Installing from CDROM

If you prefer to install FreeNAS™ using a menu-driven installer, download the ISO image that matches the architecture of the system you will install onto (32 or 64 bit) and burn it to a CDROM.

NOTE: the installer on the CDROM will recognize if a previous version of FreeNAS™ 8.x is already installed, meaning the CDROM can also be used to upgrade FreeNAS. However, the installer can not perform an upgrade from a FreeNAS™ 7.x system.

Insert the CDROM into the system and boot from it. Once the media has finished booting, you will be presented with the console setup menu seen in Figure 2.2a.

NOTE: if the installer does not boot, check that the CD drive is listed first in the boot order in the BIOS. Some motherboards may require you to connect the CD-ROM to SATA0 (the first connector) in order to boot from CD-ROM. If it stalls during boot, check the SHA256 hash of your ISO against that listed in the README file; if the hash does not match, re-download the file. If the hash is correct, try reburning the CD at a lower speed.

Figure 2.2a: FreeNAS™ Console Setup

Press enter to select the default option of "1 Install/Upgrade to hard drive/flash device, etc.". The next menu, seen in Figure 2.2b, will list all available drives, including any inserted USB thumb drives which will begin with "da". In this example, the user is installing into VirtualBox and has created a 4GB virtual disk to hold the operating system.

NOTE: at this time, the installer does not check the size of the install media before attempting an installation. A 2 GB device is required, but the install will appear to complete successfully on smaller devices, only to fail at boot.

Figure 2.2b: Selecting Which Drive to Install Into

Use your arrow keys to highlight the USB or compact flash device then tab to OK and press enter. FreeNAS™ will issue the warning seen in Figure 2.2c, reminding you not to install on a hard drive:

Figure 2.2c: FreeNAS™ Warning on Why You Should Install onto USB Flash Drive

Press enter and FreeNAS™ will extract the running image from the ISO and transfer it to the device. Once the installation is complete, you should see the message in Figure 2.2d:

Figure 2.2d: FreeNAS™ Installation Complete

Press enter and you'll return to the first menu, seen in Figure 2.2a. Highlight "3 Reboot System" and press enter. Remove the CDROM. If you installed onto a USB thumb drive, leave the thumb drive inserted. Make sure that the device you installed to is listed as the first boot entry in the BIOS so that the system will boot from it. FreeNAS™ should now be able to boot into the Console setup menu described in Initial Setup.