Boot Failure

[Danijandro]

I cannot connect to the standard web interface of my TrueNAS Mini E via http://truenas.local/ui/dashboard.

I connected a monitor for the first time the other day when I could not connect. The system is POSTing with the iXsystems splash screen but then goes to a black screen and then no signal until monitor cuts off; I expected to see the console or some other system information/error codes.

I also tried to connect to the Out of band Access interface after connecting a network cable to the IPMI/BMC port for the first time. BIOS and splash screen confirm the IP address assigned by DHCP. My browser fails to connect but I can ping the IP.

I see the same behavior with and without the 2 WD Red+ HDDs installed. Other than providing it power and a network, these HDDs are the only thing added to the system after purchasing.

Pressing the DEL key gets me into the BIOS. I have never been here on this system until the other day. I noticed the system date and time was not correct and there was the following item in the event log, which was classified as major severity: "DXE BS driver Unrecognized" and error code "EFI 03051003".

I typically unplug the system after backing up data and have had no problems until the other day after plugging it in. I purchased this from iXsystems in February 2022, let it stay on and plugged in for about 6 months and then started keeping unplugged until needed. This past cycle, it has been off for about 4-6 months.

My current thinking is that it is the SATA Flash Drive. But also wondering if maybe some BIOS settings got erased as indicated by the fact that the system did not keep the date. Does anyone have configuration settings documented somewhere for these TrueNAS Mini E from iXsystems?

Anyone have a solution? Thoughts on what I should try? Any other troubleshooting articles which can be helpful?

 

[Ericloewe]

My current thinking is that it is the SATA Flash Drive.

Not my first guess, but not impossible from your description.

But also wondering if maybe some BIOS settings got erased as indicated by the fact that the system did not keep the date. Does anyone have configuration settings documented somewhere fo

That does sound like a dead battery (Which means you would have gotten a dud in your server... Happens, but such a short life is unusual.). Definitely replace it and then reload the default system firmware settings to ensure any corrupted settings get overwritten.
Now, are the firmware factory settings the same as iX's factory settings? It's possible, the boards are customized for them. I'd ask iX's support contact for their input.
In any case, these are almost-stock Supermicro A2SDI boards, so there's not that much to do. You may want to:

1. Disable all the BIOS/CSM crap
2. Disable all boot options you don't care about
3. Enable VT-d, SR-IOV and the like, because why not, that stuff works, it's useful and relevant OSes are all cool with it.
4. Set boot priorities as per your needs.

If the system still won't boot and the SATA DOM shows up in the system firmware setup menu, the next step would be to create a boot USB flash drive and see if the boot pool is recognized.