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Date:      Sat, 10 Nov 2001 16:23:06 -0800 (PST)
From:      Annelise Anderson <andrsn@andrsn.stanford.edu>
To:        Green Flame <llamaradaverde@softhome.net>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.10.10111101608380.49638-100000@andrsn.stanford.edu>
In-Reply-To: <000a01c16a24$c330b280$52bc69ce@pavilion>

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On Sat, 10 Nov 2001, Green Flame wrote:

> Dear FreeBSD,
>     I want to get freeBSD but only have a PC (for Windows9x etc.).  I
went to the www.freebsdmall.com and saw a $40 FreeBSD 4.4 (Jewel Case), $50 FreeBSD Handbook (2nd Ed.), $70 The Complete FreeBSD, $100 BSD Powerpack 4.4, & $130 BSD Desktop Edition.
>     I would like to try out FreeBSD by putting it on my computer (the one I'm building) at home.  I would like to know 1) which one is best for my to start out with, 2) is there a version that can run programs meant for DOS, 3) which set has the best Users Guide, 4) can I install it over DOS/Windows 9x, and 5) is there a FreeBSD chat group by any chance??
> 
The below-referenced book is written for people new to both FreeBSD
and UNIX.  It has a 4.3 installation CD-ROM.  

You can get it at mall.daemonnews.org bundled with the set of four 4.4
CD-ROMS (the complete system).

Alternatively you can get the set of four 4.4 CD-ROMS bundled with
"FreeBSD Unleashed."  This book covers quite a few things not covered
in FreeBSD: An Open-Source OS for Your PC, but some things you might
want to know in starting from Windows are perhaps not covered as 
effectively.

Greg Lehey's book, The Complete FreeBSD, was last updated in 1999
and thus doesn't cover some stuff, although I understand there's a
new edition in the works due to be published next spring.

The FreeBSD Handbook can be bought in hardcover form, but it will
also be on your hard drive and is available on www.freebsd.org, where
it can be searched.  The latest edition (2nd) has an index and was
recently updated (a month or so ago).

You can install FreeBSD on the same hard drive that runs Windows,
but it needs its own primary partition.  Then you boot one operating
system or the other, using a boot manager.  FreeBSD can run DOS
programs, but probably this is not a good first objective when you
install--easier to DOS/Windows programs from DOS/Windows.

	Annelise

P.S. EFNet has a #freebsdhelp channel; like any "chat" channel,
sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not.

-- 
Annelise Anderson
Author of: 		 FreeBSD: An Open-Source Operating System for Your PC
Available from:	 mall.daemonnews.org and amazon.com
Book Website:    http://www.bittreepress.com/FreeBSD/introbook/	




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