From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Jun 8 15:49:38 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id EBAB816A4CE for ; Tue, 8 Jun 2004 15:49:38 +0000 (GMT) Received: from clunix.cl.msu.edu (clunix.cl.msu.edu [35.9.2.10]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7069443D58 for ; Tue, 8 Jun 2004 15:49:38 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu) Received: (from jerrymc@localhost) by clunix.cl.msu.edu (8.11.7p1+Sun/8.11.7) id i58FnLG05180; Tue, 8 Jun 2004 11:49:21 -0400 (EDT) From: Jerry McAllister Message-Id: <200406081549.i58FnLG05180@clunix.cl.msu.edu> To: yamaha246@msn.com (Ernesto Ortiz) Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 11:49:19 -0400 (EDT) In-Reply-To: from "Ernesto Ortiz" at Jun 07, 2004 08:45:35 PM X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL2] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Ernesto Ortiz X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 08 Jun 2004 15:49:39 -0000 > > I have been doing some research on FreeBSD and I want to use it as my OS but > i have no idea on what files I need to download from the ftp sites. If > anyone can help with my problem I would appreciate it a lot. I have a really > good computer and I am sure that is more than capable of running > FreeBSD...But I lack the understanding on what I need to get to install it > in my PC. It depends a little on how you want to do the install. That further depends a little on the quality of your network connection. If your network connection is not very fast or you have trouble FTPing files, then you will probably want to download, burn and build from the XXXX-RELEASE-i386-disc1.iso and (possibly) XXXX-RELEASE-i386-disc2.iso files. In this case, everything you need to do an installation and even install a few of the most popular ports is on the CD[s]. Once you download them, you can proceed without using the net. If your network connection is reasonable and you don't have any trouble with ftp, then the easiest is to just download the XXXX-RELEASE-i386-miniinst.iso If you use the mini-iso, then the boot and install stuff is in the iso, but all the binaries, packages and ports skeleton are downloaded during the install process from the mirror site you specify during the install. The XXXX in the names above refers to the version number. So, if you want to load version 4.10 from the mini-iso, then it would be 4.10-RELEASE-i386-miniinst.iso Note that for releases 4.9 and earlier the mini-iso is xxx-mini.iso rather than xxx-miniinst.iso I am not sure what prompted the change. Just makes it harder to type accurately as far as I can see. So, ftp to ftp.freebsd.org, log in as anonymous with your Email address as password. Then cd to: pub/FreeBSD/releases/i386/ISO-IMAGES/XXXX again where XXXX is the version you want. So for version 4.10 it is: pub/FreeBSD/releases/i386/ISO-IMAGES/4.10 The iso images are all there. You might also want to download the CHECKSUM.MD5 file and use md5 to verify the integrety of the download. All the checksums for a particular release are in the one file and it is a straight text file. I normally choose to install over the net so I just download the mini-iso. But, I am fortunate in connections, having access to a university high speed links, but unfortunate in funds, due to the same university relationship. One further choice that is worth considering is to buy a preburned CD set from one of several vendors that package a set already for you. Usually that includes the CDs that you can get from FreeBSD, plus usually some additional CDs with some of the ports, plus most often a printed copy of the handbook or some other printed documentation. One special benefit of buying the CD set if you can is that most of these companies donate part of their receipts to the FreeBSD project. IF you buy the set, then you can install without having any network connection (or a bad one). ////jerry > > Thanks for your time. > Sincerly Ernesto Ortiz >