Boot from Install Media Fails

Due to the wide array of hardware combinations in use, it is not uncommon for a memstick or CD to boot incorrectly (or not at all). Given the unpredictable nature of commodity hardware support, using hardware from the Netgate Store is the only guaranteed path to success.

That said, the most common problems and solutions are:

USB Memstick Support Some BIOS implementations can be picky about USB memstick support. If booting from one stick fails, try a different one.

USB 3 Ports Certain combinations of USB sticks and ports, especially USB 3.0 ports, may not work correctly. Try a USB 2.0 memstick in a USB 2.0 port.

BIOS Issues Update to the most recent BIOS, and disable any unneeded peripherals such as Firewire, Floppy Drives, and Audio.

Dirty Optical Drive Clean the drive with a cleaning disc or a can of compressed air, or try another drive.

Bad Optical Media Burn another disc and/or burn the disc at a lower speed. Perhaps try another brand of media.

SATA/IDE Cable Issues Try a different SATA/IDE cable between the CD-ROM drive and the controller or motherboard

Boot Loader Issues There have been cases where specific versions of the CD boot loader from FreeBSD did not work on certain hardware. In these cases, perform the target drive installation on a separate PC and then move it to the target hardware.