Date: Thu, 07 May 2026 05:32:45 +0000 From: linuxblood <linuxblood@proton.me> To: "freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org" <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org> Subject: Unable to boot after update from within auto-admin Message-ID: <-jWXlivnnS6JzOLtgdKgTjey5u550bHgIug6b2nMu8bxryJ5eNyXIQkpWZZ-q0Jbs8ndjWl0O521ZbDfIneWs2g0rquBziWMWrZqDBUiusY=@proton.me>
index | next in thread | raw e-mail
[-- Attachment #1 --]
Hi, I'm very new to FreeBSD.
Everything was working fine on my (desktop) system for a few days when I received a popup notification from within Openbox that updates were ready. I was skeptical so I closed the popup box and it said I could run 'auto-admin' at any time. I tried running auto-admin after logging out of Openbox and user session, logged in as root, selected the update option from the menu, it ran it, I accepted the reboot option, and I cannot boot into my system.
I'm running FreeBSD 15, on an old laptop with old BIOS. (from 2010 or thereabouts) I'm not compiling software, just using snapshot packages as selected during the install. I used the guided disk installer option. My system was up-to-date as far as I know prior to this.
Up to this point I'd been updating my system with pkg update then pkg upgrade and it's been smooth, but this popup led me to an update process in auto-admin which hosed my system.
Here are the error messages at boot, after I enter my encryption pass:
---
Can't find /boot/zfsloader
Can't find /boot/loader
zio_read error: 5
zio_read error: 5
zfs: i/o error - all block copies unavailable
zfs: can't read object set for dataset 388
zfs: can't open root filesystem
can't find /boot/kernel/kernel
freebsd/x86 boot
default:zfs:zroot/ROOT/default:/boot/kernel/kernel
boot:
---
I searched the web for instructions, and came upon something which I tried:
- Boot from FreeBSD 15 LiveDVD
- Choose Single User and login as root
- gpart show
- gpart bootcode -b /boot/pmbr -p /boot/gptzfsboot -i 1 ada0
(after using gpart show -l and gpart -p to verify freebsd-boot location)
It displayed the text that it was written and I rebooted and the system still throws up the errors after entering my encryption password.
I don't know what else to do at this point other than a complete reinstall, which would be a hard lesson to learn as I haven't saved any backups of personal files. I didn't expect this would hose my system. Was I correct to run the update as suggested via auto-admin then reboot? Is this type of popup notification normal?
I'm quite the BSD newbie. I tried to research this and fix it myself but.. I failed.
Is there any way to salvage the installation at this point?
[-- Attachment #2 --]
<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Hi, I'm very new to FreeBSD.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Everything was working fine on my (desktop) system for a few days when I received a popup notification from within Openbox that updates were ready. I was skeptical so I closed the popup box and it said I could run 'auto-admin' at any time. I tried running auto-admin after logging out of Openbox and user session, logged in as root, selected the update option from the menu, it ran it, I accepted the reboot option, and I cannot boot into my system.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I'm running FreeBSD 15, on an old laptop with old BIOS. (from 2010 or thereabouts) I'm not compiling software, just using snapshot packages as selected during the install. I used the guided disk installer option. My system was up-to-date as far as I know prior to this.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Up to this point I'd been updating my system with pkg update then pkg upgrade and it's been smooth, but this popup led me to an update process in auto-admin which hosed my system.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here are the error messages at boot, after I enter my encryption pass:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">---</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Can't find /boot/zfsloader</span><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Can't find /boot/loader</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">zio_read error: 5</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">zio_read error: 5</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">zfs: i/o error - all block copies unavailable</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">zfs: can't read object set for dataset 388</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">zfs: can't open root filesystem</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">can't find /boot/kernel/kernel</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">freebsd/x86 boot</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">default:zfs:zroot/ROOT/default:/boot/kernel/kernel</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">boot:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">---</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I searched the web for instructions, and came upon something which I tried:</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" data-editing-info="{"orderedStyleType":1,"unorderedStyleType":2}"><li style="list-style-type: "- ";"><span>Boot from FreeBSD 15 LiveDVD<br></span></li></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" data-editing-info="{"orderedStyleType":1,"unorderedStyleType":2}"><li style="list-style-type: "- ";"><span>Choose Single User and login as root<br></span></li></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" data-editing-info="{"orderedStyleType":1,"unorderedStyleType":2}"><li style="list-style-type: "- ";"><span>gpart show<br></span></li></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" data-editing-info="{"orderedStyleType":1,"unorderedStyleType":2}"><li style="list-style-type: "- ";"><span>gpart bootcode -b /boot/pmbr -p /boot/gptzfsboot -i 1 ada0<br></span></li></ul></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(after using gpart show -l and gpart -p to verify freebsd-boot location)</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It displayed the text that it was written and I rebooted and the system still throws up the errors after entering my encryption password.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I don't know what else to do at this point other than a complete reinstall, which would be a hard lesson to learn as I haven't saved any backups of personal files. I didn't expect this would hose my system. Was I correct to run the update as suggested via auto-admin then reboot? Is this type of popup notification normal?</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I'm quite the BSD newbie. I tried to research this and fix it myself but.. I failed.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Is there any way to salvage the installation at this point?</div>
home |
help
Want to link to this message? Use this
URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?-jWXlivnnS6JzOLtgdKgTjey5u550bHgIug6b2nMu8bxryJ5eNyXIQkpWZZ-q0Jbs8ndjWl0O521ZbDfIneWs2g0rquBziWMWrZqDBUiusY=>