TRUENAS-MINI-3.0-X+ does not boot anymore from internal SSD. Boot from USB possible?

TrueNAS General
1

Hi,

my TRUENAS-MINI-3.0-X+ (a few years old) does not boot anymore. It says on the IPMI/kvm:

“This is a FreeNAS data disk and can not boot system. System halted.”

I guess the boot-ssd is somehow damaged.

Is there any way I can create an USB-Stick with an boot image (the system was on the 12.0 release path) and boot the system from this? So that the system comes up asap and then I can later look into how I could replace the built-in boot-ssd?

The Hardware is a few years old, so I don’t have an active support plan from the manufacturer.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks a lot.

2

Yes, download the ISO and install it on on the USB following the documentaion - see this link for 13 Install | TrueNAS Documentation Hub

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3

Thank you soo much. I have booted with one USB stick and was able to install the OS on another USB stick plugged into the other USB port. The systems boots and I was able to import the existing dataset of my pool.

Do you happen to know which type of SSD I should use to replace the current (and apparently defective) internal “ada5” boot SSD (plugged into a connector on the mainboard)? In the BIOS it is called “I-SATA0 16 GB SATA Flash Drive”.

Thank you again.

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4

Hey @tim64

Can you show me the output of dmidecode | grep "Base Board Information" -A3 from your console? This should let me know the exact board model and revision in your Mini, and then I can hopefully give you a definitive answer as to what your options are.

Our newer X+ and R units have an M.2 NVMe boot device, but an older unit might not have that as an option.

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5

The Output is:

Base Board Information
        Manufacturer: Supermicro
        Product Name: A2SDi-H-TF
        Version: 1.10

Thank you very much.

6

If I am not mistaken, the SSD is plugged into the I-SATA0 socket of the mainboard.

IMG_0032
IMG_0032828×845 62.7 KB

Thanks a lot.

7

You should have an M.2 2280 socket on your board that can be populated with an NVMe device and used for boot purposes.

image
image600×625 153 KB

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Thank you very much.

9

So, after I have now made three current full backups and the NVMe (P3 Plus, 500 GB, yes I know, a bit exaggerated, but I think there is now enough reserve for wear leveling) has arrived, I shut down the server, removed all cables, grounded myself with the server and the NVMe, removed the defective SATA DOM, installed NVMe, plugged in the USB boot stick, booted and installed a fresh system on the NVMe, removed the USB boot stick, booted from the NVMe, uploaded the previously saved configuration, put the system dataset from my spinning disks on the boot pool and booted again.

Now everything is working as it should again.

My final conclusion: In retrospect, even after years, it was absolutely the right decision to use a TRUENAS-MINI-3.0-X+ (with Supermicro board) as hardware and TrueNAS (with ZFS) as OS.

Thanks again to @Redcoat and @HoneyBadger for your support and help.

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