From 1cd285474bdbd0472bfbee030fc00d4c17bf6c5a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Jordan K. Hubbard" Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 21:28:16 +0000 Subject: Whups! This commit got lost somehow, no wonder pds was confused! :-} --- FAQ/FAQ.sgml | 254 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------------------- 1 file changed, 131 insertions(+), 123 deletions(-) (limited to 'FAQ') diff --git a/FAQ/FAQ.sgml b/FAQ/FAQ.sgml index c4e59e822a..a69058a1e2 100644 --- a/FAQ/FAQ.sgml +++ b/FAQ/FAQ.sgml @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ - +
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ Maintainer: Peter da Silva -$Date: 1997-04-10 13:56:43 $ +Last updated: $Date: 1997-04-10 21:28:16 $ + This is the FAQ for FreeBSD systems version 2.X All entries are assumed to be relevant to FreeBSD 2.0.5+, unless otherwise noted. @@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. What is FreeBSD?

- Briefly, FreeBSD 2.X is a UN*X type operating system based on + Briefly, FreeBSD 2.X is a UN*X-like operating system based on U.C. Berkeley's 4.4BSD-lite release for the i386 platform. It is also based indirectly on William Jolitz's port of U.C. Berkeley's Net/2 to the i386, known as 386BSD, though very little of the 386BSD @@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. in their work, education and recreation. See some of them in the - For a more detailed description of FreeBSD, see the Introduction to + For more detailed information on FreeBSD, please see the @@ -102,18 +103,31 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. What is the latest version of FreeBSD?

- Version 2.1.7 is the latest version; it was released in February, 1997. + Version + is the latest stable version; it was released in February, 1997. + Version + is the latest release version; it was released in March, 1997. + Briefly explained, -stable is aimed at the ISP or other + corporate user who wants stability and a low change count over + the wizzy new features of the latest release (which is 2.2.1). + +

This is not to say that 2.2.1 is unusable for business services, + and many people who need some 2.2 specific feature (newer + compiler technology, faster networking code, etc) have decided to take + a chance with it with very good results. We simply do not wish to + "certify" 2.2 as mission-worthy until it's run another release or two + down its branch and been better shaken-out. What is FreeBSD-current?

is the development version of the operating system, which will in due - course become version 3.0. As such, it is really only of interest + course become 3.0-RELEASE. As such, it is really only of interest to developers working on the system and die-hard hobbiests. See the in the for - details. + details on running -current. What are ``snapshots''? @@ -165,7 +179,7 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. | | 2.2-ALPHA -> -BETA -> -GAMMA -> 2.2-RELEASE -> [2.2-stable] - | (Q1 1997) + | (Mar 1997) | 3.0-SNAPs (Q1 1997) | @@ -194,7 +208,8 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Perhaps in the future we'll figure out another model which gives everyone what they want, and we are working on such a model, but in the meantime it's probably best to think of -stable coming to an end - with 2.1.7-RELEASE. + with (the final point release after 2.1.7). When are FreeBSD releases made? @@ -213,11 +228,10 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Is FreeBSD only available for PCs?

- At present, yes. If your machine has a different architecture, we - suggest you look at - - - or + At present, yes, though a port to the DEC Alpha architecture + is planned. If your machine has a different architecture and + you need something right now, we suggest you look at + or . @@ -225,9 +239,11 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction.

The key decisions concerning the FreeBSD project, such as the overall direction of the project and who is allowed to add code to - the source tree, are made by a ``core team'' consisting of 16 - people. There is a much larger group of around 60 people who can - make changes to the source tree. + the source tree, are made by a of some 17 people. There is a much larger + team of around 70+ who are authorized to make changes directly to the + FreeBSD source tree.

However, most non-trivial changes are discussed in advance in the mailing lists, and there are no restrictions on who may take part @@ -236,13 +252,26 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Where can I get FreeBSD?

- The distribution is available via anonymous ftp from: - + The distribution is available via anonymous ftp from: + + + For the current stable release, 2.1.7.1R, look in: + + + For the current 2.2 branch release, 2.2.1R, look in: + - For the current release, 2.1.7R, look in: - + + are also made once a day along the RELENG_2_2 branch (2.2.1 -> 2.2.x) + as it winds its way towards the next point release on the 2.2 branch + (2.2.3, possibly, or maybe 2.2.5 depending on the change delta). With + the occasional exception of accidental breakage, the RELENG_2_2 + branch is being carefully maintained (no experimental changes, fixes only + after testing in -current) and these snapshots of it may be considered + "2.2.1+" for all intents and purposes and more desirable than 2.2.1 for new + installations. FreeBSD is also available via CDROM, from the following place(s): @@ -362,6 +391,15 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. + + For a more in-depth look at the 4.4BSD kernel organization, + you can't go wrong with: + + McKusick, Marshall Kirk, Keith Bostic, Michael J Karels, + and John Quarterman. + The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating + System. Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley, 1996. + ISBN 0-201-54979-4 A good book on system administration is: @@ -393,22 +431,18 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Other sources of information.

- One good source of additional information is the - ``[comp.unix.bsd] NetBSD, FreeBSD, and 386BSD (0.1) - FAQ''. Much of the information is relevant to FreeBSD, and this - FAQ is posted around twice a month to the following newsgroups: + The following newsgroups contain pertinent discussion for FreeBSD + users: - - comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.announce - comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.announce - comp.answers - news.answers - - - If you have WWW access, the FreeBSD home page is at: + + + + + + + If you have WWW access, please visit . - - The FreeBSD handbook has a pretty complete @@ -423,84 +457,45 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Which file do I download to get FreeBSD?

- I'll answer that in a minute, but first a few words of explanation - might be in order. FreeBSD is not an application that you can - run from inside an existing DOS/Windows setup, it is an operating - system in its own right (in the same way as Windows NT or OS/2). - - To install it involves making a ``primary partition'' for it on - the hard disk and arranging for it to be booted at system startup. - (FreeBSD gives you the option of installing a boot manager, so you - will be able to choose which operating system to use every time the - system starts up. Alternatively, you can use the boot managers - provided with oher operating systems, such as OS/2 or Linux). - - Obviously, this is not as simple as using an operating system that - those nice people you bought your PC from pre-installed for you, - but it's not too difficult provided you read (and, if possible, print - out) all the instructions before starting. It may be a lot to - read, but it's very complete. You should also make full note of the - exhortations to back everything up first and the legal disclaimers. - These are not there for amusement value - we mean it! However, - most people find the installation goes fairly smoothly. - - If you are able to be connected to the Internet for the duration - of the FreeBSD installation (lucky you!), the simplest way to - install FreeBSD is to download - make a boot floppy, boot with it and watch it - pull down all the necessary files. Depending on connection speed and - how much of FreeBSD you wish to install, this could take several hours - (even the minimal installation requires downloading about 15MB of - compressed files). - - For people who do not have good Internet connectivity, the best - way to install FreeBSD is to buy a CDROM (see for details). Unfortunately, this - is problematic for some people, as the support for IDE CDROMs in - FreeBSD is still in alpha (not because of some violent antipathy - towards IDE CDROMs, but simply due to a lack of people with the - necessary combination of skill, inclination and time). - - Finally, if you already have a copy of the necessary files, FreeBSD - can be installed from floppy disks, a DOS hard disk partition or - tape or over a network via SLIP, PPP, NFS, PLIP and Ethernet. - - For further information, please see - + You generally need just one floppy image, the floppies/boot.flp + file, which you image-copy onto a 1.44MB floppy and then boot it + in order to download the rest (and the installation will manage your TCP/IP + collection, deal with tapes, CDROMs, floppies, DOS partitions, whatever's + necessary to get the reset of the bits installed). + + Full instructions on this procedure and a little bit more about installation + issues in general can be found in the Where are the instructions for installing FreeBSD?

Installation instructions can be found in the + name="Handbook entry on installing FreeBSD."> - What do I need to run FreeBSD? + What do I need in order to run FreeBSD?

- You'll need a 386 or better PC, with 4 MB or more of RAM and at + You'll need a 386 or better PC, with 5 MB or more of RAM and at least 60 MB of hard disk space. It can run with a low end MDA card but to run X11R6, a VGA or better video card is needed. - See the section on + See also the section on I have only 4 MB of RAM. Can I install FreeBSD?

- FreeBSD 2.1.7 is the last version of FreeBSD that will install on + FreeBSD 2.1.7 was the last version of FreeBSD that could be installed on a 4MB system. Newer versions of FreeBSD, like 2.2, need at least 5MB to install on a new system. - All versions of FreeBSD, including 2.2, will RUN in 4MB of ram. You - can add extra memory for the install process, if you like, and then - after the system is up and running, go back to 4MB. - - Use + All versions of FreeBSD, including 2.2, will RUN in 4MB of ram, they + just can't run the installation program in 4MB. You can add + extra memory for the install process, if you like, and then + after the system is up and running, go back to 4MB. Or you could + always just swap your disk into a system which has >4MB, install onto + it and then swap it back. There are also situations in which FreeBSD 2.1.7 will not install in 4 MB. To be exact: it does not install with 640 kB base + 3 MB @@ -527,7 +522,34 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction.

Install Windows 95 first, after that FreeBSD. FreeBSD's boot - manager will then manage to boot Win95 and FreeBSD. + manager will then manage to boot Win95 and FreeBSD. If you + install Windows 95 second, it will boorishly overwrite your + boot manager without even asking. If that happens, see + the next section. + + + Help, Windows 95 killed my boot manager! How do I get + it back? + +

You can reinstall the boot manager FreeBSD comes with in one of + two ways: + + + Running DOS, go into the tools/ directory of your FreeBSD + distribution and look for bootinst.exe. You run it like so: +

bootinst.exe boot.bin +

And the boot manager will be reinstalled. + + Boot the FreeBSD boot floppy again and go to the Custom + installation menu item. Choose Partition. Select the drive which + used to contain your boot manager (likely the first one) and when you + come to the partition editor for it, as the very first thing (e.g. + do not make any changes) select (W)rite. This will ask for + confirmation, say yes, and when you get the Boot Manager selection + prompt, be sure to select "Boot Manager." + This will re-write the boot manager to disk. Now quit out of the + installation menu and reboot off the hard disk as normal. + How can I have more than one operating system on my PC? @@ -559,11 +581,6 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Did you download the floppy image in binary (or image) mode? (don't be embarrassed, even the best of us have made this mistake at least once when FTP'ing things!) - If you're using one of these new-fangled operating systems - like Windows95 or Windows NT, did you shut it down and restart - the system in plain, honest DOS? It seems these OS's can - interfere with programs that write directly to hardware, as - the disk creation program does; even running it inside a DOS shell in the GUI can cause this problem. @@ -722,25 +739,12 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. /stand/sysinstall as root.

Alternatively, if you still have the install floppy, you can just - reboot from that. -

- Select the ``Express Install'' option, which will put you - straight into the partition editor, and create a single slice on the - disk with the (A)ll option (make sure you are editing the right - disk!). Say ``No'' when asked if you want to remain compatible with - other operating systems, and ``Yes'' when asked if you know what - you're doing. Then write it out with the (W)rite command and - press (Q)uit to transfer to the disklabel editor. - -

- Divide up your FreeBSD slice according to taste and press `w' when - you are happy with the way it looks. Again, say ``Yes'' when asked - for confirmation, and press `q' to quit. If you're adding swap - space on the second drive, look at - for a nasty little gotcha that can cause no end of trouble. + reboot from that and use the partition & label editors while + the system is totally quiescent.

WARNING: There is no substitute for reading carefully & understanding what you are doing! Things described here may @@ -1206,6 +1210,12 @@ options PSM_CHECKSYNC #checks the header byte for sync. name="Handbook entry on configuring the kernel"> if you've no experience with building kernels. + If you're running FreeBSD 2.1.6 or later, the psm0 device + line is already there, but it's disabled. Remove the keyword + - -- cgit v1.3