner and I somehow will guess that lime-technology will not have it high on their list.

This thread shows how one user of Linux (not specifically unRAID) did it.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?s=a2a580cdab0d9c49e46815700c1d1efc&t=1628665&page=2

 

I appreciate the response Joe.

That is exactly what I was looking for.

 

I looks like I will have to stick with USB 2.0 speeds for now