Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 14:41:49 -0400 From: Tom Rhodes <trhodes@FreeBSD.org> To: FreeBSD-doc@FreeBSD.org Subject: RFC: Replacement to the MS-DOS mini-FAQ (install chapter) Message-ID: <20030521144149.6b8a2614.trhodes@FreeBSD.org>
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Greetings everyone in -doc land, This is a request for review. I'm going to replace the MS-DOS mini-FAQ which is in the troubleshooting section of our install chapter. I've reworded a bit, and changed a few things. Before I completely mark it up and add it, I'd like to get some comments. PS: Please no comments on missing tags, or word wrapping. I know its slightly wrapped, long, and missing markup bits. Thanks! -- Tom Rhodes Many users wish to install FreeBSD on PCs inhabited by Microsoft based operating systems. For those instances, FreeBSD has a utility known as <application>fips</application>. This utility can be found in the <filename>tools</filename> directory on the install CD-ROM, or can be downloaded from one of various FreeBSD mirrors. The <application>fips</application> utility allows you to split an existing MS-DOS partition into two pieces, preserving the original partition and allowing you to install onto the second free piece. You first need too defragment your MS-DOS partition using the Windows <application>DEFRAG</application> utility (go into Explorer, right-click on the hard drive, and choose to defrag your hard drive), or use Norton Disk Tools. You then must run <application>fips</application>. It will prompt you for the rest of the information it needs. Afterwords, you can reboot and install FreeBSD on the new free slice. See the Distributions menu for an estimate of how much free space you will need for the kind of installation you want. There is also a very useful product from PowerQuest called Partition Magic. This application has far more functionality than <application>fips</application>, and is highly recommended if you plan to add/remove operating systems often. It does cost money, and if you plan to install FreeBSD once and then leave it there, <application>fips</application> will probably be fine for you. Using MS-DOS File Systems <para>At this time, FreeBSD does not support file systems compressed with the <application>Double Space™</application> program. Therefor the file system will need to be uncompressed before FreeBSD can access the data.</para> <para>FreeBSD does support MS-DOS based file systems. This requires you use the &man.mount.msdos.8; (in FreeBSD 5.X, the command is &man.mount.msdosfs.8;) with the required parameters. The utilities most common usage is:</para> <screen>&prompt.root; <userinput>mount_msdos /dev/da0s1 /mnt</userinput></screen> <para>In this example, the MS-DOS file system is located on the first partition of the primary hard disk. Your situation may be different, always check the <command>dmesg</command> output for an idea of your partition layout.</para> <note><para>Extended MS-DOS file systems are usually mapped after the FreeBSD partitions. In other words, the slice number may be higher than the ones FreeBSD is using. To some, this can be confusing at first.</para>
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