Upgrading 9.1 embedded

[Lord Crc]

Hi,

I must confess I've always found the documentation around the installation of NAS4Free very confusing.

I upgraded my 9.1 embedded last night to 10.3, and it seems I missed some of the fine print in the readme:

** Embedded.img.xz is only for upgrades by WEBGUI, do not extract and write to any media for fast installs! **
It will be problematic as it doesn't make the required partitions you do need!

See, what I did was to

1. Save the config
2. Grabbed the "NAS4Free-x64-embedded-10.3.0.3.2898.img.xz" file, extracted the img file from it, and wrote the img file to a USB pen drive using ImageUSB[1].
3. Booted from the new pen drive.
4. Loaded previous config and rebooted.
5. Cleared disk info and reloaded that as per docs, enabled SMART etc and rebooted.
6. Enjoyed my upgraded NAS.

Today I noticed the above comment in the readme, and seeing as the readme and documentation explicitly says that I've done it the wrong way, I'm looking for the correct approach.

However I can't for the life of me figure out the correct way of turning a LiveUSB into an embedded install based on the docs[2]. Maybe I'm just really dense when it comes to this, but I'd really appreciate a "for dummies" step-by-step guide for upgrading correctly.

[1]: http://www.osforensics.com/tools/write-usb-images.html
[2]: http://wiki.nas4free.org/doku.php?id=do ... n_overview

[crowi]

You need two USB drives, one for the Live version and one which is empty to install the embedded to.
Boot from the Live version, and then choose in the console menu Installation and from there Embedded with Swap.

[Lord Crc]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Would be nice if this information could be added to the Wiki, for the next time I'm upgrading

[tony1]

the img.xz is for upgrading from the GUI only.
save the config and create a new flashdrive with either the livecd or liveusb.
the liveusb requires two flashdrives. (one to boot from and the other to install too)
once installed and booting from the new flashdrive restore the saved config.
you will need to install to a 2G or larger flashdrive.
the information is in the readme on the download page.
take care

[Lord Crc]

the information is in the readme on the download page.

The whole readme and wiki page on installation is very convoluted IMHO. I see the crucial line in the readme now when reading much more carefully, however it's not explicit you need to install on a separate USB drive. And this information is entirely missing from the wiki page which was my first stop.

I'd be happy to assist in improving the text if you're open for contributions.

[Lord Crc]

Oh and the fact that extracting the .xz file and using that img apparently works just fine (at least it's been running for a couple of days now without issues), just adds to the confusion. It would be better if was more obvious that the .xz file was the wrong one.

[tony1]

to quote the readme file:

** Embedded.img.xz is only for upgrades by WEBGUI, do not extract and write to any media for fast installs! ** It will be problematic as it doesn't make the required partitions you do need!

also

Upgrading NAS4Free "Embedded" or "Full" from any version below 9.3.0.2.1310 by webgui or from LiveCD/USB is problematic, due a new size of boot partition & partition layout. Please download and save your NAS4Free config and backup all files from second partition if you do use the boot disk as your data disk too. INSTALL FROM SCRATCH IS THAN THE ONLY WAY! After installation you can restore your config and continue using your server. Sorry for this inconvenience.

I will take a look at the wiki page.
glad you have it working.

[Lord Crc]

Yes that's what I mean, it tells you clearly one has to do the "from scratch", but the "from scratch" section is very terse and could do with some more explicit wording IMHO.

[tony1]

well,

Press 9 for the install menu, we recommand an embedded installation.

is self self explanatory besides a few spelling mistakes by someone whose primary language is not English.
but you are not alone. allot of people don't understand that two flashdrives are required for a liveusb install.
anyway I think you have the idea now on how to do it the proper way.

[Lord Crc]

well,

Press 9 for the install menu, we recommand an embedded installation.

is self self explanatory

Yes, the issue for me was that it was buried in a wall of text, so I didn't see it until I read it again after you pointed out it was in the readme