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* Move questions re mounting CDROMs together

Browse source 
(suggested by Darryl Okahata).

* Add explanation of what virtual consoles are
  (suggested by Francisco Reyes)

* Minor formatting change to fix docs/1378 (could some kind person
  close this for me? Thanks!)

* Removed references to obsolete /usr/share/FAQ/Text directory.

* Added details of UK supplier of FreeBSD CDs.

* Made the consequences of running ``make world'' more explicit.

* More cleaning and tidying up.
This commit is contained in:
James Raynard 1996-07-09 22:37:38 +00:00
parent 732faa3668
commit 4689fcd35f
Notes: svn2git 2020-12-08 03:00:23 +00:00 
svn path=/head/; revision=416
1 changed files with 111 additions and 100 deletions

211
FAQ/freebsd-faq.sgml
View file

@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
<title>Frequently Asked Questions for FreeBSD 2.X
<author>The FreeBSD FAQ Team, <tt/FAQ@FreeBSD.ORG/
<date> $Id: freebsd-faq.sgml,v 1.50 1996-07-09 02:23:54 jraynard Exp $
<date> $Id: freebsd-faq.sgml,v 1.51 1996-07-09 22:37:38 jraynard Exp $
<abstract>
This is the FAQ for FreeBSD systems version 2.X All entries are
assumed to be relevant to FreeBSD 2.0.5+, unless otherwise noted.
@ -34,26 +34,6 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
There are regular snapshots extracted from 2.2-CURRENT. Check on
<tt>ftp.FreeBSD.ORG</tt> in <tt>/pub/FreeBSD/*-SNAP*</tt>.
Some of the instructions here will also refer to auxiliary
utilities in the <tt>/usr/share/FAQ/Text</tt> directory. If you do
not have this directory, or if it does not contain the file that
you want, you are probably using a version of FreeBSD prior to
2.0.5R. In this case, install the FreeBSD sources and look in
<tt>/usr/src/share/FAQ/Text</tt> (instead of
<tt>/usr/share/FAQ</tt>). CDROM purchasers and net folks who've
grabbed the FreeBSD 2.X ``<tt/srcdist/'' will have these files. If
you don't have the source distribution, then you can either grab
the whole thing from:
<url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current"
name="FreeBSD-current base directory">
Or you can grab only those files you're interested in straight out
of the FreeBSD-current distribution in:
<url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/src"
name="FreeBSD-current src directory">
<sect1>
<heading>What is FreeBSD?</heading>
<p>
@ -84,7 +64,7 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
<sect1>
<heading>What do I need to run FreeBSD?</heading>
<p>
You'll need a 386 or better PC, with 4 Mo or more of RAM and at
You'll need a 386 or better PC, with 4 MB or more of RAM and at
least 60 MB of hard disk space. It can run with a low end MDA
card but to run X11R6, a VGA or better video card is needed.
@ -94,7 +74,7 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
<heading>Where can I get FreeBSD</heading>
<p>
The distribution is available via anonymous ftp from:
<url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/" name="FreeBSD home directory">
<url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/" name="the FreeBSD FTP site">
For the current release, 2.1.0R, look in:
<url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.0-RELEASE/" name="FreeBSD 2.1.0-RELEASE">
@ -110,7 +90,7 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
email: <url url="mailto:orders@cdrom.com" name="WC Orders address"> <newline>
WWW: <url url="http://www.cdrom.com/" name="WC Home page"><newline>
In Australia, you may find it at the following:
In Australia, you may find it at:
Advanced MM Distributors<newline>
45 Elstone Ave<newline>
@ -126,6 +106,17 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
Voice: +61 9 385-3793<newline>
Fax: +61 9 385-2360<newline>
And in the UK:
The Public Domain & Shareware Library<newline>
Winscombe House, Beacon Rd<newline>
Crowborough<newline>
Sussex. TN6 1UL<newline>
Voice: +44 01892 663298<newline>
Fax: +44 01892 667473<newline>
(Do not dial the leading zero if calling from outside the UK).
<sect1>
<heading>What FreeBSD mailing lists are available?</heading>
<p>
@ -142,24 +133,21 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
<tag/SCSI/ Mailing list for SCSI developers.
<tag/current/ This is the mailing list for communications
between the developers and users of freebsd-current. It also
carries announcements and discussions on current.
carries announcements and discussions on current. <tt
/Required/ reading for anyone using freebsd-current!
<tag/security/ For issues dealing with system security.
<tag/platforms/ Deals with ports to non-Intel platforms
<tag/ports/ Discussion of <tt>/usr/ports/???</tt>
<tag/fs/ Discussion of FreeBSD Filesystems
<tag/platforms/ Deals with ports to non-Intel platforms.
<tag/ports/ Discussion of the Ports collection.
<tag/fs/ Discussion of FreeBSD Filesystems.
<tag/hardware/ Discussion on hardware requirements for
FreeBSD.
<tag/committers/ All CVS commit messages
<tag/chat/ What does not belong elsewhere, general chat, fun.
<tag/chat/ Miscellaneous chit-chat that does not belong
anywhere else, humour, etc.
<tag/hubs/ This the mailing-list for all of the generous
people who manage the ``regional'' part of the <tt/freebsd.org/
domain.
<tag/users-groups/ This is the mailing list for the
coordinators from each of the local area Users Groups to
discuss matters with each other and a designated individual
from the Core Team. This mail list should be limited to
meeting synopsis and coordination of projects that span User
Groups
<tag/users-groups/ For the local area Users Groups coordinators.
</descrip>
<p>
The FreeBSD-commit list has been broken up into groups dealing
@ -173,17 +161,21 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
Example:
<p>
To subscribe to the <tt/questions/ list, you'll to send a message
containing the following command in the <bf/body/ of the message,
the subject is ignored:
containing the following command in the <bf/body/ of the message
(the subject will be ignored):
<verb>
subscribe questions john.smith@foo.bar (John Smith)
</verb>
<p>
To unsubscribe, it is as easy. Just remember to send your request
Unsubscribing is just as easy:-
<verb>
unsubscribe questions john.smith@foo.bar (John Smith)
</verb>
Just remember to send your request
to
<url url="mailto:Majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG" name="The mail administrator">
<bf/not/ to the list itself. The last thing the subscribed
users want to see is administrative requests...
<url url="mailto:Majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG" name="the mail administrator">
and <bf/not/ to the list itself! (The last thing the subscribed
users want to see is administrative requests...)
<sect1>
<heading>What FreeBSD news groups are available?</heading>
@ -199,14 +191,15 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
<tag><tt/comp.unix.bsd/</tag>
General BSD topics
</descrip>
To setup/run your own News server or just reading Usenet News,
you may have a look at various packages already ported for
FreeBSD 2.X in <tt>/usr/ports/news</tt>. You'll find Cnews, INN,
Trn, TIN and others there.
<tt>/usr/ports/news</tt> contains a number of ready-ported
programs not only for reading Usenet News, but even setting
up and running your own News server! You'll find trn, TIN,
Cnews, INN and others there.
For French-speaking people, the <tt/fr.comp.os.bsd/ group is for
you. Ask your system administrator if you don't receive this
group.
For French-speaking people, the <tt/fr.comp.os.bsd/ group is for
you; there is also a Japanese newsgroup, <tt /fj.os.bsd.freebsd/.
If you do not receive these newsgroups, ask your system
administrator to get them for you.
</sect1>
<sect1>
@ -221,7 +214,7 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
A FreeBSD ``handbook'' is being created, and can be found as:
<url url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/" name="FreeBSD's Handbook">
<url url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/" name="the FreeBSD Handbook">
Note that this is a work in progress, and so parts may be incomplete.
However, as FreeBSD 2.X is based upon Berkeley 4.4BSD-Lite, most
@ -467,7 +460,7 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
<p>
This depends. If you don't have DOS (or another operating
system) on the system, you can just keep the drive in native mode
and simply make sure that your root partition is below 1024 so
and simply make sure that your root partition is below 1024 cylinders so
the BIOS can boot the kernel from it. It you also have DOS/some
other OS on the drive then your best bet is to find out what
parameters that it thinks you have before installing FreeBSD.
@ -476,8 +469,9 @@ Any entries with a &lt;XXX&gt; are under construction.
the defaults.
There is a freely available utility distributed with FreeBSD
called ``<tt/pfdisk/'' (located in the <tt>tools/dos-tools</tt>
subdirectory) which can be used for this purpose.
called ``<tt/pfdisk/'' (located in the <tt>tools</tt>
subdirectory on the FreeBSD CDROM or on the various FreeBSD
ftp sites) which can be used for this purpose.
<sect1>
<heading>Can I install on my laptop over PLIP (Parallel Line IP)?</heading>
@ -1324,6 +1318,14 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
<verb>
mount_cd9660 /dev/cd0c /mnt
</verb>
<sect1>
<heading>When I mount a CDROM, I get ``Device not configured''.</heading>
<p>
This generally means that there is no CDROM in the CDROM drive,
or the drive is not visible on the bus. Feed the drive
something, and/or check its master/slave status if it is
IDE (ATAPI).
<sect1>
<heading>How can I use the NT loader to boot FreeBSD?</heading>
@ -1388,18 +1390,16 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
<sect1>
<heading>My printer is ridiculously slow. What can I do ?</heading>
<p>
If it's parallel, and all your problem is that it's terribly
If it's parallel, and the only problem is that it's terribly
slow, try setting your printer port into ``polled'' mode:
<verb>
lptcontrol -p
</verb>
Some newer HP printers are told to not work correctly in
Some newer HP printers are claimed not to work correctly in
interrupt mode, apparently due to some (not yet exactly
understood) timing problem. Slowaris is also affected by this
(and that's probably the reason why the HP support does rather
act like an ``unsupport'' here).
understood) timing problem.
<sect1>
<heading>My keyboard locks up after switching between vtys.</heading>
@ -1410,21 +1410,12 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
options ASYNCH
</verb>
See the section on <ref id="make-kernel" name="about building a
See the section on <ref id="make-kernel" name="building a
kernel"> if you've no experience with building kernels.
<sect1>My bus mouse locks up spontaneously.</heading>
<p>
Please refer to the answer to the previous question.
<sect1>
<heading>When I mount a CDROM, I get ``Device not configured''.</heading>
<p>
This generally means that there is no CDROM in the CDROM drive,
or the drive is not visible on the bus. Feed the drive
something, and/or check it's master/slave status if it is
IDE (ATAPI).
<sect1>
<heading>My programs occasionally die with ``Signal 11'' errors.</heading>
@ -1467,8 +1458,8 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
<p>
Until the bug has been fixed, you can use this workaround:
<enum>
<item> Enter <tt/-c/ at the bootprompt. <newline>
&lsqb; the kernel goes into configuration mode &rsqb;
<item> Enter <tt/-c/ at the bootprompt.
(This will put the kernel into configuration mode).
<item> Disable <tt/sio0/, <tt/sio1/, <tt/sio2/ and <tt/sio3/
(all of them). This way the sio driver doesn't get activated
-> no problems.
@ -1504,17 +1495,32 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
run <tt/xf86config/ again.
<sect1>
<heading>How do I access the virtual consoles?</heading>
<p>
If the console is not currently displaying X Window, just press
Alt-F1 to Alt-F12.
<bf/NOTE/ the default FreeBSD installation has
only three (3) virtual consoles enabled, and so only Alt-F1,
Alt-F2, and Alt-F3 will work to switch between three virtual
consoles. If you want to increase this number, see the next
question.
<heading>What is a virtual console?</heading>
<p>
Virtual consoles, put simply, enable you to have several
simultaneous sessions on the same machine without doing anything
complicated like setting up a network or running X.
<p>
When the system starts, it will display a login prompt on
the monitor after displaying all the boot messages. You can
then type in your login name and password and start working (or
playing!) on the first virtual console.
<p>
At some point, you will probably wish to start another
session, perhaps to look at documentation for a program
you are running or to read your mail while waiting for an
FTP transfer to finish. Just do Alt-F2 (hold down the Alt
key and press the F2 key), and you will find a login prompt
waiting for you on the second ``virtual console''! When you
want to go back to the original session, do Alt-F1.
<p>
The default FreeBSD installation has three virtual consoles
enabled, and Alt-F1, Alt-F2, and Alt-F3 will switch between
these virtual consoles.
<sect1>
<heading>How do I access the virtual consoles from X?</heading>
<p>
If the console is currently displaying X Window, you can use
Ctrl-Alt-F1, etc. to switch to a virtual console. Note, however,
that once you've switched away from X Window to a virtual
@ -1630,7 +1636,7 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
<p>
Read this:
<url url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/current.html"
name="Handbook's section of FreeBSD-CURRENT">
name="Handbook entry on FreeBSD-CURRENT">
it will tell you all you need to know.
<sect1>
@ -1656,7 +1662,7 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
Second, read the <url
url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/sup.html"
name="Handbook's section on SUP">
name="Handbook entry on SUP">
This file describes how to setup sup on your machine. You may
also want to look at
@ -1670,7 +1676,7 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
which are a set of supfiles for supping from <tt/FreeBSD.ORG/.
<sect1>
<heading>How cool is your OS?</heading>
<heading>How cool is FreeBSD?</heading>
<p>
Q. Has anyone done any temperature testing while running FreeBSD?
I know Linux runs cooler than dos, but have never seen a mention of
@ -1731,7 +1737,12 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
<heading>&quot;make world&quot; clobbers my existing installed binaries.</heading>
<p>
If you define the environment variable <tt/DESTDIR/ while running
Yes, this is the general idea; as its name might suggest,
``make world'' rebuilds every system binary from scratch, so
you can be certain of having a clean and consistent
environment at the end (which is why it takes so long).
<p>
If the environment variable <tt/DESTDIR/ is defined while running
``<tt/make world/'' or ``<tt/make install/'', the newly-created
binaries will be deposited in a directory tree identical to the
installed one, rooted at <tt>&dollar;&lcub;DESTDIR&rcub;</tt>.
@ -1762,10 +1773,10 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
by using the
<url
url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/handbook/ctm.html"
name="CTM facility">
name="CTM facility.">
<sect1>
<heading>How did you split up the distribution into 240k files?</heading>
<heading>How did you split the distribution up into 240k files?</heading>
<p>
Newer BSD based systems have a ``<tt/-b/'' option to split that
@ -1791,7 +1802,7 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device)
Please take a look at:
<url url="http://www.FreeBSD.ORG/How/handbook/submitters.html"
name="The Handbook entry on how to submit code">.
name="The Handbook entry on how to submit code.">
And thanks for the thought!
@ -2123,7 +2134,7 @@ disk fd1 at fdc0 drive 1
<heading>Where are the system start-up configuration files?</heading>
<p>
As for 2.0.5R, the primary configuration file is
As of 2.0.5R, the primary configuration file is
<tt>/etc/sysconfig</tt>. All the options are to be specified in
this one and the other one (<tt>/etc/rc</tt> and
<tt>/etc/netstart</tt>) just include it.
@ -2176,11 +2187,11 @@ disk fd1 at fdc0 drive 1
<sect1>
<heading>I'm having problems setting up my printer.</heading>
<p>
Please have a look at the section of the Handbook on printing. It
Please have a look at the Handbook entry on printing. It
should cover most of your problem. See the
<url
url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/printing.html"
name="Handbook entry on printing">
name="Handbook entry on printing.">
</sect1>
<sect1>
@ -2300,13 +2311,13 @@ disk fd1 at fdc0 drive 1
links:
<url url="http://www.FreeBSD.ORG/How/handbook/slips.html"
name="Handbook's section on SLIP (server side)">
name="Handbook entry on SLIP (server side)">
<url url="http://www.FreeBSD.ORG/How/handbook/slipc.html"
name="Handbook's section on SLIP (client side)">
name="Handbook entry on SLIP (client side)">
<url url="http://www.FreeBSD.ORG/How/handbook/ppp.html"
name="Handbook's section on PPP (kernel version)">
name="Handbook entry on PPP (kernel version)">
<url url="http://www.FreeBSD.ORG/How/handbook/userppp.html"
name="Handbook's section on SLIP (user-mode version)">
name="Handbook entry on SLIP (user-mode version)">
<sect1>
<heading>I can connect with IJPPP but it doesn't work right!</heading>
@ -2516,8 +2527,8 @@ domain foo.bar.edu
/usr/src/usr.sbin/sendmail/cf
</verb>
If you don't have installed your system with full sources,
this won't be a problem. The sendmail config stuff has been
If you didn't install your system with full sources,
the sendmail config stuff has been
broken out into a separate source distribution tarball just
for you. Assuming you've got your CD-ROM mounted, do:
@ -2526,12 +2537,12 @@ domain foo.bar.edu
tar -xvzf /cdrom/dists/src/ssmailcf.aa
</verb>
Don't bother, this is only a few hundred kilobytes in size.
Don't panic, this is only a few hundred kilobytes in size.
The file <tt>README</tt> in the <tt>cf</tt> directory can
serve as a basic introduction into the m4 configuration.
serve as a basic introduction to m4 configuration.
<p>
For UUCP delivery, you will go best by using the
For UUCP delivery, you are best advised to use the
<em>mailertable</em> feature. This constitutes a database
that sendmail can use to base its routing decision upon.
@ -2608,7 +2619,7 @@ domain foo.bar.edu
everything else, with UUCP delivery to a UUCP neighbour that
serves as your universal mail gateway to the world. All of
the node names behind the <tt>uucp-dom:</tt> keyword must
be valid UUCP neighbours, as you could verify using the
be valid UUCP neighbours, as you can verify using the
command <tt>uuname</tt>.
<p>
@ -3100,7 +3111,7 @@ domain foo.bar.edu
protocol, like zmodem.
<sect1>
<heading>Okay, how can I run zmodem with <tt/tip/?</heading>
<heading>How can I run zmodem with <tt/tip/?</heading>
<p>
To receive files, start the sending program on the remote end.
Then, type ``<tt/~C rz/'' to begin receiving them locally.