🔴 Critical   ⏱ 5–30 min  Last verified: 19 May 2026
Affected versions: FreeBSD 13

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents
  1. Symptom & Impact
  2. Environment & Reproduction
  3. Root Cause Analysis
  4. Quick Triage
  5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
  6. Solution – Primary Fix
  7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
  8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
  9. Rollback Plan
  10. Prevention & Hardening
  11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
  12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

FreeBSD 13 systems using ZFS can drop to degraded startup when pools do not import automatically.

Environment & Reproduction

Datasets are missing after boot, and dependent services fail because mountpoints are unavailable.

Root Cause Analysis

Stale zpool.cache, device path changes, or delayed disk discovery can prevent import during rc sequence.

Quick Triage

Run zpool import, zpool status -v, and check dmesg for attachment timing or I/O errors.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Document pool GUIDs and available devices before attempting forced imports. image_ref=0

Illustrative mockup for freebsd-13 — terminal_or_shell
Running zpool status and import diagnostics — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Import with zpool import -f , regenerate cachefile, set zfs_enable=”YES” via sysrc, and reboot validate. image_ref=1

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Illustrative mockup for freebsd-13 — log_or_config
Checking zpool.cache and boot-time ZFS settings — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Manage startup ordering with service zfs start and ensure dependent services require mounted datasets.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Persist zfs_enable in /etc/rc.conf and verify loader or boot environment settings for root-on-ZFS hosts.

Rollback Plan

For network-backed storage paths, verify interface readiness before remote dataset dependencies start.

Prevention & Hardening

After reboot, confirm zpool status is ONLINE and zfs mount lists expected datasets.

Schedule zpool scrub, monitor SMART and zpool events, and test imports after hardware changes.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for freebsd-13.

View all freebsd-13 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

Review man zpool, man zfs, and FreeBSD OpenZFS operational guidance.

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