USB Drive issue

[rctneil]

Hi all,

 

As my extended trial has just expired, I thought it was about time I bought myself a real license. Before I did, I decided to switch to a better quality USB drive before getting it.   I plugged both drives into my Mac, copied the contents of the old to the new, ran the make bootable mac file and tried to use it to boot from. Each time I get: "this is not a bootable disk please insert a bootable floppy and try again". The drive is correctly set as the boot drive but I get that error every single time.  If I put the old drive in then Unraid boots as normal.

 

Any ideas as to what is going wrong here?

 

Thanks,

Neil

[Frank1940]

Is the size of USB drive 32GB or less?  Did you make sure that it was formatted FAT32?  Is it a USB3 Flash Drive?  Did you plug the new drive into a USB3 port on the the server? 

 

(You really want everything to be USB2!  There have been isolated issues with USB3 boot devices that appear to hardware/BIOS related.) 

 

EDIT:  Did you name it UNRAID?  

Edited March 3, 2018 by Frank1940

[rctneil]

6 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

Is the size of USB drive 32GB or less?  Did you make sure that it was formatted FAT32?  Is it a USB3 Flash Drive?  Did you plug the new drive into a USB3 port on the the server? 

 

(You really want everything to be USB2!  There have been isolated issues with USB3 boot devices that appear to hardware/BIOS related.) 

 

EDIT:  Did you name it UNRAID?  

 

Thanks for the suggestions. The drive is 8Gb Sandisk. I did format it as FAT32 and it's a USB 2 drive. Not sure about the type of port it's connected to but i'll check.

 

Yes, I named it UNRAID.

 

I'll take another look at it sometime. I'm having my house rewired over the next week so the server is hidden away and disconnected right now. Once the house is back to normal i'll be able to check and post an update for you.

 

Thanks so far though.

 

Neil

[rctneil]

On 3/3/2018 at 12:32 PM, Frank1940 said:

Is the size of USB drive 32GB or less?  Did you make sure that it was formatted FAT32?  Is it a USB3 Flash Drive?  Did you plug the new drive into a USB3 port on the the server? 

 

(You really want everything to be USB2!  There have been isolated issues with USB3 boot devices that appear to hardware/BIOS related.) 

 

EDIT:  Did you name it UNRAID?  

 

UPDATE:

 

Right, finally back being able to look at this. Still no luck at all.   I tried erasing the drive and using the Unraid USB Creator tool to make a brand new install of Unraid, it fails to boot that one too. It fails on another USB drive but my trial drive it does boot fine but that's a cheapo generic drive that i'd rather not tie a license to. This is the reason I want to switch drives.

 

Anymore ideas?    By the way, when executing the make bootable mac script, it asks me if I want to enable UEFI mode or not. I have tried both yes and no (neither works) . Which do I actually need?

 

Thanks,

Neil

[itimpi]

3 minutes ago, rctneil said:

Anymore ideas?    By the way, when executing the make bootable mac script, it asks me if I want to enable UEFI mode or not. I have tried both yes and no (neither works) . Which do I actually need?

It depends on whether your motherboard supports UEFI boot or not?    This option was introduced because some of the newer motherboards only support UEFI boot.   You need to make sure the boot options in the BIOS settings are set for whichever mode you have selected.

[rctneil]

3 minutes ago, itimpi said:

It depends on whether your motherboard supports UEFI boot or not?    This option was introduced because some of the newer motherboards only support UEFI boot.   You need to make sure the boot options in the BIOS settings are set for whichever mode you have selected.

 

It's an Asus P5W DH Deluxe board,   If it's a new thing then i guess i don't need it.    Anyway i've tried without it and still cant get the system to boot from the drive?

[SSD]

Every motherboard has a slightly different way to enable USB booting.

 

(I used to have that motherboard for a workstation (not unRAID). Will tell you that I had capacitor failure with the motherboard after several years. YMMV but just a heads up.)

 

I don't remember, but if there is an option to bring up a boot menu, check to see if it is shown there. If so, that should get you going for now. But you still have to figure out how to make the machine default to booting from the USB.

 

HERE is a link to a "best of the forums" page i used to maintain. 

 

Look at the link "Configure USB as bootable removable disk" and some of the others and see if they help.

 

Good luck!

[rctneil]

1 hour ago, SSD said:

Every motherboard has a slightly different way to enable USB booting.

 

(I used to have that motherboard for a workstation (not unRAID). Will tell you that I had capacitor failure with the motherboard after several years. YMMV but just a heads up.)

 

I don't remember, but if there is an option to bring up a boot menu, check to see if it is shown there. If so, that should get you going for now. But you still have to figure out how to make the machine default to booting from the USB.

 

HERE is a link to a "best of the forums" page i used to maintain. 

 

Look at the link "Configure USB as bootable removable disk" and some of the others and see if they help.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the links. I'll take a read through them.   I'm not having a problem choosing the usb to boot from. It just says that the disk is not bootable and to insert a bootable floppy.    If I replace the drive with the generic usb I have the trial and my setup on, it all boots and runs fine.   It's just having issues with any other usb's I try.   I've tried two others.

 

Weird eh?

 

EDIT: Just tried setting the USB drive option in the BIOS to Forced FDD and that on boot just gives me a flashing cursor prompt underscore. It literally does nothing after that.

 

Really stuck and unsure what to do now.

Edited March 10, 2018 by rctneil

[SSD]

4 hours ago, rctneil said:

 

Thanks for the links. I'll take a read through them.   I'm not having a problem choosing the usb to boot from. It just says that the disk is not bootable and to insert a bootable floppy.    If I replace the drive with the generic usb I have the trial and my setup on, it all boots and runs fine.   It's just having issues with any other usb's I try.   I've tried two others.

 

Weird eh?

 

EDIT: Just tried setting the USB drive option in the BIOS to Forced FDD and that on boot just gives me a flashing cursor prompt underscore. It literally does nothing after that.

 

Really stuck and unsure what to do now.

 

Sounds like the disk is not prepared properly. You might try that HP format tool to format the disk. Maybe there is something weird that the normal make bootable isn't handling.

[Frank1940]

Double check that there is only one partition on that drive.  

[rctneil]

7 hours ago, SSD said:

 

Sounds like the disk is not prepared properly. You might try that HP format tool to format the disk. Maybe there is something weird that the normal make bootable isn't handling.

 

Tried that and still no luck.

 

7 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

Double check that there is only one partition on that drive.  

 

100% sure there is only one.

 

I'm getting so disheartened with all this.   AAARGH!!!!!!   Sorry, need to destress! :-) .   It'll get sorted eventually I guess.   Appreciate the help so far though!

[Frank1940]

2 hours ago, rctneil said:

Sorry, need to destress! :-) . 

 

If I were in your situation and wanted to 'destress', I would be getting another UBS2 Flash Drive to try out (It's not like they are that expensive).  If this one was an expensive top-of-the-line one, I would be looking at one nearer the other end of the spectrum.  I was a Design Engineer in a former life and I often found that the way to solve a really knotty problem was not to keep trying to make my present design work but to use another approach... 

[rctneil]

22 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

 

If I were in your situation and wanted to 'destress', I would be getting another UBS2 Flash Drive to try out (It's not like they are that expensive).  If this one was an expensive top-of-the-line one, I would be looking at one nearer the other end of the spectrum.  I was a Design Engineer in a former life and I often found that the way to solve a really knotty problem was not to keep trying to make my present design work but to use another approach... 

 

That is a very good option and one I do a lot with work if I can't get something running right.   This one look ok?: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-JetFlash-Drive-Frustration-Free-Packaging/dp/B003VNKNDM/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1520768856&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A310779031%2Cp_36%3A428444031&th=1

[Frank1940]

I would think it would work.  Transcend in not the biggest name in the  business but they are known.  (And the quality should be much better than the 'free' ones that you occasionally find at a vendor's sales booth or the supper cheap ones at the checkout line at the local grocers.)   And the users reviews look good...

[rctneil]

2 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

I would think it would work.  Transcend in not the biggest name in the  business but they are known.  (And the quality should be much better than the 'free' ones that you occasionally find at a vendor's sales booth or the supper cheap ones at the checkout line at the local grocers.)   And the users reviews look good...

 

Purchased. Arriving tommorrow!  Will update later.    Also picked up a new CR2032 battery to replace the CMOS mobo battery just to be on the safeside as this board hasn;t been in use for many years.

[SSD]

Still think it is something weird with U3 or partitioning that is preventing the boot from working properly. Another USB stick is a good option - they are cheap.

 

Good luck!

[John_M]

8 minutes ago, SSD said:

Still think it is something weird with U3 or partitioning that is preventing the boot from working properly.

 

I agree, especially as @rctneil used a Mac. It's very easy when erasing a disk (or USB stick) to end up with a GPT instead of an MBR partitioning scheme by mistake since that's what Macs tend to favour. I've done it myself so it would be worth checking again in Disk Utility.

[rctneil]

2 hours ago, John_M said:

 

I agree, especially as @rctneil used a Mac. It's very easy when erasing a disk (or USB stick) to end up with a GPT instead of an MBR partitioning scheme by mistake since that's what Macs tend to favour. I've done it myself so it would be worth checking again in Disk Utility.

 

Disk Utility only gives me the option for FAT or ExFAT. Which should I use?

[Frank1940]

Looking up the difference with the three formats, I would go with FAT (which apparently is what MAC calls FAT32)  at this point.  (exFAT apparently is needed when you are going to be putting very large files on the drive.) See here  for more info:

 

     https://www.engadget.com/2011/09/19/mac-101-format-choices-for-usb-flash-drives/

 

[trurl]

I think it's safe to assume that there is a reason exFAT is NOT in the instructions for preparing flash:

 

https://lime-technology.com/getting-started

 

Scroll down to "Text-Based Guide" where it says:

• Format the device using the FAT (or FAT32) file system.

[John_M]

1 hour ago, rctneil said:

Disk Utility only gives me the option for FAT or ExFAT. Which should I use?

 

You're looking at the option to erase the partition. Look at the option to erase the USB device itself.

 

Fat32 is FAT. FAT12 and FAT16 are too. macOS chooses the one appropriate to the size of the partition.

 

[rctneil]

Right, just had time to give the new drive a go.   Formatted the drive as FAT, MBR and name UNRAID.   I copied everything from my trial drive over to it and ran the make bootable mac file.  Chose No to UEFI support and tried it. I get Non-system disk, please reboot and insert disk.

 

Really unsure what to do now.  I didn't have any such issues when going to set up the trial.   I have also replaced the CMOS onboard mobo battery too just incase.

[Squid]

Right, just had time to give the new drive a go.   Formatted the drive as FAT, MBR and name UNRAID.   I copied everything from my trial drive over to it and ran the make bootable mac file.  Chose No to UEFI support and tried it. I get Non-system disk, please reboot and insert disk.
 
Really unsure what to do now.  I didn't have any such issues when going to set up the trial.   I have also replaced the CMOS onboard mobo battery too just incase.

Is the BIOS boot order correct. When selecting the usb most BIOS also will show it twice: legacy and EFI. choose legacy

[rctneil]

Just now, Squid said:

4 minutes ago, rctneil said:

Right, just had time to give the new drive a go.   Formatted the drive as FAT, MBR and name UNRAID.   I copied everything from my trial drive over to it and ran the make bootable mac file.  Chose No to UEFI support and tried it. I get Non-system disk, please reboot and insert disk.
 
Really unsure what to do now.  I didn't have any such issues when going to set up the trial.   I have also replaced the CMOS onboard mobo battery too just incase.

Is the BIOS boot order correct. When selecting the usb most BIOS also will show it twice: legacy and EFI. choose legacy

2

 

As far as I know it's selected correctly. I have "JetFlash" selected and everything else set to disabled.  I've booted from USB many times with this motherboard and have never done anything differently before.

[Frank1940]

Do you have an option to get the a BIOS boot menu?  I have a MB that you  use the < F-12> key to select your boot drive.