claudetools/clients/lonestar-electrical/session-logs/2026-06-02-session.md

User

• User: Howard Enos (howard)
• Machine: Howard-Home
• Role: tech

Lone Star Electrical — Unraid Server USB Replacement & Re-registration (2026-06-02)

Session Summary

The Lone Star Electrical Unraid server was failing to boot, halting at bzfirmware checksum error - press ENTER key to reboot.... The boot console showed Unraid verifying its boot files against stored SHA256 sums; bzimage, bzroot, bzroot-gui, and bzmodules all passed, but bzfirmware failed its checksum, so the OS never mounted and the box looped on reboot. The flash drive (label UNRAID, /dev/sda1, Generic 8GB) was detected and fsck.fat ran clean (758 files, no FAT errors), isolating the fault to the corrupt bzfirmware file content rather than the filesystem.

This was first triaged earlier in the day on another machine. The initial fix — replacing the corrupt bzfirmware file on the existing USB — did not hold: after rebooting, the same checksum error recurred. The recurrence confirmed the original diagnosis that the 8GB generic USB flash drive itself was failing (the #1 wear item on Unraid), not a one-off file corruption.

Howard migrated the server to a new USB flash drive. He used the official Unraid USB Creator to write Unraid 7.1.4 to the new stick (which handles FAT32 format, the UNRAID volume label, the bz* OS files, and installing the syslinux bootloader / boot flag in one step). He then copied the config/ folder from the old flash drive onto the new stick to preserve the array configuration (super.dat disk assignments, shares, network settings, and the existing license .key).

Because a new USB has a new GUID, the existing license key would not validate against it. Howard completed the license re-registration / key transfer to bind the license to the new flash GUID. The server is now booting off the new stick. Mike is having a Claude session run a check on the server to verify health/array state. This log is being saved so a Syncro ticket can be created and notes updated.

Key Decisions

• Replaced the entire USB flash drive rather than re-replacing the bzfirmware file again — the recurrence after a file-level fix confirmed the stick was failing, so a fresh stick was the correct remediation.
• Used the Unraid USB Creator (vs. manual file copy + make_bootable) to guarantee a properly bootable stick with correct label/bootloader.
• Preserved the old config/ folder verbatim on the new stick to retain disk assignments and avoid reconfiguring the array; only the OS files were fresh (from 7.1.4).
• Completed the license key transfer to the new GUID rather than running indefinitely in Trial mode.

Problems Encountered

• Recurring bzfirmware checksum error on boot. Initial fix (replacing the bzfirmware file on the old USB) failed — error returned after reboot. Root cause: failing USB flash drive. Resolved by migrating to a new USB stick written with the Unraid USB Creator (7.1.4) + copied config/.
• New USB = new GUID, old license invalid. The copied .key would not validate against the new flash GUID. Resolved by completing the Unraid license key transfer/re-registration to the new stick.

Configuration Changes

• New Unraid boot USB flash drive created for the Lone Star Unraid server (Unraid 7.1.4 via USB Creator).
• Old config/ folder (super.dat / shares / network / .key) copied from the failing stick onto the new stick.
• Unraid license re-registered / transferred to the new flash GUID.

Credentials & Secrets

• No Lone Star Unraid credential is vaulted. Vault search returned only ACG's own Unraid boxes: infrastructure/jupiter-unraid-primary.sops.yaml (Jupiter, 172.16.3.20) and infrastructure/uranus-unraid.sops.yaml (Uranus, 172.16.3.21) — neither is the Lonestar server.
• Unraid login is always user root; the root password is stored in config/shadow on the flash, so the original Lonestar root password carried over with the copied config/ folder.
• TODO: capture the Lonestar Unraid root password and create a vault entry for this server (hostname, IP, Unraid 7.1.4, license type). Not yet vaulted.

Infrastructure & Servers

• Lone Star Electrical Unraid server — exact hostname / LAN IP / license type not yet documented (verify and add to vault + wiki).
• Boot device (failed): label UNRAID, /dev/sda1, Generic Flash Disk 8GB (8.05 GB / 7.50 GiB).
• Now running: Unraid 7.1.4 on a new USB flash drive.
• Client: Lone Star Electrical Systems LLC — Syncro customer ID 33809612. Google Workspace shop (lonestarelectrical.net), ManageEngine MDM. Primary contact: Robin Eneix (robine@lonestarelectrical.net).

Commands & Outputs

• Boot failure (verbatim from console): Verifying bzfirmware checksum ... → bzfirmware checksum error - press ENTER key to reboot...; preceding umount: /: not mounted.
• fsck.fat 4.2 (2021-01-31): /dev/sda1: 758 files, 231850/1961984 clusters (clean — filesystem healthy, file content corrupt).

Pending / Incomplete Tasks

• Create Syncro ticket for Lone Star Electrical documenting the Unraid USB failure + replacement + re-registration (this is the explicit reason for saving).
• Mike's Claude session is running a health check on the server — capture results (array start state, disk assignments, parity validity, registration status) and fold into the ticket/notes.
• Verify array integrity before/after start: confirm all disks landed in correct slots from the copied super.dat; ensure no unwanted parity rebuild was triggered.
• Vault the Lonestar Unraid credentials (root password) and document the server in the wiki (hostname, IP, Unraid 7.1.4, license type).
• Keep the old failing USB stick as a temporary backup until the new stick is confirmed stable; then retire it.

Reference Information

• Unraid downloads / USB Creator: https://unraid.net
• License transfer/registration: webGUI → Tools → Registration → Replace Key (self-service transfer limited to once per 12 months; LimeTech support for dead-stick reissue).
• Files on a bootable Unraid stick: bzimage, bzroot, bzroot-gui, bzmodules, bzfirmware (+ matching .sha256), syslinux/, make_bootable*. The config/ folder holds array/license state and must be preserved across migrations.
• Lonestar wiki: wiki/clients/lonestar-electrical.md. Syncro customer: 33809612.