I attempted to upgrade my NUC 815 to RoonOS 3.0, after going into BIOS I tried to change the correct settings. However, after doing this it hangs on shell and goes no further.
Does anyone have any advice on where to go from here?
Hi @Glimmer,
As RoonOS 3.0 is still Early Access I’ve moved this topic over.
Hope those that have already switched will be able to guide you.
To help them could you advise what your starting point was (RoonOS version and Roon version).
Also what BIOS settings were changed (from / to) and how you prepared for the RoonOS update (downloads, flash drive, etc.)
Were you previously on RoonOS 1.0?
I believe that RoonOS 3.0 will already need RoonOS 2.1 for it to update via the early access .bin file as it’ll already be UEFI.
Best thing to do is to make a fresh Rock usb installer. Install it after ensuring the NUC’s bios is correct for UEFI. install Rock from scratch. Let it update to the latest production build.
Check the WebUI for the RoonOS version. If 2.1, the drop the RoonOS 3.0 .bin file into the reinstall folder and reinstall.
Thank you for the reply, I think I messed up in the BIOS changes. I turned off safeboot, I downgraded USB and I opted for UEFI and turned off legacy boot, but when it re-started after F10 it hangs on a shell command and won’t progress.
I quit and tried to install from a fresh flash drive, but it still hangs on the shell command and freezes.
You’re sitting in the NUC’s Internal UEFI Shell — the BIOS falls back to it when nothing UEFI-bootable is found. Type exit to get back into setup.
Order I’d work through:
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F2 into BIOS, then F9 to load defaults. That clears the USB change, which is the edit outside the KB article and the most likely reason even a fresh stick won’t boot.
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Re-apply only what ROCK needs: Secure Boot off, UEFI boot on, legacy boot off. Optionally After Power Failure > Power On. Leave USB and everything else at defaults.
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Check your BIOS version while you’re in there and flash the latest for the 815 if you’re behind.
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Rewrite the installer stick with Etcher, or Rufus in DD mode. If it was written in MBR/CSM mode it will never appear as a UEFI boot option, which fits exactly what you’re seeing.
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Boot with F10 and pick the entry prefixed UEFI:. If no UEFI: entry appears for the stick, the stick is the problem, not the NUC.
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Install ROCK fresh, let it update to the current production build, confirm 2.1 in the web UI, then drop the 3.0 .bin into the reinstall folder.
If you can post a photo of the screen where it stops, that’ll confirm whether it’s the shell or something else.
FWIW - I had a nightmare going back to DietPi after testing RoonOS 3.0 due to Bios settings.
Good screenshot. Tells me a lot.
I’m assuming you’re not able to access the bios now.
That’s the NUC’s built-in UEFI shell, and two things stand out in the mapping table.
Every partition on your NVMe shows as MBR, with disk signature 0x4E4F4F52, which is ASCII for ROON. That’s your old legacy ROCK install. There’s no FS0: entry at all, so there’s no EFI partition for UEFI mode to boot. Hence the shell. Normal, not damage.
More telling is there’s no USB device in the list either, although your USB rock installer might not be plugged in. That plus a dead keyboard says the USB setting you changed turned the ports off l, which is also why F2 won’t get you back into BIOS.
Fix is a CMOS clear: unplug the power, undo the four screws under the feet, disconnect the small two-wire CMOS battery lead for a few minutes, reconnect. That restores factory defaults and brings USB back. Then change only Secure Boot off, UEFI on, legacy off, and boot the fresh ROCK stick from the F10 menu.
Before you reinstall though — a clean install wipes the drive, and your Roon database is on that fourth partition. Get a backup off it first if you possibly can.
Hi, I’m very grateful for everything so far. I did the CMOS discharge, but on re-starting there was a brief battery warning and then the same shell message and frozen keyboard issue was still there. Could this be because I didn’t leave the battery disconnected for long enough? It had a good ten minutes, or, could that have been too long?
10 mins is plenty, and TBH was the least likely thing to work, but less tricky and was worth a shot. Bios settings live in SPI flash IIRC.
Before you follow the next suggested steps, are you able to verify the keyboard is ok on another computer?
I researched this next stage because I had to be sure it’s the correct procedure. I also found a case where doing the following failed to restore the USB ports.
Here goes;
If the keyboard really is dead, the fix is a BIOS recovery, which runs without one:
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Get the .bio recovery file for your exact NUC model from ASUS. I believe they took over NUC support from Intel. The model code should be printed on the base.
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Format a USB stick as FAT32, full format rather than quick, and put the .bio file at the root on its own.
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Power off, unplug, open the base, and remove the BIOS security jumper completely. It’s a small three-pin header on the board. Note where it was positioned for step 5.
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Plug the stick into a rear USB port and power on. Recovery starts by itself after a ten second countdown and takes a few minutes.
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Power off, replace the jumper, close it up.
That re-flashes the BIOS and returns every setting to default, USB ports included (hopefully).
If instead you get a “Detected BIOS Security Jumper Removed” message with a menu, it means the .bio wasn’t found, try a different USB stick, or reformat without quick format if you did before.
Moving the jumper to pins 2-3 is the other documented route, but it drops you into a menu you’d need a keyboard for, so it doesn’t help you here if the USB ports remain dead.
You are a star 
, but for the moment I am going to have to give up; I am at the very edge of my competence level (and so far past my confidence level that it is a dot behind me!).
I need to buy some big boy pants and give myself a stern talking to, and then I will disassemble my NUC and short the bios pins as you have advised me to. I will also update the BIOS and hopefully all will be good!
Thank you a hundred times for your help so far, you are amazing!
I wish Mrs M said that more often 
Feel free to tell her from me that you are an outstanding human being! And I am willing to vouch for that.