New to BSD

**zxxgp** · 10-27-2005

I am about to try Free BSD for the first time. Is there anyting I should know before I install it???

**chopin1810** · 10-27-2005

I recommend you get an overview in BSD partition lingo before installing. If you don't know what a partition is then I don't recommend installing FreeBSD. It's a very technical operating system. Only the very base is set up for you. It is up to yourself to get the rest configured (most of which involves editing confusing configuration files). If you aren't up to this challenge then you should not be using FreeBSD.
(and I'm not trying to sound smart or trying to scare you: I'm just warning you, because it was really overwhelming to me when I first installed it. Thankfully there's the wonderful FreeBSD handbook.)
Oh, and make sure you don't install a beta version.

**zxxgp** · 10-27-2005

Originally Posted by chopin1810

I recommend you get an overview in BSD partition lingo before installing. If you don't know what a partition is then I don't recommend installing FreeBSD. It's a very technical operating system. Only the very base is set up for you. It is up to yourself to get the rest configured (most of which involves editing confusing configuration files). If you aren't up to this challenge then you should not be using FreeBSD.
(and I'm not trying to sound smart or trying to scare you: I'm just warning you, because it was really overwhelming to me when I first installed it. Thankfully there's the wonderful FreeBSD handbook.)
Oh, and make sure you don't install a beta version.

I am sure I will be fine on a tech side of things. I have been using Linux for about 3 years now. I am just not sure about installing things from the command line. Would it be good to start with something like Desktop BDS?
Thanks for the Link to the handbook.

**anomie** · 10-27-2005

FWIW, I run FreeBSD 5.4 as my desktop and from a GUI standpoint it's pretty similar to my SuSE box (I run KDE on both).

As far as learning about differences in installing software, using a different shell, a slightly different filesystem and config files, just be aware that there will be a slight learning curve.

If you don't mind spending a little $$, I highly recommend "The Complete FreeBSD" by Greg Lehey to get you started. It has a lot of information that's useful to both new users and relatively advanced users - I would think it should suit you nicely as someone who is already familiar with Linux.

Anyway, it's a great desktop system. Just give it time.

P.S. Installing using a non-gui installer is no problem. I am assuming you know how to read.

**zxxgp** · 10-27-2005

I just tried to install Desktop BSD and it installed fine. When it rebooted it gave me a grub error. It said grum error 17. Is there any way i can fix grub?

**anomie** · 10-27-2005

http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/man...e2-errors.html

17 : Cannot mount selected partition
This error is returned if the partition requested exists, but the filesystem type cannot be recognized by GRUB.

Unfortunately I do not use the grub boot loader with FreeBSD so I may or may not be able to help. So I am assuming Desktop BSD uses grub as its default boot loader? A good starting point is to post your grub.conf or menu.lst.

**chopin1810** · 10-27-2005

What did I say now? Gee, I really can't do anything right on this forum, can I? What, are you going to tell somebody that FreeBSD is as easy to run as SUSE? I sure won't. Even getting a simple ppp internet connection up on BSD is a big challenge. You have to edit a confusing configuration file (and it helps if you know your IP#), add different users to that file, and create an entirely seperate script to use to dial in. Oh, and before any of this you need to make sure that there is a device file in /dev for your modem or none of the above will work. And this is all done with non-linux programs. Somebody said that BSD reminds them of suse desktop wise. It will remind you of suse, but you need to set up a desktop environment seperatly. Oh, but before that you have to set up x11 manually. This involves going through an ncurses setup program that can't detect your monitor's refresh rates, so you need the exact refresh rate or your monitor can be ruined. (and it usually doesn't autodetect your mouse either). then you need to install gnome or kde manually. and if you want them to start up automatically then you need to configure kdm or gdm through even more wonderfully confusing startup scripts. And all I said earlier was to get used to the bsd partition naming system because it is a lot different than the linux system. I didn't know he spent 3 years on linux so all I said was that if he doesn't feel comfortable with partitions that he probably shouldn't be using an operating system like freebsd. And I'm called rude for that?? I just don't want somebody going into freebsd thinking it's gonna be as easy to install as debian sarge... just because it's not. Now what's wrong with this?

**anomie** · 10-28-2005

Just for the record, my own position is that SuSE is a very easy distro for new users. And in fact it is my personal favorite.

I doubt the OP will construe my comments to mean that FreeBSD is easy, but just in case: FreeBSD is not particularly easy. It's not overly difficult either; it's just different than Linux. So a new FreeBSD user should be prepared to go back into "learning" mode, because they may be in for a small shock when they open the hood.

**zxxgp** · 10-28-2005

I think i know what the problem is. I had Ubuntu and win on the computer. Ubuntu used GRUB as the bootloader. Then I installed Desktop BSD and i guess it didn't but a new bootloader there even when i told it to. If i can't boot how am i supposed to get your the config files????
I am sure i could install it through the command line. I just don't have the time to. GUI is much faster and i don't have to worry about messing up my computer if i do something wrong. I can't afford to mess up my windows partition.

**chopin1810** · 10-28-2005

Originally Posted by anomie

Just for the record, my own position is that SuSE is a very easy distro for new users. And in fact it is my personal favorite.

I doubt the OP will construe my comments to mean that FreeBSD is easy, but just in case: FreeBSD is not particularly easy. It's not overly difficult either; it's just different than Linux. So a new FreeBSD user should be prepared to go back into "learning" mode, because they may be in for a small shock when they open the hood.

I'd say more than a small shock... it's very configuration file and script dependant. These are not easy topics to handle for newer users. It's harder than Slackware in that sense.
Suse is my personal favorite for new users too.

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