# Boot FreeBSD from an external USB hard disk



## vince66 (Aug 20, 2018)

Hello Guys,

I would like to boot FreeBSD from an external USB hard disk.
I would like it works for any machine!

Sincerely, I've installed the FreeBSD 11.1 on an external USB HD from the DVD installer disk and the USB HD has worked  fine for several PCs.
But I have a PC for which now it doesn't  boot.

Can you help me to understand more.

I've just read several thread about this question but no global solution I've found.

Bye!


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## balanga (Aug 20, 2018)

Installing to an external USB hard disk is no different to installing it on a local hard disk, you just have to pick the correct device. 

On FreeBSD local disks are identified as /dev/adax and external disks are identified as /dev/dax.


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## jpierri (Aug 21, 2018)

vince66 said:


> But I have a PC for which now it doesn't boot.


Is it possible to boot some other operating system using that same USB port? Which one did you test?


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## vince66 (Aug 22, 2018)

balanga said:


> Installing to an external USB hard disk is no different to installing it on a local hard disk, you just have to pick the correct device.
> 
> On FreeBSD local disks are identified as /dev/adax and external disks are identified as /dev/dax.


Hello !
Surely ... I'm agree with you ... in fact it is very strange ... 
How can I pick the correct device ?
Via Hardware: I've plugged the USB Hard Drive in any of the four USB ports, but without results. The process stops at BIOS level.



Phishfry said:


> This is kind of vague but here goes:


Phishfry, please, can you be more clear ? 

Thanks in advance guys !!!


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## SirDice (Aug 22, 2018)

vince66 said:


> I've plugged the USB Hard Drive in any of the four USB ports, but without results. The process stops at BIOS level.


How old is that machine? Is it actually capable of booting from an USB disk? The existence of one or more USB ports is no guarantee it can boot from it. If it is capable, maybe the USB boot option has been disabled in the BIOS?


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## vince66 (Aug 22, 2018)

jpierri said:


> Is it possible to boot some other operating system using that same USB port? Which one did you test?





SirDice said:


> How old is that machine? Is it actually capable of booting from an USB disk? The existence of one or more USB ports is no guarantee it can boot from it.



Hello .... it boots without problem from a Ubuntu USB stick.

The processor is: Intel Core2 CPU 6420 @ 2.13GHz.
The installed memory is mounted in dual-channel configuration.
Problems?



SirDice said:


> If it is capable, maybe the USB boot option has been disabled in the BIOS?


I use F8 key to choose the boot device and the FreeBSD external HD is correctly recognized.

In the attached picture,you can see the point the boot process stops.

Suggestions ?


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## jpierri (Aug 22, 2018)

vince66 said:


> Hello .... it boots without problem from a Ubuntu USB stick.


And from a USB stick like this one, did you try booting it?


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## balanga (Aug 22, 2018)

So it is actually starting to boot, but since 11.1 is no longer supported I'd suggest trying 11.2 before anything else.


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## vince66 (Aug 22, 2018)

jpierri said:


> And from a USB stick like this one, did you try booting it?


Hello jpierri,

let me download this version and I'll try it.

Please, can you tell me if it is maybe modified ? 

Thanks.

Best Regards.


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## vince66 (Aug 22, 2018)

balanga said:


> So it is actually starting to boot, but since 11.1 is no longer supported I'd suggest trying 11.2 before anything else.



Are you shure that the 11.2 is stable ? Does it works fine like the 11.1 ?
My apologize ... I have not been updated on the version 11.2.
Please, let me know.

Thanks !!!


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## jpierri (Aug 22, 2018)

vince66 said:


> Please, can you tell me if it is maybe modified ?


I do not understand what you are asking here


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## balanga (Aug 22, 2018)

vince66 said:


> Are you shure that the 11.2 is stable ? Does it works fine like the 11.1 ?
> My apologize ... I have not been updated on the version 11.2.
> Please, let me know.
> 
> Thanks !!!


 11.2 is the latest RELEASE version. If you are having problems it's always best to try the most up to date version. 

Did you describe your system?


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## vince66 (Aug 23, 2018)

jpierri said:


> I do not understand what you are asking here


Hello jpierri,

my apologize ... My question was another: you sent me the link to a .img file for a USB sitck.  But, once I've installed FreeBSD on the removable media (USB stick or HD) I need to install other software from ports. I don't think that the .img file allows this.
I need to install FreeBSD on an external media so I can up-to-date some packages at needs.

Is it clear now ?

More: I wrote that my machine is based on the processor Intel Core2 CPU 6420 @ 2.13GHz.
So, should be good the 64 bit version of the Freebsd 11.2.  Why you want I check the i386 version ?

Thanks very much.


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## vince66 (Aug 23, 2018)

balanga said:


> Did you describe your system?


Please Balanga,

generally speacking "describe the system" what means ?

Is the output of the dmesg?

I think so .. thanks very much.


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## jpierri (Aug 24, 2018)

vince66 said:


> Hello jpierri,
> 
> my apologize ... My question was another: you sent me the link to a .img file for a USB sitck. ...


You told us that an Ubuntu USB stick booted normaly.
That is precisely why I sent you this link: To check if a FreeBSD vanilla install image would boot normaly on that hardware, not for you to use it.


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## vince66 (Aug 25, 2018)

jpierri said:


> That is precisely why I sent you this link: To check if a FreeBSD vanilla install image would boot normaly on that hardware, not for you to use it.


ok ... please ... let me try.

thanks.


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## vince66 (Aug 26, 2018)

jpierri said:


> check if a FreeBSD vanilla install image would boot normaly on that hardware





Phishfry said:


> I use 32 bit FreeBSD so I can use my USB stick on all devices I own.





SirDice said:


> Is it actually capable of booting from an USB disk?





balanga said:


> 11.2 is the latest RELEASE version. If you are having problems it's always best to try the most up to date version.



I've download FreeBSD-11.2-RELEASE-i386-memstick.img (as jpierri suggested) .... booting from a usb stick there are no problems.


So, I've download FreeBSD-11.2-RELEASE-i386-dvd1.iso, I've installed it on a USB hard disk and booted from it. This boot is problematic.


If you want I can describe my system, attaching info by dmesg, but my problem is not to find a solution for this particular machine.

My goal is to have a FreeBSD hard disk that boots on every PC, without have any apriori description of the hardware I need to boot from.

Tips are welcome.


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## jpierri (Aug 26, 2018)

vince66 said:


> My goal is to have a FreeBSD hard disk that boots on every PC, without have any apriori description of the hardware I need to boot.


I'm not sure this is an attainable goal because there is a huge variety of hardware out there and not everything works everywhere the same way.
The most hardware agnostic images I'm aware of are exactly those installation images.


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## vince66 (Aug 26, 2018)

jpierri said:


> The most hardware agnostic images I'm aware of are exactly those installation images.


Really !!!  What I need is the most hardware agnostic FreeBSD version.

How to add/update software to the .img memstick version ?


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## balanga (Aug 26, 2018)

vince66 said:


> I've download FreeBSD-11.2-RELEASE-i386-memstick.img (as jpierri suggested) .... booting from a usb stick there are no problems.
> 
> My goal is to have a FreeBSD hard disk that boots on every PC, without have any apriori description of the hardware I need to boot from.
> 
> Tips are welcome.



If you manage it then post a howto...

If have external USB disks which I use when I starting up an unknown PC, but my first preference is to plug in a network cable and try try and start it up off the network via PXE. I can boot mfsBSD over the network in less than a minute from power on and most of that time is spent getting to the boot menu. mfsBSD itself boots in less than half a minute.
There are numerous things to consider when  trying to create a universal FreeBSD boot disk. You have to know if FreeBSD will actually run on the PC. amd64 won't work on i386. And then there is the issue of UEFI...

I did create a Multiboot disk using Grub at one point and could boot FreeBSD on everything I tried, but somehow overwrote Grub and have been unable to recreate it.  I presume you are simply trying to get to the login prompt rather than starting up a GUI.


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## vince66 (Aug 26, 2018)

balanga said:


> I presume you are simply trying to get to the login prompt rather than starting up a GUI.


My only and only goal is to boot a PC with the FreeBSD to take a dd image of its hard disk. Finish of the work. 
However I need to install a tool from FreeBSD ports.


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## balanga (Aug 26, 2018)

Doesn't dd() come included on the installation image?


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## jpierri (Aug 26, 2018)

vince66 said:


> My only and only goal is to boot a PC with the FreeBSD to take a dd image of its hard disk.


It looks like you are trying to build a kind of forensic kit.


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## vince66 (Aug 26, 2018)

jpierri said:


> It looks like you are trying to build a kind of forensic kit.


Forensic kit? what kind of game is ?


Have you ever heard about clouds maintenance in the industry 4.0 ?
Configurations reparing ?
I solve any of this problems "dd-ing" server and PC with FreeBSD!


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## jpierri (Aug 26, 2018)

vince66 said:


> Forensic kit? what kind of game is ?


It is handled with stuff like sysutils/sleuthkit


vince66 said:


> Have you ever heard about clouds maintenance in the industry 4.0 ?


That is new to me


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