Firewall appliance does not boot

[louis_nichols]

Hi!

This is not strictly opnsense related, but it is the OS I am planning to install, and I can't think of a better place to ask this. I'm hoping someone here can help.

So I bought this device, barebone:
https://amzn.eu/d/21CumzH

And I installed in it two pieces of this RAM:
https://amzn.eu/d/6Ip5o7X

And a piece of this storage:
https://amzn.eu/d/bKKWgA6

But the device doesn't boot. A few seconds after power up it emits one beep and that's it.

I connected an HDMI monitor to it and at boot nothing is displayed. The interface is not even initialized, as the monitor continuously displays "No connection".

If I remove the SSD, the error is the same, which makes me think it's related to the RAM. I tried using just one of the RAM pieces and it's the same.

Any idea what it my be? Or where I could find out what that one beep means? I would investigate the RAM more, for example by buying another model, but I wouldn't want to spend too much time and money investigating the in the wrong direction.

[lilsense]

Your issue may be RAM related.

[louis_nichols]

Your issue may be RAM related.

Thanks for the reply. I also suspected that, but then I remembered that I had an old PC once that used to beep once on every boot. And that got me thinking.

I connected the device to a monitor via DisplayPort and voila. It boots.

It just doesn't output anything on HDMI, which is terribly misleading and quite annoying.

Unfortunately, now I hit another bump, because it doesn't recognize the SSD.

When I try to install opnsense, it shows it in the list, but I can't do anything with it. I tried several options in the install menu with the same result. I don't remember their exact names, but I tried both unattended and manual options.

In Ubuntu, it shows under lsblk as /dev/sdb, but it shows as 0B and I also can't do anything with it. GParted doesn't even list it.

I tried diskpart under a Windows installer and it's the same. It shows as 0B but can't do anything with it. I tried to create a GPT table on it and got an error.

I've connected the SSD to two different M.2 slots and got the same.

Any ideas?

[EricPerl]

This a SATA SSD and your mini-PC appears to expect a NVME SSD...
A cursory look at the spec doesn't indicate a SATA SSD will work.

If it's really only a Gen3 x1 port, expect less than 1GB/s transfer rate...
That part won't necessarily be an issue with OPN which apparently doesn't need high transfer rate.

[cookiemonster]

The linked mini pc https://amzn.eu/d/21CumzH has the spec is listed as
storage: 2 x M.2 2280 PCIE3.0 x1 NVME SSD and 1 x 2.5 inch SATA SSD/HDD
So it can apparently work with M.2 SSD (SATA) , NVME SSD and standard SATA interfaces. Not only NVMe. Although it might need selecting from uEFI if the M.2 is storage or Wifi module.
That said, it sounds like the SSD could be faulty. My guess is just needs creating a partition table (needs GPT because this machine apparently only does uEFI). Forget MS Windows, their tools are pants.

[Patrick M. Hausen]

The linked mini pc https://amzn.eu/d/21CumzH has the spec is listed as
storage: 2 x M.2 2280 PCIE3.0 x1 NVME SSD and 1 x 2.5 inch SATA SSD/HDD
So it can apparently work with M.2 SSD (SATA)

The spec clearly reads:

2x M.2 NVMe SSD
1x 2.5 inch SATA

No M.2 SATA. 2.5 inch SATA uses a cable and a standard SATA connector.

[cookiemonster]

This is what I see when I follow the link:

Storage: 2 x M.2 2280 PCIE3.0 x1 NVME SSD and 1 x 2.5 inch SATA SSD/HDD
Network Card: Intel 2.5GbE I226-V, UDE built-in filter connector
I/O interface: Power ON/OFF, CLR CMOS, 2 x USB 3.0, Type-C for display/USB, TF, 2 x USB2.0, HDMI, DP, 4 x LAN, DC_IN.
Expansion: 1 x M.2 slot for M.2 2280 NVME SSD or M.2 WiFi 6, 2 choose 1.

[cookiemonster]

I have re-read it and I stand corrected. Those are NVMEs not SATAs. The 1x2.5 SATA is the one I am saying is standard SATA.