· Nucleus One
· Other
· The Nucleus boots up and I can connect to it in the Roon app without issue, but I have a question about configuration/storage/attached devices
Roon Server will not start
Hi @Raymond_Yu,
Welcome to the Roon Community! I am sorry to hear that your Nucleus One is having trouble starting the Roon Server.
Because the initial description is quite brief, we need a little more context to understand what might be causing this issue. Could you please let us know what happened right before the Roon Server stopped starting?
Specifically, it would be very helpful to know:
I tried to re-install the OS as I could not get the Roon Server to update (it was at 2.66). After re-installing, the Server did not re-start due to “Missing Codecs”. I googled and found directions to install FFMPEG file in codecs directory. I then got the option to restart the server (image that I uploaded) but the restart always fails. I tried re-booting the Nucleus One, resetting the database, re-installing the OS but still get the same message.
I made no hardware or other changes before this occurred (re-installing the OS). I tried multiple times on different machines through the Roon App to update the Server but each failed.
Hello @Raymond_Yu
The best next step here is to get in touch with our RMA department directly, as they’re in charge of all hardware-related Nucleus issues. To do so, open the Typeform link below and select ‘Other’ followed by 'This issue is related to a physical component".
Typeform link : Nucleus Troubleshooting
Screenshot for reference:
They’ll help get you sorted out moving forward. Thanks! 
I submitted a hardware support request at the link you provided but have not received a response. Are you sure there is not a software solution to this problem?
Hello @Raymond_Yu
Thank you for the update. Our team will review your case with the RMA team and follow up with you via email.
Have not heard anything from RMA team. Do you have a status update? Just keeping this thread open before it is closed.
Hi @Raymond_Yu,
It looks like you actually reached out twice, and our team responded to both requests within a few hours. I’d recheck your email, potentially your junk folder just to be safe.
From the reply, I can see our team likely thinks a full system OS reset might be necessary. You can start this process by installing ROCK on the Nucleus, which starts at step #3 on this ROCK install guide:
Let us know if you’re able to find both responses our team sent out last week.
I checked my spam folder and did not find any emails other than the ones I am getting as a result of this thread. Do you know what email address or domain the email would have come from? I have roonlabs.com unblocked in my spam filter.
I created a bootable USB drive using balenaEtcher but cannot get the Nucleus One to go into the boot drive selection screen. Holding down the F10 key (on two different keyboards) did not cause the Nucleus One to go into boot disk selection mode. Out of ideas so could use some help.
Hi @Raymond_Yu,
The reply was sent from our contact @ roonlabs . com email. No matter, we can continue troubleshooting here if that’s easier for you.
Sorry the F10 boot menu isn’t cooperating. That step is timing- and keyboard-sensitive, so let’s rule out the common causes quickly:
.img.gz with Etcher (no need to unzip it first). If Windows popped up asking to "format the disk" after flashing, that's normal, don't format it; the drive is fine.
Once you’re in the boot menu, one important note: first try to select the “Recover RoonOS” option, not Reinstall. Recovery rewrites only the operating system and partition table while leaving your database, playlists, and settings untouched, which should get you back to a working web UI without losing anything.
We’ll be monitoring for your reply and results 
I am having no success getting the Nucleus One to go into the boot menu. I have a monitor on the HDMI port and a USB keyboard connected to one of the USB ports on the back. I can type and see it on the screen after boot up. I checked the code on the screen when I hit the F10 key and verified via Google that is indeed the F10 key code. I followed your instructions typing the F10 and then the F2 key but the system always boots to the OS. I will try a Windows keyboard tomorrow (I am using a Mac USB keyboard).
I did create the USB drive using balenaEtcher for MacOS and the process completed without an error. But I don’t think that is the problem right now as I cannot get to the boot menu.
The system does successfully boot to the web UI but fails when I try to start the Roon Server. Could there be a problem with the FFMPEG file I copied into the “codec” directory? At this point I have reset everything including the Database and Settings and removed the hard drive from the Nucleus One so it should be in the state that I received it in. The first error is “Missing Codecs” which I addressed by copying the FFMPEG file into the “codec” directory. The OS is “Version 2.1 (build 271) production”. I have tried re-installing the OS from the web UI and the process seems to complete correctly. Just cannot re-start the Roon Server.
Hey @Raymond_Yu,
Thanks for the update, that actually helps a lot. Let’s pause on the boot menu for a moment, because I don’t think you need it to get back up and running. Since your web UI is working and you’re able to reinstall the OS from there, we can solve the server-start problem entirely through the web interface and the network share, no F10 required. So don’t worry about the Mac vs. Windows keyboard for now.
The “Missing Codecs” path is where I’d focus. When the server still won’t start after adding ffmpeg, the most common culprit by far is the ffmpeg file itself, specifically that the executable permission didn’t carry over when it was copied from a Mac. We see this constantly: the file looks fine, lives in the right place, but macOS/SMB quietly drops the “executable” bit and Roon can’t run it. The reliable fix is to redo the file, ideally from a Windows PC.
Here’s how I’d redo it cleanly:
ffmpeg-git-amd64-static.tar.xz from
https://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/
.tar.xz → .tar → folder). A common snag is ending up with a still-compressed or half-extracted file.
ffmpeg — no file extension, exact lowercase name. Nothing else from the package is needed.
\\NucleusONE\data, or smb://[your Nucleus IP], login guest / guest), open the Codecs folder, and replace the existing file with this one.
ffmpeg.
If it still won’t start after that, could you grab the RoonServer log for us? You’ll find it in the same Data share under the Logs folder, that will tell us the exact reason the server is stopping, so we’re not guessing.
For Roon Server logs specifically, please use the directions found here and send over a set of logs to our File Uploader? Once logs have been uploaded, please let us know so that we can check the server for your files, thanks!
Let us know how the re-copy goes!
I downloaded the ffmpeg file on a Windows PC (got both the git and 7.02 versions of ffmpeg) and tried all versions but still got the same error. I could not find the logs. The Nucleus One “Data” directory does not seem to have any log files, file list in “Data”:
ryu@MacBook-Pro / % ls -l /Volumes/Data
total 4256
drwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 16384 Jul 24 12:30 Codecs
drwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 16384 Jul 22 17:12 MachineSettings
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 367 Jul 24 12:31 README.txt
drwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 16384 Jul 22 17:12 Reinstall
drwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 16384 Jul 24 11:13 RoonOS
drwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 16384 Jul 24 12:31 Storage
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 2 Jul 22 17:12 tailscaled.state
ryu@MacBook-Pro / % ls -l /Volumes/Data/Codecs
total 315392
-rwxrwxrwx@ 1 ryu staff 79928672 Jun 29 2024 ffmpeg
-rwxrwxrwx 1 ryu staff 79826272 Aug 23 2024 ffmpeg (release 7.02)
ryu@MacBook-Pro / %
Hi @Raymond_Yu,
That directory listing is actually really helpful, thank you. It tells us two things, and both point us away from ffmpeg.
First, the ffmpeg file itself looks correct. Both copies are right around 80 MB, which is exactly what a proper linux amd64 static build should be, and the permissions are fine. Since swapping between the git and 7.02 versions changed nothing, the codec is very likely no longer what’s holding you up.
Second, and this is the important one, there’s no Logs folder anywhere in that share. RoonServer writes its logs inside its own application folder, so the fact that there’s nothing to find means the server isn’t starting far enough to write anything. That’s not a “missing codec” symptom; it points to the RoonServer application not provisioning after all the resets. That also explains why reinstalling the OS from the web UI keeps “completing” without fixing it, that reinstall refreshes RoonOS, but it isn’t rebuilding the server the way we need here.
So let’s do two quick confirmations, then move to the step that should actually resolve it:
README.txt in the Data folder (the small 367-byte file) and paste it here. RoonOS drops that file to tell you the exact ffmpeg version and filename it expects, that lets us rule out the codec for good instead of guessing.
Codecs folder so there's no ambiguity: there should be exactly one file, named ffmpeg (lowercase, no extension). Please delete the ffmpeg (release 7.02) file — a name with spaces or parentheses won't be read. One note on the copy method: you're transferring through your Mac (/Volumes/Data), and macOS tends to add hidden metadata (you can see the @ on the file). If you can, copy the binary to the share directly from the Windows PC (\\NucleusONE\Data) to keep it clean.
Paste that README for me and let me know how the boot-menu attempt goes
I succeeded in installing Rock. The Delete key got me into the BIOS and I was able to boot from the USB drive I previously created. Note that the F10, F2, ESC keys did not work on the Nucleus One. I was able to copy the FFMPEG file into the Codec directory and the Roon Server was able to start.
I then proceeded to open Roon on my MacBook and tried to update the server as it indicated that it needed to be updated. This is how this entire sequence started as I tried to update the Server and when that failed, I tried to update the OS.
Now I am having problems on my MacBook and iPad Pro trying to enable the local audio devices. It just gets stuck in the “enabling” state. I am unable to get any of my devices to enable audio.
After further testing, here is what I found:
I am stuck. None of the remotes wants to work. All stuck trying to enable local audio. Any ideas on next steps would be appreciated.
Hey @Raymond_Yu,
Thanks for the reply and additional information. I’m so sorry things are still broken for you across the board.
From a fresh Nucleus diagnostics report, we can see that when you trigger the update, the 2.70 package downloads fully but then fails to install, the downloaded file arrives corrupted (invalid tar magic in the logs), and it fails the same way on every attempt. The update is pulled over a plain HTTP connection, and a corrupted download like this almost always means something on the network path (ISP, router, DNS, or a proxy) is mangling the file, it’s not a fault with the Nucleus itself.
See if the below helps with the update completing:
1.1.1.1 or Google 8.8.8.8), reboot the router, then check the webUI on your Nucleus to confirm the DNS is one of the above. Once confirmed, trigger the Roon Server update again.Thank you!