FreePBX System 300 Recovery

Owned by Kelli Higdon
Last updated: Apr 10, 2024
7 min read

The following steps will guide you through the re-installation process of your System 300 Sangoma appliance

Preparation

  1. Verify that the appliance is powered off.

  2. Connect the appliance to the internet using a LAN cable (The system requires internet to setup timezone and network details)

    1. Plug a network cable (cat 5) into port 0 on the appliance  as seen below:

       

If you have a FreePBX appliance, Port 0 is labeled with a Green color instead of Grey as indicated above

 

b. Plug the other end of the network cable into a network that will provide internet access to the appliance
 

  1. Plug a USB-to-Serial Console Cable into the Console Port located on the front of the appliance, as seen below:

     

The System 300 does not come shipped with a USB-to-Serial Console cable. However, it is the standard console cable that is used with any networking equipment.
See the below image for an example usb-to-serial console cable:

 

a. Plug the RJ45 end into the the Console port on the appliance

b. Plug the USB end into a laptop or desktop computer

c. If your computer does not have the software drivers installed for the usb-to-serial cable please visit the following page:

-> Appliance USB to Serial Cable
-> you must have the drivers installed otherwise your computer will not be able to communicate with the appliance through the console cable.

d. From the computer determine which USB port the console cable is plugged into.

i. For Windows: open up device manager and expand the ports area, see below example:

a. in the above example, COM3 is the port.

e. From the computer, open up a terminal program and connect to the above detected COM port.

i. use the following connection settings:

Speed: 115200n8 1

Hardware/Software flow control: disabled

 

ii. For example, on a Windows computer, you can use Putty (free downloadable program) and connect as seen below (with your detected port in place of COM3):

 

iii. The terminal screen should appear black/blank (which is normal) as the appliance is powered off and there is nothing to be seen on screen. 

          

USB Recovery Process

A USB recovery key was included with the packaging of your System 300.

This is required for the following steps. If you cannot locate the USB recovery key, you can quickly create one yourself using your own USB key and by following the instructions on this wiki

  • Plug the USB Recovery Key into any of the USB ports located on the front of the appliance.

  • Turn your PBX on and immediately press the TAB key on your computer's keyboard as soon as you see the following screen.

     

    This will log you into the BOOT menu, as seen below:

     

  • Using the arrow keys on your keyboard navigate to the BOOT menu item, as seen below:

     

  • Within the Boot menu screen you will be able to see the boot order.  In the example screenshot below, we can see when the PBX starts up, it will first try to boot from the OWC Mercury Hard Drive, since it is Boot Option #1.  If the Hard drive is unavailable the PBX will try to boot from 1100 second. 1100 is the USB Recovery Key installed in previous step.  

     

  • The Boot order needs to be changed so that the PBX tries to boot from 1100 (the USB Recovery Key).

  • To change the boot priority for 1100 to be number 1 in the list  scroll down to Boot Option 1, press the <enter> key and set the USB drive so that it will boot first from the USB drive. 

     

Once we have completed the Recovery process you will need to log back into the BIOS and change the Boot order to have the Hard drive be Boot Option #1.

  • Press F10 on your keyboard to save and confirm your changes, which will reboot the PBX.

     

  • As the appliance reboots it will boot from the USB recovery key and prompt you for PBX installation.

     

  • Select the Full Install of the Current Stable version with Asterisk 13.

  • The following Network Device screen will appear, asking you to select the Ethernet interface your network cable is plugged into
     

    • Since your network cable is plugged into Port 0, select eth4 from the list by moving your cursor key down.

    • Once Eth4 is selected press the TAB key on your keyboard to move to the OK button, then select <enter> to move to the next step.

  • The following Network configuration screen will then present itself

     

  • For standard DHCP settings (recommended), press the TAB key on your keyboard to move forward to the OK button and then press the <enter> key

    • If you want to setup a static IP address press the TAB key over Manual configuration to setup a static IP address

  • Select a Time Zone

     

  • Make your selection then press the TAB key on your keyboard to move to the OK button, then select <enter> to move to the next step.

  • Set your root password

     

  • Creation your root password then press the TAB key on your keyboard to move to the OK button, then select <enter> to move to the next step.

  • The installation process will take about 20-40 minutes. Do not power down the system at this time. Allow the process to complete

  • Near the end, your appliance will reboot itself. Please make sure to remove the USB key otherwise the system will try and boot again from the USB key

  • Once complete, a login screen will present itself, as seen below: 

    • Login with your root password that you created in the previous step

  • The final step is to reactivate the appliance with the deployment ID that originally shipped with your system.

 

  • To reactivate your appliance type the following on screen:
    -> fwconsole sa a <deployment Id>
    -> press the <enter> key

 

  • Type the following command to verify that your system is completely happy
    -> fwconsole sa eol
    press the <enter> key

  • You can find the IP address of the system by typing "ifconfig" within the command line.

    • The IP address is located beside ETH0.

    • You can use this IP address to log into the appliance's WebGUI 

 

Final Steps

  • Please remove the USB recovery key from the USB port 

  • Reboot your appliance and press the DELETE key numerous times until you log into the BIOS screen (as in the initial steps)

     

  • Using the arrow keys on your keyboard navigate to the BOOT menu item, as seen below:

     

  • Scroll down to the Boot order and verify (or change) the system Hard drive is now BOOT Option #1. In the example below the hard drive is the OWE

     

  • Press F10 on your keyboard to save and confirm your changes, which will reboot the PBX.

     

  • Done

 

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