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Date:      Thu, 7 Mar 2002 12:49:36 -0500 (EST)
From:      <doug@safeport.com>
To:        stable@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: I'm kinda happy (wasI bought your system and am not so happy!)
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0203070958160.5813-100000@pemaquid.safeport.com>

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This addresses only the question of the kernel being a best kept
secret. Compiling a kernel is well documented 

If you are going to use FreeBSD (or any unix) there is a learning curve.
If you know any unix variant, it not much. If you come from a windows or
mac environment you should at least:

  read or skim the handbook. Specifically for your questions chapter 9
  and A.6. I assume you already read Chap 2. ;) Then if you have
  specific questions about a step or when something goes wrong you will
  get a lot of help.

The more of a computer background you have the easier the learning curve
but it is different. My suggestions:

  1) Greg Lehey posts: "How to get best results from FreeBSD-questions". 
     from time-to-time. Read that.
  2) Scribe to stable@freebsd.org in addition to this list
  3) Assuming little or no Unix background:
      a) learn the file system and source trees.
      b) read man pages until you can understand them a bit
      c) /usr/.../doc  has good stuff, scan that.   

I came to this with no Unix but a fair amount of computer/programming
background. My most valuable resources were a "buddy" who helped me to
get going, and Unix System Administration Handbook by Evi Nemeth, et
all. Here I would include the handbook, but I started with another of
the BSDs.

Aside from the occasional errors introduced by the committers (read
stable), my most common errors building a kernel:

  1) something changed and I did not read stable
  2) clean out /usr/obj
  3) make cleandir in /usr/src/sys/modules
  4) clean out /usr/src/sys/compile/KERNEL (now not necessary if you
     follow the steps, I think).
  5) I almost always use NFS to build systems so my favorite error is
     that /etc/make.conf does not match on the target and build
     systems. I have now done this enough where I no long ask on stable
     what went wrong :)

All of that said, to build a kernel my cheat list is:

    Read /usr/src/UPDATING.

    make buildworld
    make buildkernel KERNCONF=client

    make installkernel KERNCONF=client
    make installworld

    run mergemaster and reboot

Not too complex and well documented.


_____
Douglas Denault
doug@safeport.com
Voice: 301-469-8766
  Fax: 301-469-0601


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