📖 ~1 min read
Table of contents
Symptom & Impact
service start fails or does nothing after reboot.
Environment & Reproduction
Misspelled variable names or invalid quoting in /etc/rc.conf.
Root Cause Analysis
Run service onestatus and sysrc -a | grep to verify expected keys.
Quick Triage
Correct the key using sysrc _enable=”YES” to avoid manual formatting mistakes.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Test with service forcestart and check return codes for rc script failures.
Solution – Primary Fix
Open /etc/rc.conf and /etc/rc.conf.local to detect duplicate or conflicting entries.
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Solution – Alternative Approaches
Normalize settings with sysrc, disable conflicting flags, then restart via service restart.
Verification & Acceptance Criteria
Reboot once and confirm service shows enabled and running with service status.
Rollback Plan
Use sysrc for all rc.conf writes and track changes in configuration management.
Prevention & Hardening
Restore the previous /etc/rc.conf backup and reload service defaults.
Related Errors & Cross-Refs
Escalate if rc script itself is broken or package install omitted required service files.
Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for freebsd-15.
View all freebsd-15 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →
Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.
References & Further Reading
sysrc -a; sysrc _enable=”YES”; service status; service restart
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