# How to install Gaia OS from a USB device on Check Point appliance and Open Servers using ISOmorphic Tool

## Solution

## **Important Notes:**

- **On 04 May 2025, the ISOmorphic package was updated to Build 218 (requires Windows 10 or higher).**

## Introduction

**ISOmorphic** is the Check Point utility used for creating a bootable USB device, capable of installing Gaia / SecurePlatform OS on Check Point appliances and Open Servers.

The ISOmorphic tool supports two modes of deployments - Regular (interactive) and Unattended. Unattended deployment is a way to install the Gaia / SecurePlatform OS on the appliance without user interaction.

**Notes:**

- Check Point does not enforce the use of the ISOmorphic tool, which is provided as a utility to make the installation easier. Note, however, that Check Point has developed and verified the ISOmorphic tool to work with all Check Point appliances (excluding IP Series Appliances).
- A bootable USB device might fail to identify the Gaia image if the USB device was formatted with a file system different from FAT32. In such cases, customers can use any tool to reformat the USB device before starting the ISOmorphic creation process.
- Make sure the USB device does not contain bad sectors before starting the ISOmorphic creation process.
- The Check Point ISO might not contain the required driver for the USB storage device. As a result, the installation might fail.

## What's New?

- Build 218 adds support for Quantum Force appliances 3900 ( [sk183199](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk183199))
- Build 207 adds support for Quantum Force appliances 9000 ( [sk181698](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk181698)), 19000 ( [sk180520](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk180520)), and 29000 ( [sk180520](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk180520)).
- Build 201 adds support for the Gaia OS maintenance password (starting from R81.20) and Quantum LightSpeed MLS appliances ( [sk176466](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk176466)).
- Build 198 adds support for Quantum LightSpeed QLS appliances ( [sk176466](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk176466)).
- Build 194 adds support for adding Hotfixes with `*.tar` extensions for versions R81 and higher.
- Build 187 adds support for Smart-1 6000-L, Smart-1 6000-XL, Smart-1 600-S, and Smart-1 600-M appliances ( [sk171903](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk171903)).

**Note** \- To see the build of your ISOmorphic tool, click the " **About**" button in the bottom left corner.

## Unsupported Features

|     |
| --- |
| ISOmorphic tool does not support USB 3.0 devices (use only a USB 2.0 device). |
| ISOmorphic tool does not support VMware Virtual Machines. |
| Scalable Platforms (ElasticXL, Maestro, Scalable Chassis) do not support these optional settings configured in the ISOmorphic tool:<br>- Product<br>- Hostname<br>- IP Address<br>- Subnet Mask<br>- Default Gateway<br>- OS Password<br>- Hotfix packages |
| ISOmorphic tool does not support the installation of the R81.20 Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator. |
| ISOmorphic tool does not support the installation of the R81 or higher versions on these appliances:<br>- Smart-1 205, Smart-1 210<br>- 2200<br>- 4200, 4400, 4600, 4800<br>- 12200, 12400, 12600<br>- 13500, 13800<br>- 21400, 21600, 21700, 21800 |
| ISOmorphic tool does not support Quantum Spark and Quantum Rugged appliances (that run Gaia Embedded OS). |

## Known Limitations

|     |
| --- |
| ISOmorphic tool supports only Clean Install (Fresh Install). Upgrade is not supported. |
| Only public HotFixes and Jumbo Hotfix Accumulators were tested.<br>Test the installation of private HotFixes manually before selecting them in the ISOmorphic tool. |
| Basic networking settings can be preconfigured only for Gaia R77.20 and higher, and only for Check Point appliances. |
| Basic/Advanced configuration type and HotFix installation (Enhanced ISOmorphic) are available only on 3000 / 5000 / 15000 / 23000 appliances with their dedicated R77.30 Gaia Clean Install package. |
| On Smart-1 525, Smart-1 5050, and Smart-1 5150 appliances, the post-installation reboot is stuck while the ISOmorphic USB device is still plugged in, and Gaia OS cannot be loaded.<br>Workaround: Remove the USB device and reboot the appliance. |

## Installing Gaia OS on the Check Point Appliance / Open Server using the USB device

1. Prepare the USB device as described in the "Preparing a USB device for Deployment" section.
2. Shut down the Appliance / Open Server.
3. Connect to the Appliance / Open Server over console.
4. Plug in the USB device to the Appliance / Open Server.
5. Turn on the Appliance / Open Server.
6. After booting successfully from the USB drive, the _SYSLINUX_ window appears.
7. Enter the number of the applicable boot option and press the Enter key:

**Notes:**
   - If you do not enter any number in the _SYSLINUX_ window, then after 90 seconds the installation will continue with the default option based on the installation type that you selected when preparing the USB device.
8. **Warning** \- Do **not** forget to unplug the USB device from your Appliance / Open Server. Otherwise, the local drive will be formatted without any user confirmation when the Appliance / Open Server is rebooted.

## General Limitations

- ISOmorphic can be used for **fresh** install only.
- Basic networking can be preconfigured **only** for Gaia R77.20 and higher, and **only** for Check Point appliances.

## Possible Errors

The following message might appear on the screen during the ISO installation:

`find: /tmp/hdimage/<Name_Of_ISO_Image>.iso: Value too large for defined data type`

Root cause:
The ramdisk on the USB device mounts the ISO image, and then mounts '`stage2.img`' from the ISO image, afterwards it unmounts the ISO image.  When '`stage2.img`' is running, the '`find`' command complains when it sees an ISO file larger than 2 GB.

Next steps:
This message can be safely ignored. The installation completes successfully, and installed software works correctly.