Newbie Alert: I just started with a new server. the drives all show up on the boot screen, I get a menu that says "boot from unraid" and then all I get is a blinking cursor.

I ran an RJ-45 cable to a small router, then from the router to my MacPro, using the second eithernet port on the back of the MacPro. I tried to access http://tower.local and nothing happens.

 

Can you give me some direction?

Newbie Alert: I just started with a new server. the drives all show up on the boot screen, I get a menu that says "boot from unraid" and then all I get is a blinking cursor.

I ran an RJ-45 cable to a small router, then from the router to my MacPro, using the second eithernet port on the back of the MacPro. I tried to access http://tower.local and nothing happens.

 

Can you give me some direction?

 

Try accessing through a custom predefined ip address instead of default unraid server name?

Normally the boot menu times out if you don't make a selection, then the default boot happens. Is that what you are seeing?

You should be getting a login prompt if unRAID successfully booted.  From your description, I suspect that the boot process did not complete. 

 

You will first see a menu with a number of boot options and a count down under that menu.  When it reaches zero, it should start the boot process.  It will first load two files and unpack them.  Next, the OS will install it self and screen will fill up and run a couple of hundred lines of code that end in a prompt that will allow you to log into the server via a Linux command line.  (The default user is  root  and the default password is a blank (entered by pressing the enter key when prompted for the password)

 

Is that what you saw? 

Normally the boot menu times out if you don't make a selection, then the default boot happens. Is that what you are seeing?

 

I see the boot menu on the server, I selected unraid. There's also a selection called Unraid GUI. When selecting either one, the next screen I see is a black screen with a blinking cursor.

Normally the boot menu times out if you don't make a selection, then the default boot happens. Is that what you are seeing?

 

I see the boot menu on the server, I selected unraid. There's also a selection called Unraid GUI. When selecting either one, the next screen I see is a black screen with a blinking cursor.

Doesn't sound like it is actually booting. You should get some text showing its progress unpacking bzroot/bzimage.

 

Try a different USB port and if that doesn't work try preparing your flash drive again. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly.

You should be getting a login prompt if unRAID successfully booted.  From your description, I suspect that the boot process did not complete. 

 

You will first see a menu with a number of boot options and a count down under that menu.  When it reaches zero, it should start the boot process.  It will first load two files and unpack them.  Next, the OS will install it self and screen will fill up and run a couple of hundred lines of code that end in a prompt that will allow you to log into the server via a Linux command line.  (The default user is  root  and the default password is a blank (entered by pressing the enter key when prompted for the password)

 

Is that what you saw?

 

This is what I saw:

 

I shot this short video with my phone, just trying to find out what is happening, since I have never used Unraid before now.

 

That's not booting correctly.  Things to try, redownload the zip and create your USB again.  Try a different USB port. 

Normally the boot menu times out if you don't make a selection, then the default boot happens. Is that what you are seeing?

 

I see the boot menu on the server, I selected unraid. There's also a selection called Unraid GUI. When selecting either one, the next screen I see is a black screen with a blinking cursor.

Doesn't sound like it is actually booting. You should get some text showing its progress unpacking bzroot/bzimage.

 

Try a different USB port and if that doesn't work try preparing your flash drive again. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly.

 

When I created the USB drive, it said at the end of the process that Unraid is now ready to be installed. I don't remember the exact language, but it said it had completed successfully. I made a short video showing exactly what I see.

 

 

 

You should be getting a login prompt if unRAID successfully booted.  From your description, I suspect that the boot process did not complete. 

 

You will first see a menu with a number of boot options and a count down under that menu.  When it reaches zero, it should start the boot process.  It will first load two files and unpack them.  Next, the OS will install it self and screen will fill up and run a couple of hundred lines of code that end in a prompt that will allow you to log into the server via a Linux command line.  (The default user is  root  and the default password is a blank (entered by pressing the enter key when prompted for the password)

 

Is that what you saw?

 

This is what I saw:

 

I shot this short video with my phone, just trying to find out what is happening, since I have never used Unraid before now.

 

It appears that you may have a corrupted download.  I would download the unRAID zip file again and copy bzroot  and bzimage  to the the flash drive.

 

If that doesn't work, post up what MB and CPU you are using. 

Some users with Supermicro X11 boards can't boot in normal mode but can using the GUI boot option.

Some users with Supermicro X11 boards can't boot in normal mode but can using the GUI boot option.

 

I tried both ways, same results. I am about to reload the O/S to the thumb drive and see what happens.

 

I reformatted (erased) the thumb drive, I downloaded a fresh install of Unraid from the website, I ran through the process to prepare the USB. It said that it was successful. It does get as far as loading bzroot  and bzimage and then all I get is a flashing cursor in the upper left corner of the screen. Nothing more.

 

The MB = SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O Micro ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C222 DDR3 1600

The CPU =  Intel Xeon E3-1231V3 Haswell 3.4 GHz LGA 1150 80W BX80646E31231V3 Server Processor

with 32 gig RAM = Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Server Memory Model

 

Any idea what's happening?

 

 

Searching for 'X10SL7-F-O'  on this sub-forum (General Support) did find this:

 

        https://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=44991.msg429465#msg429465

 

and this one:

 

      https://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=43024.msg410532#msg410532

 

If this does not solve your problems, you can try searching across the entire board. 

 

EDIT:  Also unplug all hard drives, SSD's and any cards you have installed and see if the system will boot then. 

 

You can also try running the memtst which is an option on the boot menu.  Memtst should run about 24 hours to fully exercise the memory. 

Today I spend most of the day with a friend who has the identical hardware config down to the exact part, his system booted right up when he built it, mine hangs with a blinking cursor after showing the unraid screen and asking me if I want to boot in GUI mode.  We checked every setting, we tried reloading the USB boot drive, we tried moving to a different USB, and then moving to a different USB port on the server, nothing worked. We do see an IP address using FING. I have the server plugged into a mini-router along with my MacPro and the mini router plugged into my FIOS Modem/Router. The MacPro works fine and the IP address of the server shows up as I mentioned.

 

I just can't get the system to load past a blinking cursor and have run out of ideas. I also turned off all Virus Protection and rebuilt the USB key with it off, to be sure, but each time the same result, which is nothing on the screen connected to the server but a blinking cursor. I cannot see any characters I type on the keyboard, I know the keyboard and mouse are working because I can use them in the Setup Screens.

 

Any ideas?

 

 

 

Tried a different USB key?

 

EDIT: You did, sorry missed that.

 

Memtest?

Have you tried a different USB flash drive? It should be safe to try booting with your friend's flash, unRAID would just see the wrong drives (or none if you don't connect any) and wouldn't try to start the array but you should be able to get the webUI up that way.

Are you both on the same BIOS version?  You may have an out-of-date BIOS that is causing the problem.

 

Have you tried to turn off the UEFI  function in the  BIOS?  I seem to recall that some MB's won't boot properly from a USB drive using it. 

Is this a totally new build?  (I thinking you might have some flaky hardware.)

 

Can you boot any other OS (Say one of the 'Live 'Linux distributions)?

I've had several motherboards that just won't run unRaid.  I had an ASUS P8 board that would not run the ethernet drivers and another board that behaved like yours.  Perhaps you could try different hardware?  I know its a pain, but at least you could try that on another box you have laying around?  Just to prove that your USB is configured properly?

If it works on your friend's identical hardware, then about the only things it can be are:

 

your BIOS settings or version

 

your flash drive isn't properly prepared or isn't working right for some reason

 

you have a hardware problem - are you sure it isn't something like CPU cooling causing it to lockup soon after being turned on?

I was trying out several options and when I did change something in the bios, I saw this screen. I am not sure why or what it means.

Thats the UEFI shell, unRAID only support legacy/bios boot.

Just to be totally certain, I went out and bought a SanDisk Cruzer Fit which is one of the sanctioned USB drives. I went through the process and loaded Unraid, ran the batch file (under Windows) and as before it lets me select Unraid Gui, then runs 3 programs and stops dead at the blinking cursor. I tried pulling memory, drives and not sure what else to try. I am downloading a linux distro to run on a thumb drive and see if the basic hardware is OK. I suspect it is because it runs everything up until the blinking cursor.

 

At this point I am lost, don't know if I can get some help from LimeTech over the phone or what to do next.

 

 

Just to try to sum things up.

 

1. The USB drive you are trying to use boots unraid fine on your buddies identical hardware.

 

2. His USB drive fails to boot on your machine.

 

3. All BIOS settings have been checked against your buddies system, and everything is identical to his.

 

If all this is correct, then the only possible conclusion is a fault with your motherboard, CPU or RAM.