FreeBSD 5 Install Options

[Jerry McAllister]

> 
> Hello! I haven't gotten the chance to use FreeBSD yet,
> do I figured I would grab an old 486 and install it.
> Now, I just have a few questions before installation.
> First of all, the computer doesn't have a working
> Cd-Rom drive, so I am going to have to use floppies to
> install it, but is it possible to put all the files I
> would need onto the harddrive, and then install
> directly from it, rather than using just floppies? It
> says a bit about this in the handbook and
> install.txt/htm, but I just want to make sure I
> understand before copying files over to the other
> computer for hours. 

If you install from floppies, all they have on them is the install
kernel and the installation and configuration utilities.  The rest
is all loaded from somewhere - normally over the net.   Don't bother
to try and pre load things on to another disk.  Just run the install
and build the disk and do the configuration and tell it to load
things from the net and pick a likely mirror.  Then, just let
it do its thing.

>   Okay, now the second question,
> which I also found a bit of info on in the handbook,
> but want to make sure I understand before actually
> installing. I have a second harddrive which I want to
> install FreeBSD on, so I just need to make sure to
> have a Primary partition on the second drive, and
> install it there, right? 

Yup.   And you will have to install the Master Boot Record (boot manager)
if you want to use more than one bootable slice on the machine.

The handbook is pretty good on this.  Study hard.   Just remember
that in BSD the disk can be divided into 4 SLICES identified as 1..4
and each slice can be divided into several partitions identified as a..h
Different from MessiDos that calls slices partitions.

Good luck,

///jerry

> Ben Jamer
> 
> __________________________________