diff --git a/FAQ/freebsd-faq.sgml b/FAQ/freebsd-faq.sgml index ccd1d33ff1..a0590c0eff 100644 --- a/FAQ/freebsd-faq.sgml +++ b/FAQ/freebsd-faq.sgml @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Frequently Asked Questions for FreeBSD 2.X <author>The FreeBSD FAQ Team, <tt/FAQ@FreeBSD.ORG/ -<date> $Id: freebsd-faq.sgml,v 1.55 1996-08-04 03:28:14 jkh Exp $ +<date> $Id: freebsd-faq.sgml,v 1.56 1996-08-04 14:14:05 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. @@ -16,62 +16,215 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. <sect> <heading>Preface</heading> <p> - Welcome to the FreeBSD 2.X FAQ ! This document tries to answer - some of the most frequently asked questions about FreeBSD 2.X (or - later, unless specifically indicated). If there's something you're - having trouble with and you just don't see it here, then please - send mail to: + Welcome to the FreeBSD 2.X FAQ ! - <url url="mailto:questions@FreeBSD.ORG" name="FreeBSD-questions + <sect1> + <heading>What is the purpose of this FAQ?</heading> + <p> + As is usual with Usenet FAQs, this document aims to cover the most + frequently asked questions concerning the FreeBSD operating system + (and of course answer them!). Although originally intended to reduce + bandwidth and avoid the same old questions being asked over and over + again, FAQs have become recognised as valuable information resources. + + Every effort has been made to make this FAQ as informative as + possible; if you have any suggestions as to how it may be improved, + please feel free to mail them to the + + <url url="mailto:questions@FreeBSD.ORG" name="FreeBSD-questions Mailing list"> or to <url url="mailto:faq@FreeBSD.ORG" name="FreeBSD FAQ mailing list"> - The latest released version is FreeBSD 2.1.0R. FreeBSD-current - refers to the future FreeBSD 2.2. The 2.1 release has been issued - from a special branch of the -current sources and is intended as a - even more stable version of 2.0.5. - - There are regular snapshots extracted from 2.2-CURRENT. Check on - <tt>ftp.FreeBSD.ORG</tt> in <tt>/pub/FreeBSD/*-SNAP*</tt>. - <sect1> <heading>What is FreeBSD?</heading> <p> - FreeBSD 2.X is a UN*X type operating system based on + Briefly, FreeBSD 2.X is a UN*X type operating system based on U.C. Berkeley's 4.4BSD-lite release for the i386 platform. It is also based indirectly on William Jolitz's port of U.C. Berkeley's - Net/2 to the i386, 386BSD. There have been many additions and - bug fixes made throughout the entire system, some of the - highlights of which are: + Net/2 to the i386, known as 386BSD. However, a very considerable + number of bug fixes and enhancements have been made to the original + code base, resulting in an extremely powerful and highly sophisticated + operating system. + + FreeBSD is used by companies, Internet Service Providers, researchers, + computer professionals, students and home users all over the world + in their work, education and recreation. See some of them in the + <url url="http://www.freebsd.org/gallery.html" name="FreeBSd Gallery."> + + For a more detailed description of FreeBSD, see the Introduction to + <url url="http://www.freebsd.org/handbook" name="FreeBSD Handbook."> + + <sect1> + <heading>What are the goals of FreeBSD?</heading> + <p> + The goals of the FreeBSD Project are to provide software that may + be used for any purpose and without strings attached. Many of us + have a significant investment in the code (and project) and would + certainly not mind a little financial renumeration now and then, + but we're definitely not prepared to insist on it. We believe + that our first and foremost "mission" is to provide code to any + and all comers, and for whatever purpose, so that the code gets + the widest possible use and provides the widest possible benefit. + This is, I believe, one of the most fundamental goals of Free + Software and one that we enthusiastically support. + + That code in our source tree which falls under the GNU Public License + (GPL) or GNU Library Public License (GLPL) comes with slightly more + strings attached, though at least on the side of enforced + access rather than the usual opposite. Due to the additional + complexities that can evolve in the commercial use of GPL software, + we do, however, endeavor to replace such software with submissions + under the more relaxed BSD copyright whenever possible. + + <sect1> + <heading>Why is it called FreeBSD?</heading> + <p> + <itemize> + <item>It may be used free of charge, even by commercial users. + <item>Full source for the operating system is freely available, and + the minimum possible restrictions have been placed upon its + use, distribution and incorporation into other work (commercial + or non-commercial). + <item>Anyone who has an improvement and/or bug fix is free to submit + their code and have it added to the source tree (subject to + one or two obvious provisos). + </itemize> + + For those of our readers whose first language is not English, it may be + worth pointing out that the word ``free'' is being used in two ways here, + one meaning ``at no cost'', the other meaning ``you can do whatever you + like''. Apart from one or two things you <tt /cannot/ do with the + FreeBSD code, for example pretending you wrote it, you really can do + whatever you like with it. + + <sect1> + <heading>What is the latest version of FreeBSD?</heading> + <p> + Version 2.1.5 is the latest version; it was released in mid-July. + + <sect1> + <heading>What is FreeBSD-current?</heading> + <p> + FreeBSD-current is the development version of the operating system, + which will in due course become version 2.2. As such, it is really + only of interest to developers working on the system. See the section + ``Staying current with FreeBSD'' in the + + <url url="http://www.freebsd.org/handbook/" name="FreeBSD Handbook"> + + <sect1> + <heading> What are ``snapshots''?<label id="snapshots"></heading> + <p> + Every now and again, a ``snapshot'' is taken of the development + code, which is prepared as if it were an official release; recently, + CDROMs have even been cut from the snapshots. The intention is to:- <itemize> - <item>More robust and extensive PC device support - <item>System V-style IPC, messaging and semaphores - <item>Shared Libraries - <item>Much improved virtual memory code - <item>Better console driver support - <item>Network booting (diskless) support - <item>YP support - <item>Full support of the PCI bus - <item>Loadable kernel modules - <item>Serial Console Support - <item>Merged VM/Buffer Cache - <item>On demand PPP - <item>Sync PPP - <item>Improved SCSI support + <item>Test the latest version of the installation routine. + <item>Allow people who would like to run -current, but who don't + have the time and/or bandwidth to follow it on a day-to-day + basis, an easy way to do so. + <item> + Preserve a fixed reference point as to when the code was + reasonably reliable. + + <item>Ensure that a new feature in need of testing has the + greatest possible number of potential testers. </itemize> - <sect1> - <heading>What do I need to run FreeBSD?</heading> - <p> - 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. + The astute reader will have noticed that the last two items are + somewhat mutually incompatible. As snapshots are based on + development code, no claim is made that a snapshot is regarded as + being of ``production quality'' - for that, you will have to use + official releases. - See the section on <ref id="hardware" name="Hardware compatibility"> - <sect1> - <heading>Where can I get FreeBSD</heading> + <heading> What about FreeBSD-stable?</heading> + <p> + Back when FreeBSD 2.0.5 was released, we branched FreeBSD + development into two parts. One branch was named -stable, with the + intention that only well-tested bug fixes and small incremental + enhancements would be made to it (for Internet Service Providers + and other commercial enterprises for whom sudden shifts or + experimental features are quite undesirable). The other branch was + -current, which essentially has been one unbroken line since 2.0 + was released. If a little ASCII art would help, this is how it + looks: + <p> + 2.0 + | + | + | + 2.0.5 ---> 2.1 ---> 2.1.5 [-stable] + | + | + [-current] 2.2-SNAPs + | + | + 2.2 (scheduled for Q4 '96) + | + | + . + <p> + The -current branch is slowly progressing towards 2.2 and beyond, + whereas the -stable branch will effectively end with 2.1.5. + + <sect1> + <heading>Why is the -stable branch ending with 2.1.5? </heading> + <p> + While we'd certainly like to be able to continue both branches of + development, we've found that the version control tools available to + us are not particularly well-suited for this; in fact, they quickly + result in a maintenance nightmare for any branch which lives much + beyond 2-3 months. The -stable branch has, by contrast, lasted for + well over a year and what little sanity the FreeBSD developers have + left would be in serious jeopardy if we continued in this way. + Perhaps in the future we'll figure out another model which gives + everyone what they want, and we are working on such a model, but in + the meantime it's probably best to think of -stable coming to an end + with 2.1.5-RELEASE. + + <sect1> + <heading> When are FreeBSD releases made?</heading> + <p> + As a general principle, the FreeBSD core team only release a new + version of FreeBSD when they believe that there are sufficient new + features and/or bug fixes to justify one, and are satisfied that the + changes made have settled down sufficiently to avoid compromising the + stability of the release. Many users regard this caution as one of + the best things about FreeBSD, although it can be a little + frustrating when waiting for all the latest goodies to become + available... + <p> + Releases are made about every 6 months on average. + + <sect1> + <heading> Is FreeBSD only available for PCs?</heading> + <p> + At present, yes. If your machine has a different architecture, we + suggest you look at + + <htmlurl url="http://www.netbsd.org/" name="NetBSD"> + + or + + <htmlurl url="http://www.openbsd.org/" name="OpenBSD">. + + <sect1> + <heading> Who is responsible for FreeBSD?</heading> + <p> + The key decisions concerning the FreeBSD project, such as the + overall direction of the project and who is allowed to add code to + the source tree, are made by a ``core team'' consisting of 14 + people. There is a much larger group, of about 50 people, who can + make changes to the source tree. + <p> + However, most non-trivial changes are discussed in advance in the + mailing lists, and there are no restrictions on who may take part + in the discussion. + + <sect1> + <heading>Where can I get FreeBSD?<label id="where-get"></heading> <p> The distribution is available via anonymous ftp from: <url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/" name="the FreeBSD FTP site"> @@ -92,12 +245,13 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. In Australia, you may find it at: - Advanced MM Distributors<newline> - 45 Elstone Ave<newline> - Airport West VIC 3042<newline> + Advanced Multimedia Distributors<newline> + Factory 1/1 Ovata Drive<newline> + Tullamarine, Melbourne<newline> + Victoria<newline> + Australia<newline> - Voice: +61 3 374-1410<newline> - Fax: +61 3 338-7411 fax<newline> + Voice: +61 3 9338 67777<newline> CDROM Support BBS<newline> 17 Irvine St<newline> @@ -205,11 +359,9 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. <sect1> <heading>Books on FreeBSD</heading> <p> - There currently aren't any books written specifically for - FreeBSD, although some people are supposedly working on some. - The FreeBSD Documentation Project exists, you may contact (or - better join them) on the <tt>doc</tt> mailing list: + There is a FreeBSD Documentation Project which you may contact (or + even better, join) on the <tt>doc</tt> mailing list: <url url="mailto:doc@FreeBSD.ORG" name="<doc@FreeBSD.ORG>">. A FreeBSD ``handbook'' is being created, and can be found as: @@ -286,67 +438,104 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. <url url="http://www.freebsd.org/" name="Main FreeBSD page"> - The FreeBSD handbook has a pretty complete bibliography, look at: + The FreeBSD handbook has a pretty complete <url url="http://www.FreeBSD.ORG/How/handbook/bibliography.html" name="Bibliography"> - <sect> - <heading>FreeBSD goals</heading> - <p> - <sect1> - <heading>Copyrights</heading> - <p> - The goals of the FreeBSD Project are to provide software that may - be used for any purpose and without strings attached. Many of us - have a significant investment in the code (and project) and would - certainly not mind a little financial renumeration now and then, - but we're definitely not prepared to insist on it. We believe - that our first and foremost "mission" is to provide code to any - and all comers, and for whatever purpose, so that the code gets - the widest possible use and provides the widest possible benefit. - This is, I believe, one of the most fundamental goals of Free - Software and one that we enthusiastically support. - - That code in our source tree which falls under the GNU Public License - (GPL) or GNU Library Public License (GLPL) comes with slightly more - strings attached, though at least on the side of enforced - access rather than the usual opposite. Due to the additional - complexities that can evolve in the commercial use of GPL software, - we do, however, endeavor to replace such software with submissions - under the more relaxed BSD copyright whenever possible. - <sect> <heading>Installation</heading> <p> <sect1> - <heading>How do I install FreeBSD?</heading> + <heading>Which file do I download to get FreeBSD?</heading> <p> + I'll answer that in a minute, but first a few words of explanation + might be in order. FreeBSD is not an application that you can + run from inside an existing DOS/Windows setup, it is an operating + system in its own right (in the same way as Windows NT or OS/2). - <bf/IMPORTANT NOTE/ if you are installing 2.1.0R from tape, see - the question titled, - <ref id="install-tape" name="Help! I can't install from tape!"> - + To install it involves making a ``primary partition'' for it on + the hard disk and arranging for it to be booted at system startup. + (FreeBSD gives you the option of installing a boot manager, so you + will be able to choose which operating system to use every time the + system starts up. Alternatively, you can use the boot managers + provided with oher operating systems, such as OS/2 or Linux). + + Obviously, this is not as simple as using an operating system that + those nice people you bought your PC from pre-installed for you, + but it's not too difficult provided you read (and, if possible, print + out) all the instructions before starting. It may be a lot to + read, but it's very complete. You should also make full note of the + exhortations to back everything up first and the legal disclaimers. + These are not there for amusement value - we mean it! However, + most people find the installation goes fairly smoothly. + + If you are able to be connected to the Internet for the duration + of the FreeBSD installation (lucky you!), the simplest way to + install FreeBSD is to download + <url + url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.5-RELEASE/floppies/boot.flp" + name="the boot image,"> make a boot floppy, boot with it and watch it + pull down all the necessary files. Depending on connection speed and + how much of FreeBSD you wish to install, this could take several hours + (even the minimal installation requires downloading about 15MB of + compressed files). + + For people who do not have good Internet connectivity, the best + way to install FreeBSD is to buy a CDROM (see <ref id="where-get" + name="Where to get FreeBSD"> for details). Unfortunately, this + is problematic for some people, as the support for IDE CDROMs in + FreeBSD is still in alpha (not because of some violent antipathy + towards IDE CDROMs, but simply due to a lack of people with the + necessary combination of skill, inclination and time). If you have + an IDE CDROM, you should use the + <url + url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.5-RELEASE/floppies/atapi.flp" + name="special boot floppy for IDE CDROMs."> If that doesn't work + for you, the alternative is to use one of the methods in the next + paragraph. + + Finally, if you already have a copy of the necessary files, FreeBSD + can be installed from floppy disks, a DOS hard disk partition or + tape or over a network via SLIP, PPP, NFS, PLIP and Ethernet. + + <sect1> + <heading>Where are the instructions for installing FreeBSD?</heading> + <p> Installation instructions can be found as: - <url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.0-RELEASE/INSTALL" - name="INSTALL from 2.1.0R"> + <url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.5-RELEASE/INSTALL" + name="INSTALL from 2.1.5R"> Release notes are also available as: - <url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.0-RELEASE/RELNOTES" - name="RELNOTES from 2.1.0R"> + <url url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.5-RELEASE/RELNOTES" + name="RELNOTES from 2.1.5R"> On the CDROM, the following files are in the top-most directory: <verb> + HARDWARE.TXT -- Hardware information INSTALL -- Installation instructions README.TXT -- Basic README file RELNOTES -- Release notes </verb> <sect1> - <heading>I have only 4 MB of RAM. Can I install FreeBSD 2.1.0 ?</heading> - + <heading>What do I need to run FreeBSD?</heading> <p> + 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. + + See the section on <ref id="hardware" name="Hardware compatibility"> + + <sect1> + <heading>I have only 4 MB of RAM. Can I install FreeBSD?</heading> + <p> + The latest version of FreeBSD (2.1.5) will install on a 4MB + system, provided you use the <url + url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.ORG/pub/FreeBSD/2.1.5-RELEASE/floppies/boot4.flp" + name="special boot floppy for 4MB systems."> + FreeBSD 2.1.0 does not install with 4 MB. To be exact: it does not install with 640 kB base + 3 MB extended memory. If your motherboard can remap some of the ``lost'' memory out of the @@ -367,29 +556,6 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. in 4 MB. Someone has even succeeded in booting with 2 MB (the system was almost unusable though :-)) - <sect1> - <heading>Help! I have no space! Must I delete everything first?</heading> - - <p> - If your machine is already running DOS and has little or no free - space available for FreeBSD's installation, all is not lost! You - may find the ``<tt/FIPS/'' utility, provided in the - <tt>tools/</tt> subdirectory on the FreeBSD CDROM or on the - various FreeBSD ftp sites, to be quite useful. - - <tt/FIPS/ allows you to split an existing DOS partition into two - pieces, preserving the original partition and allowing you to - install onto the second free piece. You first ``defrag'' your - DOS partition, using the DOS 6.xx <tt/DEFRAG/ utility or the - Norton Disk tools, then run <tt/FIPS/. It will prompt you for - the rest of the information it needs. Afterwards, you can reboot - and install FreeBSD on the new free slice. See the Distributions - menu for an estimation of how much free space you'll need for the - kind of installation you want. - - NOTE: <tt/FIPS/ may cause problems with the mounting of your - DOS partition under FreeBSD 2.X. - <sect1> <heading>Can Windows 95 co-exist with FreeBSD?</heading> @@ -397,6 +563,21 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. Install Windows 95 first, after that FreeBSD. FreeBSD's boot manager will then manage to boot Win95 and FreeBSD. + <sect1> + <heading>How can I have more than one operating system on my PC?</heading> + <p> + Have a look at <url url="http://www.in.net/~jayrich/doc/multios.html" name="The multi-OS page."> + + <sect1> + <heading>Can I install on an IDE disk with bad blocks?</heading> + <p> + FreeBSD's bad block (the ``<tt/bad144/'' command) handling is + still not 100% (to put it charitably) and it must + unfortunately be said that if you've got an IDE or ESDI drive + with lots of bad blocks, then FreeBSD is probably not for you! + That said, it does work on thousands of IDE based systems, so + you'd do well to try it first before simply giving up. + <sect1> <heading>Can I use compressed DOS filesystems from FreeBSD?</heading> @@ -427,25 +608,34 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. <p> mount -t msdos /dev/sd0s5 /dos_d + <sect1> + <heading>Strange things happen when I boot the install floppy!</heading> + <p> + If you're seeing things like the machine grinding to a halt or + spontaneously rebooting when you try to boot the install floppy, + here are three questions to ask yourself:- + <enum> + <item>Did you use a new, freshly-formatted, error-free floppy + (preferably a brand-new one striaght out of the box), as + opposed to the magazine coverdisk that's been lying under + the bed for the last three years)? + <item>Did you download the floppy image in binary (or image) mode? + (don't be embarrassed, even the best of us have made this + mistake at least once when FTP'ing things!) + <item>If you're using one of these new-fangled operating systems + like Windows95 or Windows NT, did you shut it down and restart + the system in plain, honest DOS? It seems these OS's can + interfere with programs that write directly to hardware, as + the disk creation program does; even running it inside a DOS + shell in the GUI can cause this problem. + </enum> + + There have also been reports of Netscape causing problems when + downloading the boot floppy, so it's probably best to use a different + FTP client if you can. <sect1> - <heading>Can I run DOS binaries under FreeBSD?</heading> - - <p> - Not yet, though BSDI has just donated their <tt/rundos/ DOS emulation - subsystem which we're now working on integrating and enhancing. - Send mail to - <url url="mailto:emulation@freebsd.org" - name="The FreeBSD emulation discussion list"> - if you're interested in joining this effort! - - For now, there is a neat utility called ``<tt/pcemu/'' in the - ports collection which emulates an 8088 and enough BIOS services - to run DOS text mode applications. It requires the X Window - System (provided as XFree86 3.1.2). - - <sect1> - <heading>Help! I can't install from tape!<label id="install-tape"></heading> + <heading>Help! I can't install from tape!</heading> <p> If you are installing 2.1.0R from tape, you must create the tape using a tar blocksize of 10 (5120 bytes). The default tar @@ -454,25 +644,6 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. you will get an error that complains about the record size being too big. - <sect1> - <heading>How can I install onto a large SCSI disk?</heading> - - <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 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. - When FreeBSD's installation procedure prompts you for these - values, you should then enter them rather than simply going with - the defaults. - - There is a freely available utility distributed with FreeBSD - 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> <p> @@ -503,12 +674,78 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. </verb> <sect1> - <heading>When I boot FreeBSD I get ``Missing Operating System''.</heading> + <heading>Which geometry should I use for a disk drive?<label id="geometry"></heading> + <p> + (By the "geometry" of a disk, we mean the number of cylinders, + heads and sectors/track on a disk - I'll refer to this as + C/H/S for convenience. This is how the PC's BIOS works out + which area on a disk to read/write from). + + This seems to cause a lot of confusion for some reason. First + of all, the <tt /physical/ geometry of a SCSI drive is totally + irrelevant, as FreeBSD works in term of disk blocks. In fact, there + is no such thing as "the" physical geometry, as the sector density + varies across the disk - what manufacturers claim is the "true" + physical geometry is usually the geometry that they've worked out + results in the least wasted space. For IDE disks, FreeBSD does + work in terms of C/H/S, but all modern drives will convert this + into block references internally as well. + + All that matters is the <tt /logical/ geometry - the answer that the + BIOS gets when it asks "what is your geometry" and then uses to access + the disk. As FreeBSD uses the BIOS when booting, it's very important + to get this right. In particular, if you have more than one operating + system on a disk, they must all agree on the geometry, otherwise you + will have serious problems booting! + + For SCSI disks, the geometry to use depends on whether extended + translation support is turned on in your controller (this is + often referred to as "support for DOS disks >1GB" or something + similar). If it's turned off, then use N cylinders, 64 heads + and 32 sectors/track, where 'N' is the capacity of the disk in + MB. For example, a 2GB disk should pretend to have 2048 cylinders, + 64 heads and 32 sectors/track. + + If it <tt /is/ turned on (it's often supplied this way to get around + certain limitations in MSDOS) and the disk capacity is more than 1GB, + use M cylinders, 63 heads (*not* 64), and 255 sectors per track, where + 'M' is the disk capacity in MB divided by 7.844238 (!). So our + example 2GB drive would have 261 cylinders, 63 heads and 32 sectors + per track. + + If you are not sure about this, or FreeBSD fails to detect the + geometry correctly during installation, the simplest way around + this is usually to create a small DOS partition on the disk. The + correct geometry should then be detected (and you can always remove + the DOS partition in the partition editor if you don't want to keep + it). + + Alternatively, there is a freely available utility distributed with + FreeBSD called ``<tt/pfdisk.exe/'' (located in the <tt>tools</tt> + subdirectory on the FreeBSD CDROM or on the various FreeBSD + ftp sites) which can be used to work out what geometry the other + operating systems on the disk are using. You can then enter this + geometry in the partition editor. + + <sect1> + <heading>Any restrictions on how I divide the disk up?</heading> <p> - See question above. This is classically a case of FreeBSD and - DOS or some other OS conflicting over their ideas of disk - geometry. You will have to reinstall FreeBSD, but obeying the + Yes. You must make sure that your root partition is below 1024 + cylinders so the BIOS can boot the kernel from it. (Note that this + is a limitation in the PC's BIOS, not FreeBSD). + + For a SCSI drive, this will normally imply that the root partition + will be in the first 1024MB (or in the first 4096MB if extended + translation is turned on - see previous question). For IDE, the + corresponding figure is 504MB. + + <sect1> + <heading>When I boot FreeBSD I get ``Missing Operating System''.</heading> + <p> + This is classically a case of FreeBSD and DOS or some other OS + conflicting over their ideas of disk <ref id="geometry" + name="geometry."> You will have to reinstall FreeBSD, but obeying the instructions given above will almost always get you going. <sect1> @@ -570,14 +807,29 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. need to worry about tuning your filesystem! :-) <sect1> - <heading>I have an IDE drive with lots of bad blocks on it...</heading> + <heading>I have bad blocks on my hard drive!</heading> <p> - FreeBSD's bad block (the ``<tt/bad144/'' command) handling is - still not 100% (to put it charitably) and it must - unfortunately be said that if you've got an IDE or ESDI drive - with lots of bad blocks, then FreeBSD is probably not for you! - That said, it does work on thousands of IDE based systems, so - you'd do well to try it first before simply giving up. + With SCSI drives, the drive should be capable of re-mapping + these automatically. However, many drives are shipped with + this feature disabled, for some mysterious reason... + + To enable this, you'll need to edit the first device page mode, + which can be done on FreeBSD by giving the command (as root) + +<verb> + scsi -f /dev/rsd0c -m 1 -e -P 3 +</verb> + + and changing the values of AWRE and ARRE from 0 to 1:- +<verb> + AWRE (Auto Write Reallocation Enbld): 1 + ARRE (Auto Read Reallocation Enbld): 1 +</verb> + + For other drive types, you are dependent on support from the + operating system. Unfortunately, the ``bad144'' command that + FreeBSD supplies for this purpose needs a considerable amount + of work done on it... IDE drives are <em/supposed/ to come with built-in bad-block remapping; if you have documentation for your drive, you may want @@ -590,7 +842,8 @@ Any entries with a <XXX> are under construction. <p> No. FreeBSD 2.X comes with bounce buffers which allows your bus mastering controller access to greater than 16MB. (Note that this - is not required if you have a PCI motherboard). + should only be required if you are using ISA devices, although + one or two broken EISA and VLB devices may need it as well). <sect1> <heading>I keep seeing messages like ``<tt/ed1: timeout/''.</heading> @@ -1417,6 +1670,22 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device) <p> Please refer to the answer to the previous question. + <sect1> + <heading>Can I run DOS binaries under FreeBSD?</heading> + + <p> + Not yet, though BSDI has just donated their <tt/rundos/ DOS emulation + subsystem which we're now working on integrating and enhancing. + Send mail to + <url url="mailto:emulation@freebsd.org" + name="The FreeBSD emulation discussion list"> + if you're interested in joining this effort! + + For now, there is a neat utility called ``<tt/pcemu/'' in the + ports collection which emulates an 8088 and enough BIOS services + to run DOS text mode applications. It requires the X Window + System (provided as XFree86 3.1.2). + <sect1> <heading>My programs occasionally die with ``Signal 11'' errors.</heading> <p> @@ -1623,15 +1892,6 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device) but the `<tt/`vt08/'' is quite important -- it must point to a vt that won't be used by <tt/getty/'s about a second later. - <sect1> - <heading>What's FreeBSD-current?</heading> - - <p> - Read this: - <url url="http://www.freebsd.org/How/handbook/current.html" - name="Handbook entry on FreeBSD-CURRENT"> - it will tell you all you need to know. - <sect1> <heading>What is this thing called ``<tt/sup/'', and how do I use it?</heading> @@ -1717,17 +1977,19 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device) control over your machine to the eternal damnation of your soul. Given a choice, I think I'd prefer to get used to the scratchy noises, myself! + <sect1> <heading>How do I create customized installation disks?</heading> - <p> The entire process of creating installation disks and source and binary archives is automated by various targets in <tt>/usr/src/release/Makefile</tt>. The information there should - be enough to get you started. + be enough to get you started. However, it should be said that this + involves doing a ``make world'' and will therefore take up a lot of + time and disk space. <sect1> - <heading>"make world" clobbers my existing installed binaries.</heading> + <heading>``make world'' clobbers my existing installed binaries.</heading> <p> Yes, this is the general idea; as its name might suggest, @@ -1896,8 +2158,8 @@ pseudo-device vn #Vnode driver (turns a file into a device) write to the printer status port for setting addresses, plus that use that address + <tt/0x800/, and a third I/O port for reading that can be located anywhere between <tt/0x200/ and <tt/0x3ff/. - + <sect> <heading>Kernel Configuration</heading> <p> @@ -3173,6 +3435,10 @@ domain foo.bar.edu FreeBSD Doc Team <tag/Jordan Hubbard/ Janitorial services (I don't do windows) + <tag/Doug White/ + Services above and beyond the call of duty on freebsd-questions + <tag/Joerg Wunsch/ + Services above and beyond the call of duty on Usenet <tag/Garrett Wollman/ Networking and formatting <tag/Jim Lowe/