From owner-freebsd-questions Thu Jan 30 22:24:24 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) id WAA05578 for questions-outgoing; Thu, 30 Jan 1997 22:24:24 -0800 (PST) Received: from gdi.uoregon.edu (gdi.uoregon.edu [128.223.170.30]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id WAA05569 for ; Thu, 30 Jan 1997 22:24:21 -0800 (PST) Received: from localhost (dwhite@localhost) by gdi.uoregon.edu (8.8.4/8.6.12) with SMTP id WAA03536; Thu, 30 Jan 1997 22:24:09 -0800 (PST) Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 22:24:09 -0800 (PST) From: Doug White X-Sender: dwhite@localhost Reply-To: Doug White To: "Stephan R. Hecker" cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Questions (technical and non-technical) In-Reply-To: <32F167AF.4805@es.com.sv> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-questions@FreeBSD.ORG X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk On Thu, 30 Jan 1997, Stephan R. Hecker wrote: > I hope I can find here the information I need. I want to ask some > questions about FreeBSD. I am new to this operating system. I already > have it (not yet installed). > > 1. Is FreeBSD a Unix-based Operating System? Unix-like is better, but yes. > If it is.. > a. For what is Unix specially designed (Networking? Internet?)? It works great for whatever. The networking is particularly strong, but there are many things FreeBSD can do. > 2. What is the difference between the X Consortium's X-Window and > XFree86 (not including that XFree86 is a portation to the PC)? I don't think there's anything. > 3. Where can I get Unix SYSTEM V Release 4 (or higher)? This doesn't > mean that I am not interested in your operating system. It's a commercial system owned by ...oh, who has it now? Novell sold it, but I can't remember who. > 4. Is FreeBSD the same as BSD/386? It's newer. > If it isn't... > a. Is it compatible? bsd/386 is ancient (ie, 4.2 or 4.3BSD days). I think. :) If you mean BSDi's BSD/OS then yes, it's 99.99% compatible. > TECHNICAL QUESTIONS > > 1. Do the bin (bin.xx) files include the whole operating system, or just > the kernel? Do they include XFree86? They include a starting kernel and basic system binaries and libraries. Needless to say they are a required portion of the install. They do not include X. > 2. When I installed (or tried to) FreeBSD, as I already have another > operating system installed (non-Unix), I had to divide my partition with > the > FIPS program. When I had already created the FreeBSD partition (with > 'Novice' > installation), and I was already at the beginning of the real > installation (where I am asked if I am sure that I want to continue), I > put OK, and the machine said that the 'usr/' and 'var/' were not found. > The description I gve may be more or less correct. I couln't get an > exact definition of the problem, since I would have to go through all > the installation again. It sounds like you didn't configure the disklabel editor properly. How did you partition your disk in disklabel? > 3. Is it impossible to merge the partition I created (after an > unsuccessful installation) with the first partition (the one that > contains all my data)? No; freeBSD uses a native filesystem. You can definitely mount msdos filesystems, with some degree of risk. > 4. Won't I have to buy a new hard disk for FreeBSD? No. It helps a lot for partitioning and booting problems though. (FreeBSD must be installed with the root partition below 500MB. This is a PC BIOS limitation.) > Please, I hope you answer my questions. It is very (I mean VERY) > difficult to find any information about Unix-based OS. I will thank you > for the help. This information may even help other users. See FreeBSD's web site at http://www.freebsd.org for more information than you probably need. :) Hope this helps! Doug White | University of Oregon Internet: dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu | Residence Networking Assistant http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~dwhite | Computer Science Major