Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 12:44:36 -0400 (EDT) From: CyberPeasant <djv@bedford.net> To: dstacey@bigpond.com (David Stacey) Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Where do you download the OS? Message-ID: <199805301644.MAA16949@lucy.bedford.net> In-Reply-To: <01BD8C12.A3599920@AD-A04-pool-253.tmns.net.au> from David Stacey at "May 30, 98 05:18:08 pm"
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David Stacey wrote: > > I want to get freebsd, but it seems that you have made it so difficult that I wont be able to use it. DISCLAIMER: I am not associated with the FreeBSD Project. DISCLAIMER: I do not speak for them, nor necessarily share their DISCLAIMER: attitudes. DISCLAIMER: I am particularly prone to the fault of flaming. This OS is /not/ hard to install. However, it is a complicated system, with endless variations and capabilities, and is /not/ a point-click job. It is /not/ another kind of Windows. Windows NT-Server with all its optional bells and whistles is a sort of stripped down, compacted, defeatured Unix system. Unix is /not/ designed for a maiden voyage on the Sea of Digits. "Some assembly required" "Read the instruction manual before unpacking!" -- Most of us like it that way; you will too, I hope. > firstly, which directories do I need to get this thing to work? Your web page just points to ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/2.2.6-RELEASE which is of no use to me whatsoever. The web page should have links to each file that is required for the inst Reconsider the uselessness of that ftp dir, since that's the /main part/ of the distribution. The CDROMs will look just like it. However, it's /easier/ than that. In fact, the system /will install itself/ from friendly menus, if you give it a chance. You need exactly two files: the install floppy image and a DOG program to copy it to a floppy disk. (And where might a floppy image be? Possibly in the directory named "floppies". And where might a tool be? in "tools" or "utils" maybe? How to find out!?! Read the README.TXT in floppies/README.TXT. The install procedure knows what files it needs; you don't need to know them. You'll be offered some very high-level choices about how you want your system configured and loaded, and there will be online help available. Keep your first installation simple. It's easy to expand it later. (Easier, in fact, than installing all at once). You'll probably be happiest installing from the CDROM set. I'd suggest you go back to that -RELEASE directory and read INSTALL.TXT and README.TXT and a bunch of other stuff from this group: -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 8884 Mar 25 03:29 ABOUT.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 4455 May 12 04:15 ERRATA.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 18893 Mar 26 15:47 HARDWARE.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 23661 Mar 25 03:29 INSTALL.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 4514 Mar 25 03:29 LAYOUT.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 3906 Mar 25 03:29 README.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 2569 Mar 26 15:47 RELNOTES.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 11734 Mar 25 03:29 TROUBLE.TXT -rw-r--r-- 1 2035 207 7797 Mar 25 03:29 UPGRADE.TXT > could you please give me the absolute ftp address where I can locate all of the files required to get it running? > You already have it. There is also a very long html handbook at the /web/ (not /ftp/) site, www.freebsd.org. Sorry for flaming, but you seem /impatient, confrontational, and clueless/, attributes that do not augur well for the future. This is a volunteer effort, remember. Cluelessness is not a sin, and is something that we can cure quickly, if you'll drop the impatient+confrontational part. You will find a level of support and assistance here that is, probably, beyond your previous experiences with other software, and is equivalent to the kind of tech support that is available elsewhere for steep hourly rates, if at all. The qualifications of the people who will help you on this list are quite impressive -- these are not US$5/hr interns with paper certificates from Bill G's Silly Skool. Clue 0: You will catch more flies with honey, than with vinegar. Clue 1: Format your mail to 72 columns! Some people (me among them) routinely delete posts that are malformatted. Clue 2: People will assume that you have read things named "README.TXT" Once your system is installed, the same assumption will apply to man pages. My remarks will probably apply to NetBSD, OpenBSD and Linux, too. I've given you 90 minutes of my time: what I ask in return is for you to spend 90 minutes reading the web page and the .TXT files in the distribution. Deal? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Getting the CDs in Australia... Someone will probably tell you the precise place(s), but visiting www.cdrom.com might reveal this info. They're the folks (Walnut Creek), who make and vend the cdroms, and ship all over the planet. I'd be shocked if they don't have a branch or affiliate in Oz. D.V. -- DISCLAIMER: I am not associated with the FreeBSD Project. DISCLAIMER: I do not speak for them, nor necessarily share their DISCLAIMER: attitudes. CLAIMER: I like 'em, though :) To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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