From owner-freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Fri Apr 1 05:26:46 2016 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-doc@mailman.ysv.freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:1900:2254:206a::19:1]) by mailman.ysv.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6081FAE73CE for ; Fri, 1 Apr 2016 05:26:46 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Received: from wonkity.com (wonkity.com [67.158.26.137]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (Client CN "wonkity.com", Issuer "wonkity.com" (not verified)) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 14B3212AC for ; Fri, 1 Apr 2016 05:26:45 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Received: from wonkity.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by wonkity.com (8.15.2/8.15.2) with ESMTPS id u315QiY4009782 (version=TLSv1.2 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 bits=256 verify=NO); Thu, 31 Mar 2016 23:26:44 -0600 (MDT) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Received: from localhost (wblock@localhost) by wonkity.com (8.15.2/8.15.2/Submit) with ESMTP id u315QhWd009779; Thu, 31 Mar 2016 23:26:44 -0600 (MDT) (envelope-from wblock@wonkity.com) Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 23:26:43 -0600 (MDT) From: Warren Block To: "Ronald F. Guilmette" cc: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Small suggestion/question about The Handbook (Sec 2.3.1) In-Reply-To: <69892.1459449754@server1.tristatelogic.com> Message-ID: References: <69892.1459449754@server1.tristatelogic.com> User-Agent: Alpine 2.20 (BSF 67 2015-01-07) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed X-Greylist: Sender IP whitelisted, not delayed by milter-greylist-4.4.3 (wonkity.com [127.0.0.1]); Thu, 31 Mar 2016 23:26:44 -0600 (MDT) X-BeenThere: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: Documentation project List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 01 Apr 2016 05:26:46 -0000 On Thu, 31 Mar 2016, Ronald F. Guilmette wrote: > > I only look at the docs (e.g. the Handbook) infrequently, e.g. > when I need to refresh my memory about what image(s) I should > be downloading for a new build. > > Doing that, just the other day, and then looking at the sets > of images actually available from the FTP sites, I realized that > I've never fully understiood when one should be using one of the > *-uefi-* release images. (So far, I've never had to use one > myself.) > > So anyway, might it be a Good Idea to include some brief verbage > explaining why and when one should be using one of the *-ueui-* > images on this page in the handbook? > > https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bsdinstall-pre.html There are several issues that make this potentially complicated to explain to the end user. First, how can the user tell if they need UEFI? For a standard, it is remarkably loose. The vendors won't tell the users, there are no tell-tale identification marks shown during boot. The setup screens aren't standardized. At present, only 64-bit UEFI computers (the great majority) will work with FreeBSD uefi images. And they will only boot into a 64-bit version of FreeBSD. As far as I know, the uefi images will actually also boot on a BIOS computer, so that eases a restriction. And there is the issue of disabling secure boot. And most (but not all) UEFI computers are capable of legacy booting a normal BIOS-type disk. Provided you figure out how to enable that. "CSM" (compatibility support mode) is a standard term, but it is not always used. The short version: Normal images are used to install FreeBSD on a BIOS computer or a computer with UEFI "CSM" enabled. Installing in UEFI mode requires a uefi image. That's not hard to include, but will it help the user to decide which image to download?