Hardware Troubleshooting

the following suggestions will help resolve general hardware issues.

Booting from USB

If the boot stops with a mountroot> prompt while booting off the installer image, usually with USB CD/DVD drives, escape to the loader prompt from the boot menu and run the following:

set kern.cam.boot_delay=10000 boot

At which point the boot will continue normally.

If the firewall is running permanently from a medium that requires this delay, edit /boot/loader.conf.local

and insert the following line:

kern.cam.boot_delay=10000

Remove unnecessary hardware

If the firewall contains hardware that will not be used, remove or disable it. This normally isn’t an issue, but can cause problems and has the potential to reduce performance. If an unused piece of hardware is removable, take it out of the firewall or disable it in the BIOS.

Disable PNP OS in the BIOS

This is a common fix for older hardware. BIOS configuration screens may contain a setting for PNP OS or Plug and Play OS, which should be set to disable or no . A few have a setting for OS, which should usually be set to other.

Upgrade the BIOS

The second most common fix for hardware problems is upgrading the BIOS to the latest revision. People seem to have a hard time believing this one, but trust us, do it. BIOS updates commonly fix bugs in hardware. It isn’t uncommon to hit problems induced by hardware bugs on systems that have been stable running Windows for long periods of time. Either Windows doesn’t trigger the bug, or has a work around, as we have encountered this on multiple occasions. Things that BIOS updates can fix include: Failing to boot, time keeping problems, general instability, and other issues like hardware compatibility.

Reset BIOS settings to factory defaults

Recycled systems may have an atypical BIOS configuration. Most contain an option allowing factory default options to be loaded. Use this option to get a fresh start on the BIOS settings.

Other BIOS settings

If the BIOS allows power management configuration, try toggling that option. Look for anything else that seems relevant to whichever aspect of the installation is failing. If it gets to this point, the target hardware is probably a lost cause and alternate hardware may be necessary. Also check to see if the BIOS has an event log that may list hardware errors such as memory test failures.

If the hardware uses a new or recent chipset, a development version of AZTCO-FW software may work.

Other Hardware Issues

The target hardware may be faulty, which testing with diagnostic software may reveal. Test the hard drive with diagnostic software from the OEM, and test the memory with a program such as memtest86+. These and more tools are available on the “Ultimate Boot CD”, which is preloaded with many free hardware diagnostic tools.

Also ensure that all of the fans are spinning at speed, and that no components are overheating. If this is older reused hardware, compressed/canned air cleaning of the fans and heat sinks can work wonders.