Critical Alert on BOOT Volume - Help a newbie (please)

[Jez]

Hi FreeNAS forum people!

I have run a FreeNAS box for a few years, and always have just about got by, or have figured out what to do using this fantastic forum as a guide, however I feel this may (or may not) be beyond me, and I don't want to risk continuing and losing everything, so I thought I'd reach out...

Currently I have a Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU X5550 @ 2.67GHz (8 cores) and 12GB DDR3, running FreeNAS-9.3-STABLE-201505130355. It has 5TB of Hard Drive, but I run the actually system from a 16GB USB2 Stick which lives inside the machine plugged directly into the MB.

I've just had this alert pop up and I'm not sure what to do next:

CRITICAL: The boot volume state is ONLINE: One or more devices has experienced an unrecoverable error. An attempt was made to correct the error. Applications are unaffected.
​

I'm worried that the USB stick may have died, and I'm too scared to reboot and find out (Sorry if that was a stupid thing to say - maybe if it's dead the box would be too?)

However, I have lots of important stuff on there and I just dont want to lose it or start again if possible. Could someone kind please advise on what I should do next? I found a similar post but it wasn't referring to the BOOT volume (otherwise I would have tried my best with that solution).

Hopefully I have provided enough info above, but let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks in advance. Jez

 

[dlavigne]

It is an easy fix to install to a new boot device. Refer to the 3 steps at the bottom of http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_install.html#if-something-goes-wrong. Be sure to install either the same SU or the latest SU from http://download.freenas.org/9.3/STABLE/.

 

[Jez]

Hi Dlavigne,

Firstly thanks so much for the speedy response! Happy to hear it's an easy fix, but from the error provided, is that what I actually need to do? How do I see which 'device' has experienced the error? (I only use the GUI to do everything, I have no idea when it come to Shell stuff)

If it is what I need to do, will my Config file contain everything such as my BTSync passwords, CIF shares, etc? I just didn't want to re-set all that up again if I could avoid it...

 

[dlavigne]

If the message is complaining about your boot disk, replace it. Your config contains all of the non-jail stuff. The jail stuff is stored in the jail on the storage disk so you'll get that when you reimport your pool. And yes, it is designed to be that easy.

 

[Jez]

Ok understood. Thanks for your help! Appreciate it.

 

[Jez]

SO... I bought a new USB Stick, got everything ready to do the swap over, and decided I would just try and reboot the FreeNAS server to see if it would fail or not boot up... and it booted just fine.

Now it says "Boot Volume Condition: HEALTHY "

Wanted to know from someone with more experience whether you think I should do the swap anyway, and if there was any way of checking the USB currently in use for errors...??

I did read elsewhere that updating the version of FreeNAS can be detrimental to the USB stick on 9.3...

Any advice?

Also I'm thinking of using the new USB as a mirror - its the same size (16GB), the same brand (as in SanDisk) but not the same stick (ones a Cruzer the other an Extreme) - would there be any problems with this? And can some one explain how the mirroring actually works when and if you update the 'train' (i think thats the right term)? Presume it would update both boot USBs (hence the term mirroring?)

Thanks!

 

[joeschmuck]

You must replace your boot device (USB Flash Drive) or you will encounter more errors and possibly some corruption.

There is nothing wrong with FreeNAS 9.3 and my personal opinion is the mirrored boot device is a waste of money but some people like it. I say that because I do not change my configuration frequently and I always make a backup of my configuration which allows me to easily restore my system should the USB boot device die. Maybe is some critical system it might be worth having a mirrored device but for a home system, I just don't see it. It's just my opinion, read the forums and the manual, make up your own mind.

 

[hugovsky]

Now it says "Boot Volume Condition: HEALTHY "

Probably next time freenas do a scrub on the boot device, you'll get the error again.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Wanted to know ... if there was any way of checking the USB currently in use for errors...??

You can scrub the boot device again using System | Boot | Scrub Boot

 

[Ericloewe]

ZFS error counts are cleared on system reboot.

 

[Jez]

Thanks for the help thus far!

Right, so - I performed the Boot Scrub and it's come back saying HEALTHY.

Considering it's still running, plus the fact you guys still think I should replace the USB...

Should I:

1) Just replace the USB and continue with the single device?

2) Mirror using the new USB as the mirror? Unless that would mirror the possible errors and possible corruption?

3) Replace the USB, then use the old USB as the mirror?

I'm sort of swaying for option 3. Would be good to know advantage & disadvantages of each option...

Thoughts etc?

 

[gpsguy]

4) Buy a new matched set of flash drives and use them in a mirror

 

[DifferentStrokes]

4) Buy a new matched set of flash drives and use them in a mirror

+1
gpsguy is right. Mirrors are cheap, easy and a wise idea.

 

[joeschmuck]

Agreed, if you are going to mirror the boot device, you are best to buy a pair of matched devices (same read/write speed) although it's not a requirement, it just makes sense. 16GB size should be fine and future proof you for a while.

 

[sldemill]

I have had the same problem on my system. It has happened twice. Here is the error:

"The boot volume state is ONLINE: One or more devices has experienced an unrecoverable error. An attempt was made to correct the error. Applications are unaffected."

The first time I saved my config, reinstalled freeNAS and mirrored to a second identical SSD (I did not replace the first SSD). Now this is the second time with the same error. What do I do?

 

[Stux]

Work out which device is the issue and troubleshoot it.

It might not be the device. It might be a faulty cable or faulty sata port

If it is the device. Replace it.