New Member

Solved

Fortigate 50b can't start

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
November 14, 2018
11 replies
15124 views

Hello,

I recently got a Fortigate 50b from an old company, i couldn't manage to find the password so i did a factory reset and i downloaded the firmware from fortinet's website, i wanted to install it on the Fortigate but it doesn't start up anymore,

the "status" LED is always on and i can't connect to the CLI using the console cable.

Does any one have a solution ?

Thank you

Troubleshooting

Best answer by Dave_Hall

If COM1 is the only COM port showing up in the Device Manager then perhaps you need to confirm the settings for it in the computer's BIOS.

Other suggestions include: swapping out the console cable, try connecting with another computer/laptop, use a serial-to-USB console adapter.

The thing is if you did format the boot disk (partition), there will be no OS installed (thus there is no GUI to connect to because it doesn't exist) - so you need to gain access to the boot menu via a serial/console connection.

Dave_Hall

New Member

Make sure you are using the original 12-volt power adapter (I think it was/is rated for 3 amps); leave the console cable connected and reboot the 50b, in your favorite telnet program (e.g. Putty), watch the reboot process. You should at least see the start up splash screen.

If the unit is a 50B - it's pretty old - I think the last latest firmware for it is on 4.0MR3.

BastienMAuthor

New Member

First of all thank you for your answer.

The fortigate is powered on by it's original power adapter and console cable but i can't even access the console Command Line Interface, i don't know if it's possible to reboot it manually.

Thank you.

Dave_Hall

New Member

If you haven't actually rebooted since formatting the boot disk then it is likely sitting at the "boot" screen. You need to reboot it (disconnect the power for 30 seconds). You should see the boot menu come up, at which point should be an option to press a key to interrupt the boot sequence.

BastienMAuthor

New Member

I only have the COM1

and it's configured as it should on the device manager.

I also tried to connect to the web-based manager without success

Dave_HallAnswer

New Member

If COM1 is the only COM port showing up in the Device Manager then perhaps you need to confirm the settings for it in the computer's BIOS.

Other suggestions include: swapping out the console cable, try connecting with another computer/laptop, use a serial-to-USB console adapter.

The thing is if you did format the boot disk (partition), there will be no OS installed (thus there is no GUI to connect to because it doesn't exist) - so you need to gain access to the boot menu via a serial/console connection.

rwpatterson

New Member

The COM1 issue is totally PC related. You should be able to open a console port on any COM, even if no Fortigate is present. Make sure your USB to serial adapter hasn't fried. COM1 is usually present on most PCs, even if there isn't a physical port on the unit. Remove the USB to serial and check device mangler again (misspelled on purpose). See if that COM1 port remains.

Sign up

Login with SSO

Login to the community

Login with SSO