Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 13:05:21 +0800 From: Benjamin Meade <ben@lanwest.com.au> To: apeak@softhome.net Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Will FreeBSD work on my hardware? Message-ID: <407CC691.9040305@lanwest.com.au> In-Reply-To: <courier.407CBB08.00000677@softhome.net> References: <courier.407CBB08.00000677@softhome.net>
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apeak@softhome.net wrote: > I'd like to try FreeBSD, but I have some problem hardware that I'm > having trouble getting Linux on. It's an AMD64 with an NForce ethernet, > and an external Iomega Zip Drive plugged into the USB port. Also, I > want to dual-boot with Window XP, and I want read access to the NTFS > partition. Is it doable? Everything is doable. Firstly, decide on which release you want - 5.x or 4.x. 4.x is the stable version, but I don't know if it supports the amd64 chipset. According to the website (http://www.freebsd.org/platforms/amd64.html) it is a fully supported chipset, but I don't see mention of it under the 4.x release notes. Maybe somebody more familar with the 4.x series could fill in this blank. For compatable hardware, see http://www.freebsd.org/releases/5.2.1R/hardware.html or http://www.freebsd.org/releases/4.9R/hardware.html Dual booting with windows should present no major problems as long as you read the manual before experimenting. And backup your data beforehand. Searching through the archives of this list seems to indicate that GAG is the way to go (http://gag.sourceforge.net/). I've never acutally used it, so do a bit of research before jumping in. Readonly access to NTFS partitions should work fine. Writing is even supported to a limited extent. See http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=mount_ntfs&sektion=8 for more info. Also, google can solve a lot of time. (Searching for, say, "howto dual boot freebsd windows xp"), and the freebsd website has a LOT of info. Hope this helps. -- Benjamin Meade System Administrator LanWest Pty Ltd Ph: +61 (8) 9440 3033 Fax: +61 (8) 9440 3370
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