Ernesto Ortiz

[Jerry McAllister]

> 
> 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
>