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Date:      Wed, 2 Jul 2003 18:54:54 -0400 (EDT)
From:      Jerry McAllister <jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu>
To:        nowmana@yahoo.com (Nowman)
Cc:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Downloading FreeBSD 4.7
Message-ID:  <200307022254.h62Mssqv003881@clunix.cl.msu.edu>
In-Reply-To: <20030702221432.82159.qmail@web13906.mail.yahoo.com> from "Nowman" at Jul 02, 2003 03:14:32 PM

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> 
> Thanks for your help. I was able to get in. Will you be able to tell me 
> how to get the complete install CD downloaded. I tried to look around 
> but could not find any place to download the whole install CD from the web.

First, something you can do to help make your messages more useful and
make it easier for many of us to respond:   Please break your lines
at around 72 characters.   Some Email readers can be configured to
do that.   If yours cannot, then please hit a RETURN/ENTER (however yours
is labeled) at around 70 or characters to start a new line.


Now,  I never use the web interface to get the ISO-s.   I just go in
with ftp to ftp.freebsd.org.   But, the location will be the same.

When you get in, you need to cd to pub/FreeBSD/ISO-IMAGES-i386/4.8

(It is recommended that you start with V-4.8 and not any of the V-5.X)

In that directory will see 3 ISO files and one CHECKSUM.MD5 file.
Download the file called  4.8-RELEASE-i386-mini-iso
Make sure you are using a binary transfer for that file.
If you are using regular ftp, type the command  'binary'  minus the quotes.
Then, you can also download the file called CHECKSUM.MD5.
If you are doing the ftp from a Microsloth system, then that file
should be downloaded in ASCII text mode (type  'ascii'  while in ftp)
because it is just a text file with the MD5 checksum numbers to use
to verify a good download.   If you accidently download the checksum
file in binary it is no big problem.  It will just have extra CR-s in it.
But, you mush download the ISO in binary mode or it will be junk.

If you are where you can run md5 on the ownloaded ISO, then do it and
compare the number it gives with the one for that file in the checksum
file.  If they are the same the ISO download should be good.

Then, burn the ISO directly as is on to a CD.     

If you are using the whole disk for FreeBSD, you can just proceed.  If
you are trying to dual boot it with Win-something or Linux along with
the FreeBSD, then you will have to slice the drive.   If it already has
the Win-something on it, the easiest thing is to use a program that 
will shrink the Win slice and make room for a FreeBSD slice.  I have
successfully used a utility called Partition Magic.   It is available
for around $50 in most electronics mass market stores like Best Buy, etc.
There are freeware ones, but generally they don't work for XP and NTFS
type file systems, but do just fine with old FAT stuff with Win95-98, etc.

Although you will see lots of warnings about boot sectors needing to 
be in no higher than a certain cylinder on the disk, most modern BIOSes
don't have that problem.   But, if you get things all installed and it
won't boot because it can't find your bootable filesystem, then you 
may have to rethink your disk divisions and put a smaller MS-Win slice
low, then a FreeBSD slice and then the rest of the space for the 
remainder of your MS stuff, or something.   If you enjoy juggling
such thing, you will be in paradise, but I prefer to just have a more
current BIOS.   Some systems have downloadable upgrades available that
will fix the problem.   This is all below the FreeBSd level and must
be decided and fixed before installing FreeBSD.

Of course, the easiest thing is to just blow off the MS-Win stuff and make
the whole machine a FreeBSD machine.  Then, there is no problem.  Just
make one FreeBSD slice covering the whole disk.   You can do all that
during install and choose to make it bootable, etc.

When you get your disk use issues all settled

Pop the CD in to the machine where you want to install FreeBSD and boot 
it off the CD.  You may have to tinker with the BIOS boot order to get 
it to boot from the CD.  It must have the CD before the hard disk in 
the boot order list.

The mini-iso disk is the only one you really need.   It has the entire
installation stuff and knows how to get the rest via ftp.    After you 
finish doing the config stuff and carve up the disk, you just select 
installing via FTP and it will download everything you ever need and 
want.  Of course, if you have a slow connection, it will take a while, 
but not really any longer than downloading those other two ISO-s.   

If your connection is too slow to install over, then you should just 
buy the CD set from BSD Mall or one ot the other contributing vendors 
that package a CD set and sell them for a nonimal cost and contribute 
a bit of the revenue to the FreeBSD foundation.

////jerry

>  
> Any help is highly appreciated.
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Nowman
> 
> Jerry McAllister <jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > Hello,
> > Will you please let me know any website to download the FreeBSD version 4.7. 
> > I really appreciate your response. I went to the freebsd.org to download 
> > but it asks for the password for ftp. I tried USA and UK sites.
> 
> Have you ever used anonymous ftp before?
> You log in with the name 'snonymous' and then put your Email address as
> the password.
> 
> ////jerry
> 
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > 
> > Nowman
> 



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