From owner-freebsd-hackers Wed May 21 14:29:21 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) id OAA07595 for hackers-outgoing; Wed, 21 May 1997 14:29:21 -0700 (PDT) Received: from terra.Sarnoff.COM (terra.sarnoff.com [130.33.11.203]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id OAA07584 for ; Wed, 21 May 1997 14:29:18 -0700 (PDT) Received: (from rminnich@localhost) by terra.Sarnoff.COM (8.6.12/8.6.12) id RAA14352; Wed, 21 May 1997 17:28:46 -0400 Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 17:28:46 -0400 (EDT) From: "Ron G. Minnich" X-Sender: rminnich@terra To: hackers@freebsd.org Subject: installing 2.2.1 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-hackers@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk I just spent a few hours installing freebsd 2.2.1. I have also recently been installing linux; we use both here. The fbsd system still does not quite boot. Given how good freebsd is, and how much I like the system and the people who work on it, I am reluctant to voice any complaint. On the other hand, we need to be realistic about the state of things. The basic sum total experience is that: 1) linux install works well and consistently 2) freebsd install does not work well or consistently 3) the freebsd 2.05R install worked much better for me than any subsequent fbsd install tool. problems: 1) install segvs (signal 11) if you try to ftp to a remote machine too many times. The disk was left in such a state that win95 would hang when it got to that disk. I had to boot dos and blow the disk partition away. 2) the install choices are confusing. For example, when selecting what to install (kernel-developer etc.) if i select all, does it include kernel source or not? Things get 'auto-selected' and it is not clear what that includes 3) I have two disks. At some point early in the game it says if I don't try to write the MBR I'll be asked to later. I'm never asked to. There's no menu choice for 'fix boot record'. I have a second ide disk which won't boot. It also mentions bootez, about which I can find no further mention. There is a 'nextboot' -- do i use that? I've never been that happy with the boot setup since 2.05R days -- that was the last time I used it that it worked well. 4) packages: there needs to be an 'install all, i have much disk' option. Rather than continue the list, I would recommend to those trying to get this install process set up that they buy red hat and try installing it. Linux is not my cup of tea for most things, but the install is definitely much easier. It might provide some useful ideas. If you don't like linux, then get a bsdi system and install that. It's also quite nice. ron Ron Minnich |Java: an operating-system-independent, rminnich@sarnoff.com |architecture-independent programming language (609)-734-3120 |for Windows/95 and Windows/NT on the Pentium ftp://ftp.sarnoff.com/pub/mnfs/www/docs/cluster.html