Unhandled Exception - Can’t Login to Web GUI - Please help! SSH Help

[jay-zzz]

Hello, I have spent almost an hour reviewing a number of posts, but none seem to deal with my specific issues so I created this new post.

HISTORY:
I successfully installed FreeNAS 8.X almost 1 year ago. I’ve moved 3 times since then. The server has been off for about 4 months. I fired it up today and could not log in to the GUI. I received the following error:

"Unhandled Exception
An unhandled exception was thrown by the application."

EQUIPMENT:
Processor - Intel Pentium G3220 3.0 GHz Dual Core Intel HD
Motherboard - Supermicro MBD -X10SLL +F -O UATX
RAM - Crucial 16 GB 240 pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered Server Memory
Storage - WD Red 3 TB drives X 6 = 18 TB total / Used about 2 TB so far.

I can successfully log in via ssh into the FreeNAS box. I’m unsure as to what I should do once logged in. I also can successful log in via IPMI. Once logged in via IPMI, I see this error:
"/: bad dir into 19848 at offset 4: mangled entry”

Here are my questions / issues:
1. What does the error "/: bad dir into 19848 at offset 4: mangled entry” mean?
2. I’m unaware of the exact FreeNAS version - can I check this via SSH?
3. Where are the error logs located? I’d like to review and try to figure out what happened.
4. Can I deactivate the jails / plugins via ssh? I believe that CouchPotato, and other jails are causing the unhanded exception error.
5. Can I download my config file via SSH? If so, what’s the location. I believe I could reinstall the latest version of FreeNAS then upload my config file - would this solve the error even though I would need to upgrade from version 8.X to 9.X.

Is there something else I haven’t considered? Or perhaps you might be able to suggest a better more accurate solution to my error.

 

[danb35]

The config file is at /data/freenas-v1.db. I don't know what is causing the web GUI to not load, but I strongly doubt it's anything to do with your jails. uname -a at the shell prompt should give an indication of your FreeNAS version.

 

[jay-zzz]

Dan, thanks for the quick reply. The version I am running is:
9.2-RELEASE FreeBSD 9.2-RELEASE #0 r+2315ea3

I located the file /data/freenas-v1.db. Whats the best way for me to download it?

Should I reinstall freenas and then upload the freenas.v1.db again?

 

[danb35]

If your shares are working, you can copy it to one of them, then from there to your desktop machine. If you know how to use scp, you could do that (it's standard on Mac and Linux; I think Windows would need a third-party app). You could probably FTP it somewhere if you like.

I'd suggest getting a copy of the database to your desktop (in any of the above ways), doing a clean install of FreeNAS 9.2 to a new USB stick, booting with that, and then uploading the config database. Assuming that works, look for one of @cyberjock's posts describing his recommended upgrade path to 9.3, assuming you want to run 9.3.

 

[jay-zzz]

For those who come across this thread with the same problem, here’s what I did to get the system running:

1. Locate and download a copy of the file /data/freeenas-v1.db from your current installation.
2. With 9.3+ you need TWO usb drives, one for the iso image and second for the FreeNas OS.
3. I decided to install the latest version (from 9.2 to 9.3) so during the installation process I was able to successful use the existing db file, however if installation or the upgrade fails and you can access the GUI, you could still perform a restore using the back up file freenas-v1.db.
4. Basically what happened in my situation, at lease my best guess, is that the ‘old’ usb used for FreeNas 9.2 somehow became corrupt. I reinstalled FreeNas using these instructions http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_install.html#preparing-the-media then performed the upgrade.

As a note, I can’t stress how important it is to purchase a good quality USB drive rather than something really cheap as this is what your system will be booting from. Trying to save $5-$10 in the beginning isn’t worth the headache of trying to figure out what went wrong and when. I’ve spent over 4 hours troubleshooting this situation and performing the installation. The extra money you spend on the USB drive will definitely save a lot of time unnecessary headaches!!

Thanks to Dan, I was able to get to the bottom of this solution!

 

[danb35]

2. With 9.3+ you need TWO usb drives, one for the iso image and second for the FreeNas OS.

No, you don't need two USB drives. You need some way to store the installer (which could be by burning the ISO to a CD or DVD, mounting it via IPMI, making it a virtual disk in a VM, or probably a dozen other methods other than placing the image on a USB key), and you need at least one boot device (which could be a USB key, a SATA DOM, an SSD, a CF card, or even a small hard drive). Those two things can't be the same device. FreeNAS has never allowed those two things to be the same device--this is nothing new. The only thing that is new is that you must boot the installer in order to install the system to the FreeNAS boot device--you can't simply copy the system image to your boot device using dd or some other imaging program.

USB sticks are pretty common for FreeNAS, no doubt, but iXSystems prefers SATA DOMs. I've ordered a pair of 16 GB modules from eBay. Once they get here from China I'll give them a try.

Glad you got your system working again--hopefully it'll be trouble-free from here on out.

 

[jay-zzz]

I should have stated that this is the method that I used, I understand there are plenty of other options.

 

[jay-zzz]

Dan, let me know how the SATA DOMs work out. I’m really interested to use this in my environment too. NewEgg is selling them for around $50 is that what you got?

 

[danb35]

I bought two of these units for about $30 each. They're coming on the slow boat from China, I expect, but I'll try to update when I have more.

 

[danb35]

Just as an update--the SATA DOMs arrived a couple of weeks ago. I backed up my config file, powered down the server, installed them, and removed the two USB sticks I'd been using. Did a clean install of 9.3 to the DOMs, uploaded the config file, and everything seems to be working well. I've installed another update since then, and it seemed to go faster than before when I was using USB sticks, but I haven't timed anything. I'm hoping reliability will be better than the USB sticks have been, but it's too soon to tell. The cost is a bit more than a USB stick, but $30 each shipped doesn't seem too bad.

 

[jay-zzz]

Dan, thank for the update. I’ve also ordered the SATA DOM you recommend. I’ll update once I have it installed.

I don’t have any more SATA ports available on my motherboard (Supermicro MBD -X10SLL +F -O UATX - all 6 used by WD 3TB drives).
Should I get a PCI mounting card with 2-3 ports or is there another solution you would recommend?
I only need to order 1 SATA DOM for FreeNAS, correct?