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From: "Thomas Mueller" <mueller6727@bellsouth.net
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Cc: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de>
Subject: Re: get rel 9.0 iso
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To build FreeBSD 9.0 on USB stick for the old computer, host computer would be new amd64, cross-compiling for i386.

I see default /var partition size for new FreeBSD installations was to be 4 GB, so I might be safer with 16 GB rather than 8 GB USB stick, even though there would be no need to install system source and ports tree on the USB stick.  But I had already decided that I was not going to have separate partitions for /tmp, /var and /usr, but would want a separate partition for /home, except possibly on a USB stick.

Now it looks like FreeBSD 9.0-to-be is pushing the idea of installing on GPT; even the memstick installation disk, where traditional MBR partitioning scheme would fit comfortably, uses GPT.

I could build one kernel that would support the hardware on both computers, or one kernel for each computer.

FreeBSD itself can run comfortably in well under 256 MB RAM.  Resource hogs are the big applications: KDE, GNOME, bigger web browsers, multimedia, Adobe Flash Player, printers.  Servers, not needing all the fancy stuff, can be set up on old computers as long as they're in good condition.

Tom